It's Snow Big Deal, Guys!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Have you heard the news? It's snowing.

Maybe you haven't heard. I mean, it's not all over Twitter or the front page of CNN or anything.

With all due respect for the Virginians mentioned in the first headline, can we make special note of the second one? "LIVE: Snow falls at the White House." REALLY, CNN? How about, "LIVE: Sun rises" or "LIVE: Sky is blue"? I know it doesn't snow in the capital often (though this winter, I'd beg to differ), but it's not like the White House is located in Alabama or SoCal or on some tropical island. This is no great weather miracle/curse. It's just Mother Nature & El NiƱo collaborating on a special little project here in the District.

But based on Twitter, you'd never know it. I've compiled a sample of some of the panic in my feed, though you may have to click through to read them because I can't get them to display any bigger than this:
I woke up circa 1:00pm (shhh, it was a comp day!) & the amount of snow that had gathered upon the ground was close to nil, though a DC snow emergency had already been declared. "STAY OFF THE ROADS! DON'T GO OUT UNLESS IT'S A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION!" So although the snow falling was the equivalent of a light rain, snow plows were even on standby to rid us of the invisible precipitation accumulation that might eventually plague us:


Still, last night saw Washingtonians taking to the grocery stores with such voracity that little food was to be found on store shelves come morning. Please observe my favorite of DCist's food shortage photo gallery:

No chicken breasts for you.

In fact, a local Whole Foods closed early because it ran out of food! And while I understand the instinct to stock up on sustenance the weekend before a potential snow-in (I did it myself!), I've got to wonder: What do these people think is gonna happen? That they're going to be so snowed into their homes that they'll never be able to go grocery shopping again? Me, I bought a few boxes of mac & cheese, some pudding, some pears & some applesauce. Sure, I eat like a third-grader, but the point is that I bought enough meals to get me through a snowstorm - & I'll go shopping again when the snow is over.

This topic was just one of many snow-related conversations my friend Rachel BC (remember her?) & I discussed over late afternoon brunch sampling at my favorite DC diner, Open City.

And then? Well, then it started to snow for realish, so we headed back to my apartment to watch "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" while drinking Yuengling & wearing Snuggies:
And now we're eating chocolate Special K & watching "Hook" with subtitles & preparing to play Scrabble. On second thought, I've got no complaints about the way DC responds to snow. Sure, it may all be one big #snoverreaction, but this is a pretty good way to spend a three-day weekend.

8 comments:

  1. You'd love it here in Cali, where the minute it rains there is STORM WATCH and general melee. Weather gets people really, really excited.

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  2. yay snow! I love watching it fall and pile up. Tomorrow I am going to make a snowman. I'll miss this when I'm back in California.

    Enjoy the movie night!

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  3. The only thing worse than the snow is the snow talk. We're getting the milder version of what's hitting you and I can barely stand it.

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  4. when i hear blizzard i think about those scenes in the Little House on the Prairie books...no? just me? i know im a crazy bookworm, but what people back in the day on the prairie had to deal with makes this seem like a PICNIC!

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  5. see...i recently moved to Louisville, where people dodge raindrops and snowflakes while driving, and while we got MERE inches of snow, they're freaking out like they had to shovel for nine hours to get to the store.

    it's insane.

    and i'm with lusty reader. every time i hear the word blizzard i think of LIW's The Long Winter where Pa had to go out and save the cows who's own breath froze around their face. ew.

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  6. I'm kind of jealous! I miss the snow and love when we all get snowed in and can't go to school/work. That can never happen here in Arizona. But then I'm sure if I was back east I'd be wishing I was back home already.

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  7. I agree that people do over react about snow a tad more than I ever did up in New England- I went to Costco on Friday only because I originally wanted to go there earlier to pick up supplies for the house. It wasn't actually that bad but going to the Supermarket afterwards was.

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