AJC > Sandy Springs > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 28
Monday, January 28, 2008
Let’s cancel winter
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know we need the precipitation, and I know that I’m the last person who needs to have a hint of dominion over nature, but this recent run of snow, sleet and ice needs to end. Now.
Can we please cancel the rest of winter and move to early spring? It doesn’t need to get into the 60s, just keep things around 38 or so until March.
In the past week we’ve had snow twice and as this is being written the forecast is for freezing rain and maybe some bridges icing up. And I know we need wet stuff falling from the sky, but let’s face facts for those of us living in Sandy Springs - we’re not cut out to deal with this.
Just look what we do when the first few flakes of snow fall. Everyone goes into red-alert mode, rushing to the grocery store. And what do we buy? Milk, bread, peanut butter and beer. Now, I get the first three. If you lose power for a day or so you can make do with sandwiches and milk.
But beer? Do you think downing a few cold ones is going to make that ice storm more manageable? And in my wildest days I never washed down a peanut-butter sandwich with beer. Are you starting to see why I believe we don’t react well to frozen precip?
And while we’re having this chat, let’s talk about winter-weather driving skills. We have none. In part this has to do with the fact we don’t have to drive in snow and ice enough to learn how to deal with it, thank the Lord.
But when the ice does come some well-meaning newsreader will tell us how to maneuver our cars if we hit a sheet of ice. People, I’ve been driving in this town my whole life and we still haven’t mastered right-turn-on-red on Roswell Road - much less how to navigate in hockey rink conditions.
But I still hear people say: “I know how to drive when it get icy.” These are the same people who later ask: “Can you recommend a good body shop?”
No, my fellow Sandy Springsteens, let us take a page from Gov. Perdue’s book and appeal to a higher authority. Any higher authority you choose. Rain, yes. Rain chilled into any form but liquid, no.
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