View from the cop: Crime & punishment
View from the Cop is moving to a new site on Wordpress. Blogger Steve Rose of the Sandy Springs Police Department gives his take on crime, offers safety tips and give his weekly picks from the police blotter. Follow Steve Rose to the new blog site.
AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2007 > February > 02 > Entry
Winter Fest: Car Wrecks & Falling Trees
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta is a good place to live if you like the warm climate and traffic. Ten months out of the year you can get by with a light jacket or sweater at the most. It is the other two months that we’ve not figured out how to handle. Quite frankly, we just don’t listen to good advice.
I guess ice and the occasional snow have been hitting the ground every January and February for centuries but it has only been 30 years or so that we have really been able to focus on upcoming ice storms.
For those of you not from Atlanta, which is all of you in Atlanta, how long you’ve been here determines how much you enjoyed our annual tradition called Solemnitas of Car Pessum do Quod Cado Tabesco Nemus” which in Latin means “Festival of Car Wrecks and Falling Pine Trees.”
The ice event would probably pass without too much conversation if it were not for extensive local television coverage painstakingly focusing on all aspects of the coming weather. They can show us on three or four different satellite maps exactly where the storm is coming from and when it will hit. Then, as if we don’t believe them, they’ll show us video from the last ice storm. You can see cars sliding sideways and then hitting a telephone pole spilling milk and bread all over the road.
It only takes a few seconds to see that we’re not really set up to drive on ice. My theory is that it’s too slick.
Atlanta has few, if any snow plows. We don’t budget for snow plows but we do budget for sand trucks. TV stations send reporters to the sand place to show us how the trucks will load the sand and then spread it. Another reporter is standing next to the highway looking for ice. If he or she finds ice, they scoop some of it up so we can clearly see that it’s ice.
Panic sets in as thousands realize they’re low on milk and bread.
At this point in the broadcast, some really good advice is given by the spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety. The message is simple: “Please don’t drive unless you absolutely have to.”
Thousands immediately enter the roadway.
Hopefully, if you didn’t listen to the advice, you at least made it home in one piece to enjoy some home cooked milk and bread.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By attention06
February 2, 2007 11:29 AM | Link to this
I am always in amazement at the slight hint of snow ATLiens rush to the store to buy milk and bread.
Do these two ingredients sustain life? nothing else is as important as milk or bread…
I will admit though, I don’t regularly drink milk, and my bread always turns green.. but come word of snow.. I am in line mysteriously buying it.
By weatherhypeisnofun
February 2, 2007 11:40 AM | Link to this
Weather hype especially in Winter is pretty lame. It is much more exciting for local weatherwonks to cover an Ice-storm than to cover 34 degree “cold-rain” which is boring. No hype in a story people change the channel.
One un-named station in town had insisted that a evere storm was on the way power outages etc. I’m in my neighborhood grocery because I’m out of H20 & needed dinner. In the express lane behind one of Atlantas TV weather “personalities” the same person claiming the worst was on the way.
What was in her cart. (2) weightwatchers frozen dinners & a box of Ice-cream bars. She didn’t seem to concerned about the impending storm nor was I.
Moral of the story: when I see a weather person stocking up on Bread/Milk I’ll do the same!
By John
February 2, 2007 11:45 AM | Link to this
Milk, bread, and often eggs. People evidently need to make lots of French toast when the weather is threatening to get bad. I’ve never figured out why there’s not a run on maple syrup as well, but I guess syrup keeps better than the rest of it.
I always find it amusing when I go to the store because I’m actually low on such things, only to find out there’s a run because of predicted inclement weather.
By Dusty
February 2, 2007 12:19 PM | Link to this
Toilet paper.
I can live a few days without bread and milk. I CANNOT live without toilet paper.
By kt
February 2, 2007 12:22 PM | Link to this
This is funny Im from North Carolina and its the same scenerio when there’s bad weather too, I remember one year there was not ONE box of grits in the grocery store!
By Deanna
February 2, 2007 12:34 PM | Link to this
When I used to live near Emory, the dairy and bread sections at the old Kroger were always full at the approach of inclement weather, but the beer cooler was barren. Everybody has his or her own definition of emergency supplies.
By TheOne
February 2, 2007 1:07 PM | Link to this
Funny, Funny, Funny!!!
One persons bread and milk, can be another persons beer and chips!!!! I’m a native ATLien (how about that!!), and it still amuses me….but I’m more focused - beer, wine or tequila, soup fixings, snacks, you know, the essentials!!!
By Cletus Snow
February 2, 2007 1:18 PM | Link to this
Snow and ice are free amusements for many of us,once the milk and bread run is complete,it’s always fun to watch the clowns in cars attempt their version of bump cars.Theres something inbred in some of us that forces us to ride around in cars and keep the bodyshops busy for months after an ice storm.Please come back Guy Sharpe.
By Salann
February 2, 2007 1:34 PM | Link to this
Atlantans, you are not alone!
Yep…trust me, it’s that way here in Indiana (bread, milk and eggs) and we joke constantly about people making French Toast.
What’s frustrating to us is that they predict large snows (3-6”) and we get a dusting…so much hype for so little snow!
By Ronald
February 2, 2007 1:46 PM | Link to this
Attention 06, Milk is considered a whole food because it contains protein, sugars and fats which are the ingredients the body needs to sustain itself. That’s why we feed it to infants. Duh.
By Practical
February 2, 2007 2:37 PM | Link to this
Forget the bread and milk. Give me the important stuff like Coca~Cola, cigarettes, dog food (yeah, he has to eat too!) and frozen foods. That way, if the power goes out, I can still put the food outside to keep it frozen, and use my gas stove/oven to cook it. I also have a generator which I inherited from my father, who purchased it the first winter we were here. It runs my electric heater, a small t.v. and a light. I’m from the North. I can handle 4 feet of snow, but the ice, which I never experienced before moving to Georgia, shuts down entire counties!
By Ralph
February 2, 2007 2:37 PM | Link to this
My wife has been in Cleveland OH the past week, and she cannot wait to leave. her words were ” Freaking snows every day all day”. She was in shock. she misses our winters LOL.
As a former patrol officer for 14 years, I loved the snow /ice in ATL. plenty of wrecks to work, plus we would take the crown victoria police cars and drive crazy in the snow or icy parking lots. Oh the fun!
Okay I am going to Kroger to get bread and milk
By Gram
February 2, 2007 2:43 PM | Link to this
Ask any pediatrician…whole milk is NOT smart to feed to infants. It contains non of the essentials necessary for infant growth. They will recommend you NOT feed whole milk to a child under the age of 2.
By SexyLeggs
February 2, 2007 3:03 PM | Link to this
You’re analysis is right on the money. I remember what you wrote last year at this time. It’s absolutely amazing. I couldn’t wait to call my mother in The Bronx to tell her of all the school closings and the panic at Wal-mart and the extensive news coverage for 1 or 2” of snow. Man o man, you guys would be amazed at the amount of snow I walked in without a blink of an eye. I understand Atlanta not getting much snow like the north, but dang you guys should be better equipped than you are now. I’ve been here 27 years and I still crack up at your panic….unbelieveable.
By Prepared
February 2, 2007 3:35 PM | Link to this
Bread, milk, beer, bread, milk, beer, bread, milk, beer. Now repeat after me….
By Barb Wire
February 2, 2007 4:37 PM | Link to this
Heck, I remember in the blizzard of ‘96 I was stuck at my friend’s home without power. I’m diabetic and didn’t have enough supplies for an extended stay. Another friend came by in a 4-wheel-drive and we got out, got supplies, AND beer! It was a great 5 days!!!!!!!!!1
By charlotte, nc
February 2, 2007 4:53 PM | Link to this
Yesterday the Charlotte area was in a panic and it was bread, milk and toliet paper. Schools closed with only 2 inches of snow on the road and the weather people stayed on air all day talking about the snow.
By modest
February 2, 2007 4:58 PM | Link to this
Mmmmmm….BEER!
By OldSchool
February 2, 2007 6:37 PM | Link to this
The last weather event sent us to the grocery to stock up. I chose Hershey Kisses and my hubby loaded the cart with beer. When we got to the checkout, the clerk asked if we needed batteries in case the power went out. “Nope” I said as I pointed to the beer. “We’ve got Natural Lites.”
By nona
February 2, 2007 7:00 PM | Link to this
everyone knows that the weather prognosticators, aka forecasters, are paid commission on milk and eggs sold by kroger and publix.
i actually have a weather rope that can tell the weather more accurately. if the roes sways it is windy, if the rope is wet it is raining, if the rope is stiff it is cold, etc. yada yada yada ad nauseum
By Sheri
February 2, 2007 9:11 PM | Link to this
Steve Rose, your best line was, “For those of you not from Atlanta, which is all of you in Atlanta”. I cracked up, not only at that though, I too am a SOLID Gwinnettian (wow - huh?) and just roll my eyes at the folks huh rush off to the store the night of the “BIG STORM” that we seem to keep being threatened about each year. No need to worry transplants, it’ll be gone by noon the next day!! PROMISE!! And then your boss will want to you to come to work then. And your kids will still be out of school for melting slush. I think every “Welcome Packet” needs to have a weather section that states, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT!!! Just wait a few hours and it’ll all be over with, then you can go to the store…. No One is ever going to get trapped while living here in the ATL!!!
By Bill
February 2, 2007 9:22 PM | Link to this
Sataan, Maybe 1979 will come back.
By Sherri Frey
February 2, 2007 11:42 PM | Link to this
I remember 1979 well, Bill. in 99 I moved to Tucson AZ. We had snow this year (1 to 3 inches) and it actually stayed on the ground till late the next day. It was worse that Atlanta LOL. Steve, I really enjoy your column.
By LaurieG
February 3, 2007 8:49 AM | Link to this
I moved to ATL from Raleigh where a few years back, we received 24” of unexpected snow (they forecasted 2-4” and apparently someone got the order wrong as it ended up 24”). We didn’t go ANYWHERE for the better part of a week, until the town managed to get a road grader down into our neighborhood to rescue us.
When we all finally managed to get to the store, it wasn’t the milk and bread that were gone. It was the beer and Jeno’s Pizza Rolls.
I grew up in Cleveland (yeah it does snow like crazy there if Lake Erie has not yet frozen for the winter) and this snow-induced madness is amusing. My kids were born in the south and they strongly desire some honest-to-goodness snow.
By Ross
February 3, 2007 11:57 AM | Link to this
Funny and all too true :)
Hey! I’m from here! Remember ‘73?
-ross
By catlady
February 3, 2007 12:57 PM | Link to this
I am not sure why folks in the city go out and get supplies, but where I live in the mountains no power means no water means no toilets. So planning your diet around no power, water, and bathroom is essential!
By Cliff
February 3, 2007 6:40 PM | Link to this
I am amazed at Atlanta and it’s international flavor when it comes to breakfast. Imagine an entire region absolutely addicted to their French Toast. I mean, what else do you do with all that bread, milk and eggs?
Go figure.
By butch
February 3, 2007 7:16 PM | Link to this
I REMEMBER 1982 ICE STORM I AM A PLUMBER MADE 7000.00 IN I ONE WEEK REPAIRING FROZEN &BURST WATER PIPES & IWAS THE LOWEST PRICE IN TOWN
By butch
February 3, 2007 7:28 PM | Link to this
some plumbing contractors was charging 300.00 per hr. PLUS for temp. repairs i was doing permanant repairs BUTCH WILSON plumbing 7707803106
By Linda
February 4, 2007 7:31 AM | Link to this
During one big storm in the ’90s when Publix had just closed at 2PM, someone offered top dollar to buy the 12-pack I was carrying to my car. Memorable.
By jb
February 4, 2007 7:31 AM | Link to this
hehehehe it was the same in rude island when we lived there, bread and milk would fly off the shelves. we always joked about that and trying to tell ppl that cows don’t stop giving milk just because of some snow. while others were hording milk and bread i would grab some candles (to wax the bottom of sleds) and the hot chocoate mix.
By Native GA Peach
February 4, 2007 10:50 AM | Link to this
Amazingly, I’m one of those rare ATL natives. Can remember the storms of the early 80s, the ice storm of 88 that had us out of school for a week and the blizzard of 93. Living on a steep hill, it’s always fun to watch the macho guy in his 4WD truck think he can make it, only to slide all the way down.
By Evelyn
February 4, 2007 4:35 PM | Link to this
I live in St. Louis, MO. Our list consists of BEER, BUD of course, milk, bread, eggs and toilet paper. Beer comes first. We had an inch of snow this past week and the grocery stores were crowded.
By Snowy
February 5, 2007 9:28 AM | Link to this
I always stock up on beer and alcohol and a couple decks of playing cards, because everyone eventually makes it over to my house…….can’t get to work, but they can get to my house…
By julie
February 5, 2007 10:01 AM | Link to this
We had a blizzard in 96?
By Bill
February 5, 2007 4:52 PM | Link to this
As a night police commander, couldnt wait til most of the calls were caught up. Four or five of our cars would head straight for the airport. Nothing, absolutely nothing, like skidding at a high rate of speed on an abandoned airport. Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days.
By Cynthia Armistead
February 6, 2007 12:30 PM | Link to this
It’s bread, milk, toilet paper, and eggs. Because apparently, people must have French toast and make paper mache!
If the long-range forecast mentions the “i” or “s” words, I go to the store and get essentials. I refuse to approach Kroger or Publix on the actual day such things are expected. Those people are crazy!
By GB
February 6, 2007 10:14 PM | Link to this
Blizzard of ‘93, Blizzard of ‘96…who cares? isn’t the point about how crazy people in Atlanta get with just the mention of snow?