Well, As Of Today, The Snow Is Still Here

Winter in Washington is a royal pain in the ass

I’m starting to hate winter. I find that hard to believe, because when I was younger, I lived for the winter. Winter meant skiing, and skiing was fun. The last time I went skiing though, was during my freshman year of college. That was years ago.

A lot of it, is getting older. I say older and not old. I’m sure it’s a delusion. Let’s face it, I’m getting old. The older I get, the more I hate the cold. Old and cold seem to go together. Of course, I don’t like the heat of the summer either, but given the choice, I’ll take the heat. Then, I’ll complain about that. One thing that’s good about getting old, is you can get cranky, and get away with it.

That brings me back to winter in Washington. There are piles of “snice” everywhere. No, I didn’t invent that word. That’s what we have on the ground, and piled up everywhere; until yesterday, there were even piles of snice blocking lanes on our roads. There are still some roads where you have one-and-a-half lanes plowed. What they did was clear a path for the cars. In Hyattsville heading north on US 1, at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 410, East West Highway, there are two lanes heading north. Until yesterday, one was blocked by a huge pile of snice. Until we have a stretch of temperatures in the 40s and 50s, all those snice piles along the various streets, are going to be sitting there.

What about the bus? Well, some of the bus stops are still full of snice, so you have to wait for the bus by standing in the street, or climb over a snow berm in order to board. At least they are now running on their normal schedules. It was a nightmare when they had suspended operation, and then when they were using the snow route reductions in service. If you didn’t have a car, you were screwed. Even with a car, you were screwed, because you had to dig yourself out from rock-hard snice.

I have to be thankful though. We didn’t lose power. Civilization still reins, even if it is a little difficult at times. I’m glad I don’t live out in the middle of nowhere. The snow is melting. In a few weeks, it will be a memory. Good riddance.