Musings on Winter’s Past and “Plow Rage” in New York City – Coping with Winter

Let’s face it – it’s been a long, cold, snowy and generally brutal winter, however, it is not as if we, as citizens living just about anywhere in the U.S. have not, in a good lifetime, experience winter before. Some of us just deal with it, other’s – not so much. If the winter is light, with little snow – it’s a sure sign of “global warming” – if it’s colder in say, New York City, than it is in say Anchorage, then its “global warming”. Novel thought – how about historical weather patterns? We have winters that are mild and those that are extreme, we have summers that are hot, and other’s not so hot. Every 30 to 40 years, things change up a bit, and someone puts a label on it, get’s a ton of money for research, and the beat goes on. As a child, to get from my house to my aunt’s two houses away I’d wade through snow up to my neck –of course, we were expected to get to school, and there were a few plows, which took a day or two to get down the street. That was the early 1960’s when snow was snow, and children had to walk backwards through eight feet of snow, uphill to get to school. Today at the mere mention of as storm – schools are closed.

In my youth, it was the coming Ice Age. It’s a tad late from the temps this winter, but it’s finally arrived. Some residents of New York are so weary of the winter and especially the snow plows that they have resorted to violence. CBS New York reports that one plow driver and his partner were attempting to move snow from the street into the front of someone’s driveway and they were threatened with a gun - the gun toting homeowner is facing charges, and the partner quit deciding that snow plowing in the Burroughs might be too dangerous.
Seriously.
How many times has one shoveled their lengthy driveway only to find a plow come careening down the street pushing your neighbors snow in front of your yard – simply put, if ones does not plow and widen the end of their drive then, they apparently have been expecting global warming. Before this blogger learned to skirt the end of her driveway, there were times when I made myself physically present in front of an oncoming plow – of course, not thinking clearly after the 70’Th inch of snow, it was to be expected.

All it the winter blues, call it seasonal affective disorder, call it what one may, but unless one is an avid outdoors type, then this weather is – in a word maddening.

Spring, however, should be around the bend, and with any luck and a lot of prayers we may just have an early spring despite the rodent living in Pennsylvania who predicts otherwise.

Of course, should temps extend beyond the 50 degree mark in March –it will be solid proof of global warming. Once the natives are defrosted, they may even go along with that – given this is Massachusetts.

On the flip side, someone should have trained those plowers and perhaps helped residents who are not sure how to plow out the end of a drive, and all the threats and mayhem could have been avoided.

Other handy tips – keep a shovel inside the house, helps to clear a path to get to wherever one is keeping their snow blower, if one has dogs, shovel a path in your yard before letting loose the hounds, make sure it is broad and wide enough for movement –otherwise, your gate will become an ode to a Frank Zappa song – watch for frostbite, and limit time your furry friends are out of doors.

For those who are weary plan your summer vacation, or just go window shopping – it’s a great lift of the spirits.