Today, when most area schools were closed for the second straight day, the President said, according to the Washington Post, that "We're going to have to apply some flinty Chicago toughness to this town. I'm saying that when it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things." The schools, he asked, closed "Because of what? Some ice?"
I am in complete agreement with the President, as I am also from a state that receives more than one or two snowfalls a year. I also find the overreacting ridiculous — I had graduate classes canceled when there was no snow or ice on the ground and none falling from the sky, and my friends get off work or get to leave early with just the rumor of snow — but the city needs to step up and teach people how to deal with winter weather.
The sidewalks may be fine downtown, but they are a mess in the rest of the city. I can't even tell you how many times I almost fell this morning. During last year's ice storm I had a bruise that ran across my entire lower back due to falling on icy sidewalks. It isn't that difficult to brush the snow away (and I say brush, because we had maybe 1 inch on my front steps yesterday when I cleared them off), and throw down some salt or sand.
Perhaps the President should offer some suggestions to District residents for dealing with this winter weather, instead of mocking. If people could clear sidewalks and roadways quickly, the entire city would not need to shut down at the drop of a flake.
The Post has a video of Obama discussing the snow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
Agreed. It wouldn't be so bad to deal with if...well, we dealt with it. There is a significant length of sidewalk near my office, in the District limits, that apparently falls under no jurisdiction. In addition, the area immediately outside of the Metro station closest to my office had no salt/gravel thrown down and had not been shoveled. So it was still icy this morning. Ridiculous. I know we don't get snow that often, but we get it enough...
On the other hand, I've lived in the south long enough to appreciate snow days as a regular part of my year, and get a little antsy when I don't get one. ;)
Post a Comment