Before I start, this is not directed at anyone on this site. I've lived in RI all of my life. Well I did leave for 4 years to serve in the US Navy onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). Growing up in the 70's I remember some robust winters. In the 80's they were not bad either. In the early 90's we had a stretch of almost no snow for several years. Keep in mind that I live about a mile from the ocean as the crow flies. 94 was an epic year for snow, and since then we have had several winters with good amounts of snow. For my lifetime, this year has been the heaviest snow totals. Personally I like snow. There is something about the quiet when you go out to cleanup. You might hear an occasional snowplow go by, or a neighbor in the distance either shoveling or running a snowblower. There is just a beautiful solitude when it snows for me. Yes many of you and my friends think I am sick. Here goes the rant: If you live in New England, then you should always count on snow in the winter. You live in the north for crying out loud. If you are sick of the snow, there are homes for sale in Florida, Georgia and other southern states that see little or no snow. It's winter, you should have snow tires on your car/truck. All weather tires do not cut it. You have a 4X4 or all wheel drive. Great. That does not mean you are superman, and cannot go 100mph down the road. You must drive your vehicle within it's ability to corner and stop. I'm so tired of seeing car crashes from people that we all know were not driving within the limits of their cars. School snow days. Our school system is awful with the calendar without adding snow days. The kids don't get out until Jun 21st, and this year they will be going right up to July. Why don't school buses have chains on the tires? I can understand closing for a blizzard, but closing when you are getting 4-6 just does not fly with me. Contrary to belief, summer is coming. Finally, if you live in the north and are sick of snow, stop complaining. www.realtor.com or www.trulia.com lists houses all over the south that don't get snow. Either buck up, or use the sites. Finally a personal request. If you have elderly neighbors, please take the time to shovel, snow blow or plow them out. When it's extremely cold, check on them to make sure they are ok. You'd be amazed at how this simple gesture goes a long way. That is all for now. Please return to your daily programing.
I agree except for #5. The thing about #5 is that all of the dumbass #4s can cause a bus full of dead kids, and that's just not worth it.
Good point Dave! Agree…, although in his defense, I remember as a kid we needed "A LOT" of snow before they would close the schools down. It seemed like people had a bit more common sense about driving back then.
We see on the news/weather that places shut down their schools for 4-6 inches and just laugh! And as long as we are at it, just when did things start getting cancelled a day or two before based on nothing but a forecast?
My family moved to Maine in Jan of 1984, I remember vividly, the first overnight snowstorm, getting up and shoveling the 16" off the deck, coming inside and having my mother say, "you better hurry up, you're going to miss the bus"
Absolutely, back then you went to school regardless...it had to be a blizzard to get school called off. Today, the populations have risen so much there are cars everywhere, the sense of time is always hurried and it affects how folks drive. Putting makeup on in the car on the way to work, cutting in and out of traffic just to make the time clock, etc
Last year all of the schools in our county closed the night before a big storm hit. We got less than an inch of snow.
And whose to say that the bus drivers aren't in the same category as the number 4s while they are are their pov's?? It was just one year ago on a country road here, I had a school bus pull out in front of me. It was down the road quite a ways, plenty of time. It got up to speed and was pulling away from me. Around a corner, down a hill, straight stretch, around a bend, across some train tracks, up a hill. Wait! Did that SOB just blow across the set of train tracks? Yup! Probably why he was pulling away from me, to get around the bend---out of sight, out of mind sort of thing? Followed the bus into town till the stoplight and it had no passengers on it. Still ain't right or legal!
We've had that happen even this year. RI operates off of what happens in Providence. As Providence did not get snow yesterday, the cancellations were few and far between. Then there are times when Providence gets dumped, and we get either little or just rain. We'll still see cancellations for those events.
I have lived and currently live in the snowbelts of NE, NY, and PA. To b*tch about the weather is part of our DNA. What else is there to talk about when you are snowed in? Ha ha. The weather is part of our life. The same thing goes when living on the ocean down south. When you are right on the coast, everyone talks about this storm or that storm or currents or whatever. The bad weather is one reason why I believe there is such a community feel around the Great Lakes. The miserable winters unite people.
Funny how that works with school cancellations. If Boston schools close then they had at least 4-6" of snow, anything more than that it could be two days for them, so many restrictions in the city. Outside of the city gets more snow typically and those school systems works in groups, depending on which school takes the plunge first.
