Snow In The City

During the recent snowstorms, WZJ-TV has been my window to the outside world. I’ve enjoyed watching the interactions between the reporters and the citizens of Baltimore. The people come and go into the bars and coffee shops, dismissing the blizzard as a minor inconvenience. I have to applaud their attitude.

However, when I ventured into Brooklyn (on the southern edge of the city) yesterday, I found quite a different attitude. I didn’t see the jovial spirit of the people who I watched on WJZ. Quite frankly, I found the people that I ran into to be inconsiderate assholes.

The streets were a complete mess. Finding a drivable road was a chore within itself. And if you were lucky enough to find a drivable road, you would likely find cars parked in the middle of it. And I don’t mean “double-parked”. People were just leaving their cars dead smack in the middle of the streets. I don’t understand this. Are they too lazy to dig a spot out for their car? Maybe that’s asking too much. All I heard was, “Where are the plow trucks? When are they going to dig us out? Waaaaaa, waaaaa!” I’ve got a news flash, people… if you’re waiting for the city government to come over and make things better; you’re going to be waiting a long, long time!

Although I was driving a four-wheel drive vehicle, I still managed to get stuck several times. This was mainly the result of some asshole deciding to leave his unattended vehicle in the middle of the road. As I progressed down the middle of Maude Avenue, another car turned off of 5th Street and started to come up the hill. I figured the guy would see that I was already halfway down the street and it would be much easier if he would let me through. But no! He decides to come up the hill towards me. Keep in mind that our two vehicles could not physically pass each other. So, I roll down the window and give him my best “what are you doing” expression. Then, he starts motioning for me to back up. This pissed me off. So, then the city boy came out of me and I unleashed a string of profanities on him. At one point, I thought we might meet in the middle of the street for an old fashioned throw-down. But he eventually backed his car down so I could pass him. As I drove by his car, I gave him my “you’re lucky I didn’t kick your ass” stare. He just sat in his car cursing me as I slowly drove by.

(I notice that everyone here seems to be extremely comfortable with cursing. The F-bombs filled the air like snowflakes did the night before.)

I finally make it down to my parent’s house where my car gets stuck again. This time I’m sticking halfway out into the street. Not surprising another car soon pulls up. The driver is visibly angry and wants to pass NOW! I tell him to give me a minute to shovel myself out. He gets a disgusted look on his face and shakes his head then looks at his watch. After a few minutes, I finally get my car into the parking space and the guy passes. But not before looking at me and shaking his head and mouthing the word “asshole”. For a moment, I considered throwing my snow shovel at his car.

As I head out, I notice people shoveling snow into the middle of the road. Ummm, maybe this is partly the reason the roads are so bad? Just a thought....

I also notice that everyone has chairs “holding” their parking spaces. I can certainly understand this, but I’m not sure if it’s legal. After all, it is a public street. I personally wouldn’t do it, but what would prevent someone from simply moving the chairs and pulling into the spot? It would certainly be inconsiderate. But from what I’ve seen today, it would be fitting. I have to mention that I did see a sign attached to one of the chairs that said: “Park here at your own risk!” Hey, at least the guy is giving plenty of forewarning.

Personally, I don’t need all of this hustle and bustle. So, for future snowstorms, I think I’ll to stay home and watch life in the city through the rose colored lens of my TV.


KW