The city plow hasn't made it up to my street yet. I live on a cul-de-sac, and it would take them an extra seven minutes to swing up here, circle and go back to the rest of the route, but that's not how it works, I guess.
I cancelled my morning class this morning by email, and let my chair know. Our campus policy says that's what you're supposed to do if you don't think you can make it safely to campus when there's bad snow. (Handily enough, I suppose, I have furlough days I need to take, too.) And then I dug out my driveway again, so that when the plow does come through, I'll just have the berm and then I'll be clear.
I was doubting my decision about cancelling classes as I made my oatmeal for breakfast because when I was out digging, one of my neighbors made it out in his SUV, but then I saw a stuck car on the road leading up to mine (which ends as mine begins, though "they" have plans to put it through to another road). So, I ate a few more bites and went to help dig the car free.
Before I got there, I helped dig free another car, which I hadn't seen before because a house was in the way. And then the guy in that car ran back and helped dig free the second car.
I'm guessing my decision not to try to drive out was actually a good one.
There's a bit of... irony, perhaps?
The cars I helped dig free belonged to people who are customers of a woman who runs an in home daycare. And that house is one of the few on my block that puts up Republican signage during elections.
After I finished helping dig out, I went to return to this woman the shovel that the first guy had borrowed (it saved him a four block+ walk to the house and back to his car on the plowed road below). (She, quite appropriately, was caring for the children she cares for, and thus didn't come out to dig.)
And she complained about how the city doesn't plow our street fast enough.
Now, I complain about that, too. But I'm not the one who votes for people who want to cut our public workers' pay and benefits and the services we get.
The rhetoric of the right is that we're all supposed to take care of ourselves, and screw everyone else. But when that comes to digging people out, we all want the plow to come to our street. We want the fire folks and EMTs to come help us when we're in trouble (and the EMTs are going to be affected by our state cuts).
The thing is, I'm willing to pay taxes for those services, and not pretend that they'll just happen or that I can dig out our street by myself.
*PS. Who in this state drives in winter without a shovel in the car? I mean, really! Neither of these people had their own shovel in the car. The guy had the initiative to go borrow one, but the woman in the second car was just sitting there. (She had called her husband to help, but by the time he arrived, we had almost gotten her to the plowed area.)
I love this post. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAh, the "they don't plow our street fast enough" people. The thing with those people is that it's not inconsistent for them to want government services cut and their street still plowed -- because they don't actually give a damn if anyone ELSE'S street gets plowed. Minimal taxes can pay for just their street, you know?
ReplyDeleteAfter the back to back blizzards in the DC area last year, there was a proposal in Fairfax County, VA (one of the richest counties in the country) to equip snowplows with GPS and put up a website so that people can go online to see where the snowplows are at any given time, and get an estimate of when their street will be plowed.
My response to this was to question whether this is a good use of money since, you know, it wouldn't actually get the street plowed any faster. But really, that's not the point. These entitled rich people want to be able to call up their county supervisor or whatever and bawl them out because the snowplow has the temerity to be on someone else's street. They think they're that special of a... well... snowflake.
Ah, yes, the hypocrisy of people who expect personal service but won't pay for it!
ReplyDeleteWe have a shovel in our trunk. I wouldn't think of leaving home without it between December and late April. In fact, it often goes into the trunk in November if the weather gets bad early enough!
Aaaarrrrgggg! The lack of logic drives me NUTS!
ReplyDeleteI must admit: I've been meaning to put a shovel in the back of my car all season long. But I have failed! (And we even have an avalanche shovel I could use.)
ReplyDeleteThe woman who called her husband and waited for HIM to show up and dig her out? Pretty silly on everyone's part. If he's got the more suitable vehicle and/or the shovel, why didn't he take the kids to f^(king daycare his own f^(king self? (And if his car ain't any better or better equipped than hers, what the heck is he going to do but get stuck there, too?)