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the joys of snowstorms
Dec. 10th, 2008 01:11 pmi love snow. i love snowstorms. i even enjoy digging out my car (i know, i know, i'm twisted). admittedly, i have no driveway to shovel, i only have a car on occasion and the driving is ridiculous, but there you have it. snow makes me happy.
slush, however, does not. (just for the record).
the bus system, however, makes every good snowstorm a trial. last year, i walked to work in a snowstorm no less than 5 times. this, of course, after waiting for the bus for a respectable (til my toes freeze) amount of time. i attributed this to the staffing issues they were having last year, traffic, the partial strikes, etc.
but with the very first snowstorm of the year, my optimism is proven unfounded. i waited an hour (the bus comes every 20 minutes during rush hour). i waited until my toes were solid blocks of ice in my boots, and then i gave in to the inevitable and began the slow, frozen slough to work down unplowed sidewalks, staring longingly at the semi-plowed road but afraid to use it for fear of being hit by a car as they trundled along with about as much directional sense as bumper cars. the wind was, of course, driving the snow directly into my face. and let's not forget the fact that i'm wearing my old boots which have cracked and are only marginally better than the running shoes i would otherwise have to wear.
after about 10 minutes of walking, i am only about half-way there. i'm getting upset, i'm muttering curses under my breath, and managing to shove the wonder the sight of driving snow is still, somehow, managing to instill in me to the back of my brain, when a little red car pulls up, honks, and offers me a lift.
the woman, a lovely middle-aged lady named Mary, is a complete stranger. but she's been watching me slough through the snow and has taken pity on me. she runs her heater up high and tells me that she's been sitting in traffic for two hours, coming home from visiting her infant niece. it's her day off, but she wanted to go see the baby. and she's so happy i accepted a lift, because the last time she tried to offer one, the person said no and she couldn't understand why anyone would not want to accept a lift in this kind of miserable weather.
turns out she used to work at the childrens' hairdressing studio next door to where i work. she kindly drives me all the way to the store (despite my protests that she should just drop me off at the lights and i'd walk across the parking lot) and by the time i get there, i'm actually warm.
there are a few good samaritans still out there. they are few and far between, granted, but all is not lost for the human race. i need to remember this next time i'm dealing with self-centered, egotistical, single-minded people who have no care in the world but their own pleasure and gratification.
and when i get my car sometime this year, i will strive to pay it forward.
slush, however, does not. (just for the record).
the bus system, however, makes every good snowstorm a trial. last year, i walked to work in a snowstorm no less than 5 times. this, of course, after waiting for the bus for a respectable (til my toes freeze) amount of time. i attributed this to the staffing issues they were having last year, traffic, the partial strikes, etc.
but with the very first snowstorm of the year, my optimism is proven unfounded. i waited an hour (the bus comes every 20 minutes during rush hour). i waited until my toes were solid blocks of ice in my boots, and then i gave in to the inevitable and began the slow, frozen slough to work down unplowed sidewalks, staring longingly at the semi-plowed road but afraid to use it for fear of being hit by a car as they trundled along with about as much directional sense as bumper cars. the wind was, of course, driving the snow directly into my face. and let's not forget the fact that i'm wearing my old boots which have cracked and are only marginally better than the running shoes i would otherwise have to wear.
after about 10 minutes of walking, i am only about half-way there. i'm getting upset, i'm muttering curses under my breath, and managing to shove the wonder the sight of driving snow is still, somehow, managing to instill in me to the back of my brain, when a little red car pulls up, honks, and offers me a lift.
the woman, a lovely middle-aged lady named Mary, is a complete stranger. but she's been watching me slough through the snow and has taken pity on me. she runs her heater up high and tells me that she's been sitting in traffic for two hours, coming home from visiting her infant niece. it's her day off, but she wanted to go see the baby. and she's so happy i accepted a lift, because the last time she tried to offer one, the person said no and she couldn't understand why anyone would not want to accept a lift in this kind of miserable weather.
turns out she used to work at the childrens' hairdressing studio next door to where i work. she kindly drives me all the way to the store (despite my protests that she should just drop me off at the lights and i'd walk across the parking lot) and by the time i get there, i'm actually warm.
there are a few good samaritans still out there. they are few and far between, granted, but all is not lost for the human race. i need to remember this next time i'm dealing with self-centered, egotistical, single-minded people who have no care in the world but their own pleasure and gratification.
and when i get my car sometime this year, i will strive to pay it forward.
