In Case of Blizzard, Do Nothing

[bananas]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/opinion/in-case-of-blizzard-do-nothing.html?action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&module=MostPopularFB&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article

In Case of Blizzard, Do Nothing
By DAVID DUDLEYJAN. 22, 2016

In the winter of 1985 my hometown, Buffalo, was engulfed in a blizzard — not an uncommon occurrence for the region, which is justly famed for epic snows. But this was a big one, and the city’s blustery Irish-American mayor, Jimmy Griffin, was at pains to persuade people to stop trying to go about their business as conditions deteriorated. He urged Buffalonians to “relax, stay inside and grab a six-pack,” which must be the best advice any elected official ever gave the public in an emergency situation.

There’s something cartoonish about the menace of a blizzard, in which nature’s wrath assumes a fluffy, roly-poly form and tries to kill you. It’s the meteorological equivalent of getting smothered in Tribbles, or attacked by the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. And yet, kill it does, via car accidents and heart attacks and other misadventures, usually involving people trying, unwisely, to do something.

Mr. Griffin, henceforth known as Jimmy Six-Pack, understood this. The Snow Gods reserve special contempt for those who don’t respect their ability to bring human activity to a standstill. The snow cares not for your deadlines, your happy hour plans, your scheduled C-section. It wants only to fall on the ground and lie there. And it wants you to, too.

<snip>

I’ve never quite lost my amazement at this phenomenon, the suddenness with which the familiar vanishes and a new, better landscape appears. Time has partly buried my childhood memories of Buffalo’s mighty blizzard of 1977, but I still recall the hallucinogenic dislocation of the great drifts that climbed over houses, the spectacle of a world made thrillingly new. It’s a vision that seems freshly haunting now, as we face the dread prospect of a climate changed by human appetites — the future winters, soggy and snowless, that await us all. Before it’s too late, let us all now pause, perhaps over a six-pack, and bear witness as the climate changes us.

[longship]

1. What a great read!

Reminds me of Groundhog Day, and Phil's (Bill Murray) great speech:

When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter.

Indeed! Stay inside and roast marshmallows on the hearth. (You did remember to get them, didn't you?)

Hope everybody is well and warm.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Well ... most blizzards result in an uptick in births, nine months later.

So there's always *something* to do.

[Fuddnik]

3. I remember one nasty blizzard back in the '70s in Cleveland.

I was laid off from work. Girlfriend was out of town. Just me and the two dogs.

I remembered some mushrooms I had in the freezer for a special occasion. This was it.

Me and the dogs spent the day rolling around in the floor laughing at Mother Nature outside the window.

[Lucky Luciano]

5. Oh I had s similar adventure during the winter of 1993 in Binghamton NY.

Lots of utter craziness.

I will never forget dragging a sled two miles in the driving snow in "our condition" to the beer store that was miraculously open. We bought a keg and lugged it through freaking Antarcica up some brutal hills with 40 mph winds and blinding snow.

When we got to the dorms, we were the only ones with beer...it was crazy for so many other reasons that I could never explain.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

4. Beautifully written.

I enjoyed the blizzard of 78 in Boston. I literally couldn't get out the door so couldn't go to class. Boston was closed for a week. I'm glad I missed Lat winter there.

[LiberalElite]

6. If I had to spend one winter in Buffalo

I think I'd kill myself.