Winter Rant

Is there anyone who hasn't had enough of this winter yet? My niece Ashley recently wrote an essay contrasting Early Winter with its evil twin, Late Winter. She compared the delight and magic of the first snowfalls that arrive in early winter with the disdain and malaise of yet another late February snowfall. I'm pretty sure were all in the disdain phase right now.

A running joke in my family is that I like to consider Ground Hog day the unofficial first day of spring. My claim is that it never snows very much after Feb 2nd, and any snow that does fall melts right away. Many years this claim has held true. This year, I've had those words shoved down my throat with a snow shovel. I don't know exactly how many snowfalls we've endured this year, but I really can't take another.

With each new snowfall, out come the plows, and then out come the salt trucks. One of the effects of this repeated cycle of snowing/salting is the worsening condition of the roads. I'm sure I don't need to tell you about the potholes that are everywhere. 95th st, near Harlem is like driving on the cratered surface of the moon. Cicero avenue is strictly "drive at your own risk". I've seen potholes there that could swallow up your entire car like the house in Poltergeist. Even the local sidestreets are crumbling. Is there any silver lining to this pothole nightmare? I don't know about silver, but I'm guessing that there's plenty of green lining the pockets of Firestone, Goodyear, and Uniroyal for all the replacement tires, and front end re-alignments they're selling.

Here's a cheery thought. Imagine the lane closures and traffic delays we'll be facing this summer when all the street repairs begin. :(

Please let this winter be over. I promise never to make any false claims about the first day of spring again.