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Not the Enemy
Jan. 10th, 2008 09:06 pmContrary to the popular belief of many people who live in the Lower Mainland, snow is not the creation of some kind of demon. Every time it falls, even if the accumulation is only an inch, the whining and complaining begins; everyone seems to think that their schedules will suddenly be ruined, the cities will shut down, and, oh no! It's cold and we're all going to freeze, or something.
The only one of these complaints I can, in good heart, agree with is the last. Yes, it's a little cold when it snows out, due to the whole water freezing at zero degrees thing. As it turns out, we live in Canada - north of the 49th parallel, just about all of it - and temperatures throughout most of the country drop well below freezing in the winter. The people of Vancouver should be more grateful that it gets as little of the cold as it does. Besides, a cold snowy day is infinitely more pleasurable than a cold rainy day, which the Mainland sees more of. Snow doesn't seep into your clothes the same way that rain does - rain soaks in, and really makes you chilly and miserable. Snow doesn't soak until it starts to melt, which is usually when you go inside and already have the option of getting warmer, faster.
But, ah, then there's the issue of transportation to worry about. People cannot seem to go anywhere when the snow starts falling, by any means. It's all slippery and cold outside on foot. In a vehicle, well, that's just asking for trouble. Brakes don't work like they should any more - you can't slam them on five feet from the intersection and expect to stop! Then there's all the lovely folk who don't know how to avoid ditches, or who can't grasp the notion of winter tires as much as their summer tires cannot grasp the snow-covered asphalt. How dare the weather inconvenience people so! There's suddenly no way to get to work, or school, or anywhere important. None, at all. If we get more than an inch - half a foot, perhaps - the cities grind to a halt.
Let's just ignore the fact that the rest of the country goes about their daily business in actual snowstorms. We get six inches of snow, and no one moves. A little town in Newfoundland gets four feet, and the people go about their business like usual - after the plows go around, everyone goes to work, the kids get shipped off to school, and the flea markets resume business and get just as many customers as they'd have had without the snow on the ground. Taking caution and slowing down when on the slippery stuff makes the commute much more bearable.
If only people in the Mainland would sit back and slow down a little, they'd quickly find out that snow is not such a huge problem. Most people can agree that it makes the landscape very pretty. There's always snowmen to be made, too, even out of a puny six inches of the stuff. And who doesn't like to relax with a cup of cocoa or coffee or what-have-you after having been out in it? The drive in to work might take fifteen minutes longer, but that isn't a huge span of time by any means. With just a little shift in perception, I believe many people could come to enjoy it just as much as I do. At the least, they might not complain and panic so much, which would be much more enjoyable for me.
The only one of these complaints I can, in good heart, agree with is the last. Yes, it's a little cold when it snows out, due to the whole water freezing at zero degrees thing. As it turns out, we live in Canada - north of the 49th parallel, just about all of it - and temperatures throughout most of the country drop well below freezing in the winter. The people of Vancouver should be more grateful that it gets as little of the cold as it does. Besides, a cold snowy day is infinitely more pleasurable than a cold rainy day, which the Mainland sees more of. Snow doesn't seep into your clothes the same way that rain does - rain soaks in, and really makes you chilly and miserable. Snow doesn't soak until it starts to melt, which is usually when you go inside and already have the option of getting warmer, faster.
But, ah, then there's the issue of transportation to worry about. People cannot seem to go anywhere when the snow starts falling, by any means. It's all slippery and cold outside on foot. In a vehicle, well, that's just asking for trouble. Brakes don't work like they should any more - you can't slam them on five feet from the intersection and expect to stop! Then there's all the lovely folk who don't know how to avoid ditches, or who can't grasp the notion of winter tires as much as their summer tires cannot grasp the snow-covered asphalt. How dare the weather inconvenience people so! There's suddenly no way to get to work, or school, or anywhere important. None, at all. If we get more than an inch - half a foot, perhaps - the cities grind to a halt.
Let's just ignore the fact that the rest of the country goes about their daily business in actual snowstorms. We get six inches of snow, and no one moves. A little town in Newfoundland gets four feet, and the people go about their business like usual - after the plows go around, everyone goes to work, the kids get shipped off to school, and the flea markets resume business and get just as many customers as they'd have had without the snow on the ground. Taking caution and slowing down when on the slippery stuff makes the commute much more bearable.
If only people in the Mainland would sit back and slow down a little, they'd quickly find out that snow is not such a huge problem. Most people can agree that it makes the landscape very pretty. There's always snowmen to be made, too, even out of a puny six inches of the stuff. And who doesn't like to relax with a cup of cocoa or coffee or what-have-you after having been out in it? The drive in to work might take fifteen minutes longer, but that isn't a huge span of time by any means. With just a little shift in perception, I believe many people could come to enjoy it just as much as I do. At the least, they might not complain and panic so much, which would be much more enjoyable for me.
