Snowmageddon: The Meltdown

Between the last two snow storms I had a few blissful hours of hurriedly running errands while roads were "clear" enough to hit the streets but before the next storm came rolling in.  I was focusing on the mess of traffic in front of me when I half-heard one of the announcers on WTOP talking about how important it was that we "keep things moving" before nightfall, even if that meant extending unusual courtesies.

Not an hour later I watched an amazing scene where a woman drove her car partway into traffic, blocking traffic and proceeded to get out of her car and yell at cars that were honking at her.  She actually started tapping on windows and gesturing wildly at the drivers.  Although I understand why -- we were in a parking lot and none of the cars on the main road were allowing those of us who needed to get OUT of the parking lot to get out -- they were just blocking our exit every time the light turned red.  It took 45 minutes after her lecture to the drivers until I got to make my lefthand turn, and then my forward movement was thwarted by a woman several cars ahead getting stuck.  Cars honked at her -- because that's a big help -- and as soon as they could swerve into the oncoming traffic lane (that's safe!), the cars drove around her.  I pulled up behind her and got out, as did the man in the car behind me (with the cars behind us honking) and together, with the help of my freshly purchased kitty litter, we provided enough traction to get her unstuck and on her way so the rest of us could move.

Tempers are flaring around the DC Metro area.  In my neighborhood it is about the condition of our roads, which are a shoddy combination of several-inches-thick ice, and potholes of melted slush, with some areas of slick ice.  At any point in the day you can ride down the street and suddenly encounter an abandoned car that blocks part or all of the road -- someone who got stuck and couldn't figure out a way to get unstuck.  It took my husband THREE HOURS to go five miles Saturday night, and over an hour of that was .9 miles straight down our street.

Some people are furious about how long the children have been out of school and are venting on public school system Facebook pages.  Believe me, it was no picnic in the JavaFamily household, but a bus got stuck on one of our streets the first day Fairfax County Public Schools went back into session -- I don't think it was safe to return any sooner and I'm not positive it's safe on all the streets in the county even now, despite the best efforts of FCPS to ensure the safety of students.  I'm glad MY child doesn't ride in a school bus -- I wouldn't let want him riding unseatbelted on these roads.  I don't think it's a coincidence VDOT suddenly appeared in the neighborhood the day after the school bus got stuck.

It's going to take a while for our lives to return to normal after these historic snowstorms.  All around me I hear the LOUD buzzing of chainsaws as fallen or dangerously leaning trees are being cut down.  I am sure that will continue after the snow melts and the soft ground makes more trees topple over.  We will see potholes in our streets.  Structural damage in buildings.  Flooding.  Traffic is still going to be awful for a while.

We're going to have to work together to keep things moving.  Extend some "unusual" courtesies.  Let someone into a lane.  If you see that people can't get across to turn left (AND IT IS SAFE), let them.  Yeah, gripe a little on Facebook, Twitter, and our blogs -- we gotta vent..  And yes, lodge legitimate complaints to the appropriate agencies when things aren't being handled correctly.  But let's try to be neighborly about this.  The snow should be the only thing melting down, not us.

This is an original DC Metro Moms post.  When she's not rescuing cars stuck on icy roads, J.J. Newby blogs as JavaMom on Caffeine And A Prayer - http://caffeineandaprayer.com Photo copyright J.J. Newby.