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.
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