Chicago
February 2nd, 2011
Phred Tells World: Stop Bitching About the Snow
In the days leading up to the blizzard we’re all enjoying in Chicago at the moment, it was easy to tell who grew up in the area and who didn’t. The latter group was going nuts about the storm long before it hit, treating like an end-of-the-world event and obsessing over an event over which they had no control. People who grew up here have seen blizzards before and know you do what the weather allows and deal with everything else. They know it’s not an ideal situation, but also know that freaking out is pretty stupid.
Yesterday, the storm hit. Smart people who had the ability to do so went home in the early afternoon. Most seemed to take it pretty well, although I’m still shocked by the assholes on my train who actually refused to move all the way into the car, forcing some people to wait 10 minutes or so for the next train.
Last night around 7:00, I took Phred out for a walk because, well, dogs have to be walked regardless of the weather. I won’t lie – the wind last night sucked and made my forehead hurt. This morning, the dog was once again ready to go out. I put on my snow pants for the first time in a few years and we headed out.
Fred and I were in agreement that the only appropriate response at this point was to say, “What the fuck?” But I knew he wanted to go to the bathroom and all it took was me saying “Go” for Phred to plow ahead.
There were some places where a person or two had walked, creating something resembling a path and while Phred favored those areas initially, he soon dove into the deeper snow.
The only problem with fetch today was he periodically had trouble finding the stick when it landed on an angle and ended up buried deep in the snow. At least it seemed like a problem to me. To Phred, not so much.
While we were out, the snowfall began anew.
What was amazing was that there were a few people outside digging out their cars. There are three possible reasons for this. 1) They have incredibly important things to do. 2) Their bosses are shitty human beings. 3) They are colossally stupid. Whatever the reason, as this abandoned car shows, driving today is not a good idea.
I was actually fairly warm and entirely dry thanks to the aforementioned snow pants, but I was ready to go back inside after 20 minutes or so. Fred, on the other hand, was completely unaffected.
So I decided to put his energy to use. We played some fetch in our courtyard which allowed Phred to have his fun and create a bit of a path for people to walk on.
April 12th, 2010
The State of Chicago
Local elected officials and local news media are apparently in an unknown competition to prove who can more completely embody ignorance.