Takes on Flakes

I fell back asleep this morning and when I woke up again it was snowing. I’ve never outgrown that childhood feeling that snow is innately magical. I’m happy to pull open the curtains and just watch.

I feel obliged to call attention to a weather-related advert on social media that makes no sense to me. I’m not going to name the business because that strikes me as mean-spirited, but, I’m not sure they thought this one through.

Don't brave the bad road conditions.  Order your favorite items online from Doordash.

That’s not how this works. If the road conditions are bad, they aren’t going to be any better for Door Dash drivers. Either you got your snow snacks before it all started or you’re going to need to lay low until it’s safe to go out again. I understand that local businesses need revenue but this borders on the unsafe.

Speaking of bordering on the unsafe, why is the Baltimore Sun running an article about the best foods to bring to Super Bowl parties? 

Is it possible that the Food Section is unaware of the news reports in other parts of the paper that plead with local residents to stay home and prevent the further spread of the coronavirus? The current expression may be “read the room” but I’d suggest “read your own newspaper” would also be appropriate here. 

One last snow-related story this morning. This piece came up in my Twitter feed:

Why cities, not individuals, should clear snow from sidewalks

I realize that this story* dates from 2019, but it reminded me of a post I wrote about the importance of sidewalks. (“The Big Drawback”) Most of the pushback I got on that piece came from people objecting to the burden that the responsibility of snow removal placed on individual residents. Do you think that there’d be less resistance to sidewalks if the clearing of snow shifted to a government function? 

My opinion on snow shoveling may be of limited value as I have not done all that much in my adult life, due to a bad back. So I’m definitely open to yours. Where we live now snow removal is a part of what we pay for in our HOA fees, and I am mightily grateful for that.

Enjoy the snow. Enjoy your day. Be safe. 

* I note that there’s also a reference to the Complete Streets movement in this piece.