Severe Weather?

This past week, DC ground to a its typical wintertime as the city was coated with a few inches of the infamous “wintry mix” of snow, ice, and freezing rain that strikes fear into the hearts of the Capitol-area residents. My office, the federal government, and schools (if they bothered to open at all) closed early to ensure that everyone could be home before the roads got too slick. The government and offices opened late if at all the next day, and schools remained closed. The few inches of snow on the ground—2 inches? 3 inches?—hardly seemed sufficient to justify all of the hoopla. But, after surviving one winter in DC, I’ve begun to get used to chaos caused by just a little bit of snow.

Well, I thought I had gotten used to the fear. On Saturday night, four days after it had last snowed, I managed to get my car stuck in a parking space. Although the exact sequence of events is a bit embarrassing for someone who grew up driving in snow, it is sufficient to say that I overestimated the abilities of my car on ice and found myself in need of the services of a tow truck. I called for assistance, and a tow truck arrived 5 hours and 15 minutes later. And why did it take so long? The severe weather, of course.