Looks like we’re finally going to get slammed by a winter storm up here in Canada, where everyone else in the world already thinks we live in igloos and drive dog sleds. Ok, almost everyone. I know my readers are far better educated than that ;)
Truth is, last year we hardly got any snow in Toronto, and this year we’re having a pretty average winter by all accounts. Most of us aren’t worried about the white stuff headed our way. We’re more worried about the people who lose their minds when they see anything other than dry conditions on the road, and drive like complete idiots. I can’t stand bad drivers at the best of times, but weather like we’re about to encounter seems to bring them out en masse. I grew up in Calgary (Alberta… Western Canada for those who don’t know where that is), and when you learn to drive in a place that has black ice on the road 6 months out of the year (potentially), square-tire syndrome from the extreme cold freezing the rubber on your car, and unpredictable weather otherwise… you learn how to drive. Actually, you learn how to drive really well. Or you die, which is pretty much survival of the fittest if you ask me. I can’t see myself ever stepping foot voluntarily back in cow town Calgary, but I do appreciate that the place taught me how to drive.
When I got to Ontario, it was a cake-walk when winter hit. As good a driver as I was even as a teen, I got that much better once I was hired at Air Canada in my early 20s and trained to drive all manner of interesting vehicles, including 72 Ton “Pay movers” (tractors that tow and push back aircraft). I really enjoyed my time there, and not only because I was only one of about 12 women at the time and worked with about a 1000 men… ok, I lie. It was mostly for that reason, and the fun we used to have back then! Met my husband there, and really had some good times, with good people.
I digress.
The coming storm will dump about 30cm (about a foot) on us, and unfortunately, that will probably be enough to bring things to a screeching halt for a day or so. It’s really not that much in the grand scheme of things. People in the states have been hit far worse, and places further up north in Ontario have had 5x that over the past couple of weeks…
I just really hope the dummies stay home, and wait it out. When you’re that nervous or stupidly cocky and hit the roads in conditions you can’t handle, you make it a war zone for everyone else.
It’s sure to be a snow day – the first in a loooooong time – for the kids tomorrow. I think we’re going to have fun in the back yard and make one of those igloos I mentioned before!
