Now that's what I'm talking about. D.C. needs to toughen up when it comes to the weather.
"As my children pointed out, in Chicago, school is never cancelled,'' Obama said to laughter among reporters and business leaders around him.
"In fact, my seven-year-old pointed out that you'd go outside for recess in weather like this..... You wouldn't even stay indoors. So it's -- I don't know. We're going to have to try to apply some flinty Chicago toughness to this town.''
- Current Location:where the tough people live
- Current Mood:
amused - Current Music:random office noises
Comments
In my office if you call in because you can't make it to work on days like this, you get teased and called a wimp.
But really I think its more the amount of snow that throws your city that amuses (and annoys) us. An inch and its almost panic mode. An inch here and its no big deal.
When our office first got email in the mid-90's, company emails would go out about the DC office closing early/being closed all the time. They finally had to do a separate distribution list because all the Chicago folks were pissed. The Chicago office NEVER closed.
After 2 1/2 straight months of it, though, I'm kind of done for this year. Ugh.
My parents (dad and stepmom) left this morning for a month in Florida. I do not relish the phone call I'll inevitably receive on Monday or Tuesday when we are supposed to get more flurries. "I'm outside in the pool." Yeah... thanks, dad. (At least I don't have to walk their dog in negative digits this year... They took him with.)
That's good. Because, your building doesn't allow pets, right? Having you do that is kind of unfair on a number of levels. I'm mean...I'd be all, "gee, dad, I might accidentally lose the dog in a snowbank one day--it's getting pretty deep. I'd try to find him but, you know, I make no promises."
>;-)
In the county where I work, they will close school because a few years ago, a high school student was killed while trying to get to school on an icy/slushy road. It only takes one....
In places like Chicago, where the majority of the school population is located geographically close to the school, has access to decent public transportation, or can walk, it's a whole different ball of wax than when you have geographically sprawling, suburban/rural districts where none of those factors are present.
In some ways, it's like comparing apples to oranges.....
(Although, as someone who heard the audio of that press conference, I *loved* the tone of it. They were all laughing...it was great!)
My grammar school was over a mile away and I had to walk down the middle of the street to get there on more than one occasion. And in high school I would have still had to walk either 7 blocks and take one bus or 4 blocks and take two buses. Both of which were the suburban line which meant they only came about once every 30 minutes. (Thankfully my friend's dad could take us before I got my car when I was 17.)
If I went to the Public high school it would have been worse because the closest high school was still not easy to get to. At least two different buses.
Plus, CPS has many magnet schools which means kids are bused to other areas of the city. Not the school a block away.
Several of our Suburbs have just as much sprawl. My cousin lives in a burb up north. There are several hills. Those hills become a mess during winter. I think school was canceled once for her. And it was only because cars were literally sliding down the road sideways because of the ice.
In some ways, it's like comparing apples to oranges.....
That is true. And I do make allowances, to an extent, for simply not owning the equipment to be able to handle the weather. It makes more of a difference here than we account for, a lot of the time.
But what makes me roll my eyes is, like comments on the story were saying, this is a place that generally gets a halfway decent snowstorm at least once a winter. It's not unheard of. But get half an inch on the ground, and people are looking up like 'what is this strange white stuff falling from the sky? I must consult the oracle for instructions on what to do!'
Although I will add one more thing -- DC, Maryland, VA, NC etc. rarely get snow/ice so they don't waste a bunch of money buying plows, salt, etc. There's no point in buying all that crap if you only need once or twice a year.
Its like everyone saying Obama was nuts when he told Al Rooker it was warm on Inauguration day. 25-30 degrees in January is warm for anyone used to living in Chicago.
My school district closed for two days a couple of weeks ago when it was considerably below zero because the school buses, which run on diesel, wouldn't start. But if the buses will run, the school is open.
CPS sort of expects to have massive absences on days like that. But for a lot of kids, school is the place where they get warm and get fed each day, so they remain open at all costs.
Still, I do love hearing of a Chicagoan amazed at the wimpiness of the rest of the world.
Still, I do love hearing of a Chicagoan amazed at the wimpiness of the rest of the world.
THAT was my favorite part. I'm looking forward to more of this.
Its going to be fun having a President from a big city... and our big city.
When's he going to start complaining about the lack of Illinois maple syrup?
If we're going that way, my two cents is that it's a little of both. There are good reasons for the differences === weather, geography, finance, etc. And it is also true that Chicagoans and others in the midwest are unfazed by harsh weather in a way that people in other areas just aren't.
Just like I wouldn't last a week in Florida. 8-)
My friend who now lives in AZ came home for Thanksgiving several years ago and said something like "I don't know how you people live like this" because we had a bad cold snap at the time.
I felt the same way when I had to go to Phoenix in August for a week.
Dry heat my ass. It was HOT. I was melting.
And of course, I'm sure there are quite a few Canadians who scoff at the Chicago folk when we complain about sixteen inches of snow or temperatures of ten below. :)
That's just wrong.