There is an actual blizzard going on outside. A real live, whole city closed down, I’ll-remember-this-forever-because-I’ve-shoveled-so-friggin-much Blizzard. After being sent home from work, being pushed out of the parking lot, and the above-mentioned shoveling, I came inside and opened the curtains for the first time since I discovered our house is a human fishbowl (I won’t tell you about the after shower incident). To my delight, the sideways snow spray had deposited a sort of shield on our windows, a very pretty one, so I could both admire the natural wonder AND have some privacy. (When I have some money maybe I’ll invest in those 2-way mirror windows…or is that creepy?… No I think peeping strangers are more creepy).
At home the sound track is different from the normal daily drone of the not-so-distant freeway. From inside there is a combination of muted but distinctive sounds - snow blowers whining, tires spinning, diesel engines revving, then beeping, revving, then beeping, and the occasional unfortunate siren.
My friend saw a SNOW PLOW get stuck today. Yes, one of the big garbage truck ones. The police had to come dig it out. The storm has been so persistent that in some nearby counties, they simply gave up, took the plows off the roads, and declared them “Impassable.” When I heard that I suddenly felt cooler, as if I lived out west where the Outdoors are somehow bigger so people actually respect them more. Today in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mother Nature has literally thrown a blanket on the city and made everybody Go Home and Stay There.
