Northern Snobbery
Recently, we had a snowstorm here in North Carolina, and the schools (and just about everything else) closed down for about 4 days. Learning this, of course every person I know up North immediately scoffed long and loud about how ridiculous it was that we were so affected by a storm that only amounted to a maximum of six inches of snow.
I used to be among these chortling hordes, but then I moved down South, and I understand now why everything closes. I don't fault it, I actually enjoy it.
First, NC cannot handle snow or ice of any measure because we just don't have the equipment to handle it. We have loads of roads, and not nearly enough plows and salt trucks to clear everything. The best we can accomplish is to keep the major roads as clear as we can, but anyone living in a subdivision, which is most folks, doesn't really venture out since the streets remain unplowed and untreated.
My Northern friends might feel tempted to look down their noses at the country-bumpkin hicks who can't get it together to clear their own roads. However, I have to point out that North Carolina sees snowy or icy weather perhaps once a year at best, and once every three years on average. It would be a huge waste of taxpayer funds to purchase, house, and maintain all the equipment needed for road-clearing when it would only be used once in a blue moon.
As well as this is the factor of experience. Drivers here obviously do not have the experience which would make it safer to drive on snowy or icy roads. As a result, whenever it snows, it is an iceskating rink of drunken-looking metallic projectiles with petrified and helpless Southerners uselessly at the wheel.
Northerners can scoff all they want, but I challenge them to come down here and drive on our roads during or after a storm. They may certainly be able to handle their vehicles on roads that have not been salted or plowed, but I guarantee that they will be shocked and horrified to realize that their safety is still in jeopardy becasue Jed, in his huge pickup truck, is hurtling sideways in the oncoming lane, utterly unable to affect his rate or direction of travel. The haughty Northerner can take his high and mighty attitude to the insurance company to get a check for the total loss his car will be - not by his own inability, but by his own ignorance of the reality of life in the South.
When it snows here, no matter if you are from Raleigh or Buffalo, you simply stay indoors and relax by the fireplace, waiting it out. School will be cancelled, and most businesses would never require someone to come in, so you just lie back and enjoy your time off. Besides, the stuff will have melted in a few days anyway. Sit back, have a sweet tea, and shut up.
I used to be among these chortling hordes, but then I moved down South, and I understand now why everything closes. I don't fault it, I actually enjoy it.
First, NC cannot handle snow or ice of any measure because we just don't have the equipment to handle it. We have loads of roads, and not nearly enough plows and salt trucks to clear everything. The best we can accomplish is to keep the major roads as clear as we can, but anyone living in a subdivision, which is most folks, doesn't really venture out since the streets remain unplowed and untreated.
My Northern friends might feel tempted to look down their noses at the country-bumpkin hicks who can't get it together to clear their own roads. However, I have to point out that North Carolina sees snowy or icy weather perhaps once a year at best, and once every three years on average. It would be a huge waste of taxpayer funds to purchase, house, and maintain all the equipment needed for road-clearing when it would only be used once in a blue moon.
As well as this is the factor of experience. Drivers here obviously do not have the experience which would make it safer to drive on snowy or icy roads. As a result, whenever it snows, it is an iceskating rink of drunken-looking metallic projectiles with petrified and helpless Southerners uselessly at the wheel.
Northerners can scoff all they want, but I challenge them to come down here and drive on our roads during or after a storm. They may certainly be able to handle their vehicles on roads that have not been salted or plowed, but I guarantee that they will be shocked and horrified to realize that their safety is still in jeopardy becasue Jed, in his huge pickup truck, is hurtling sideways in the oncoming lane, utterly unable to affect his rate or direction of travel. The haughty Northerner can take his high and mighty attitude to the insurance company to get a check for the total loss his car will be - not by his own inability, but by his own ignorance of the reality of life in the South.
When it snows here, no matter if you are from Raleigh or Buffalo, you simply stay indoors and relax by the fireplace, waiting it out. School will be cancelled, and most businesses would never require someone to come in, so you just lie back and enjoy your time off. Besides, the stuff will have melted in a few days anyway. Sit back, have a sweet tea, and shut up.
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