Beautiful, Quiet, Snow

It's snowing pretty heavily here, at least by New York standards. I've just taken 2 pictures which I think are quite pretty, but before I show them I have to note this:

New York City is pathetic.

It's not like they've never had snow before - yet, every time it comes, they panic and shut down the city.

I was in Cleveland last week, and was very quick to notice how they plowed the streets after a quick drop of about 8 inches of snow: With brains! In Cleveland, they sent 3 plows together, the first one in the middle of the road pushing snow to its right; the second about 15 feet behind and 5 feet further right, doing the same; and the third another 15 feet back at the right edge of the road, pushing the snow up off the streets. This actually removes the snow from the streets, which is the whole point of having a snowplow plow snow on streets!! And oh yes - the plows are quickly followed by salt trucks, also spaced out, which drop salt evenly across the pavement. No, not all in one spot every 20 feet or so, but rather, all over the ground.

Contrast this with New York City: In New York, the city sends out lots of snowplows, which proceed to drive right up the middle of the road. This accomplishes a great deal, pushing snow not off the road at all, but only succeeding in helping to trap any parked cars in an extra layer of wet snow that then freezes into ice. Brilliant. The city then sends out salt trucks which create nice little round patterns of pavement in between 20-foot patches of ice. Even more brilliant.

There is a very good side, however: The entire city of New York is shut down. It's peaceful, it's quiet, and the snow covers up the nasty gray feel the city has most of the year. [Though it was incredibly obnoxious that someone had the front door buzzer of their building held down for about an hour. How inconsiderate can you be?!] Have you ever been to Central Park in the snow? It's such an escape from the typical NYC feel... Serach & I went there on our third date for a few hours, just walking around or sitting down on a bench and talking. (Followed by Starbucks, of course... :) )

Anyways, here are a couple of pictures from my apartment window. Notice the nice, even, pretty snow. I like the second picture, which - because of the angle - captured a nice reflection of my own apartment superimposed on the front entrance of the building. Combined, they give me that 'fireplace' feel - know what I mean?Enjoy the peace and quiet! I know I am.

Technorati tags: NYC, Snow, Pictures.