Hustle and Snow

Did you hear President Obama yesterday complaining that his daughters’ school was closed because of the snow and ice in DC? And that in Chicago the schools hardly ever closed for snow? And that the kids would still go outside for recess in the snow?

I grew up in the Deep South where a single snowflake would cause a run on milk, bread, and toilet paper. But I have to agree with the President about this school closure thing. My kids’ schools were closed yesterday. My husband decided to leave the 4X4 SUV with me. Being a thoughtful wife who really didn’t want to be home alone with kids on an ice day, I drove him to his office.

The roads were wet for the most part. Some of the side roads were still icy or slushy depending on how much traffic they’d already seen. The real obstacle was the pedestrians (again with a blog about pedestrians?) walking in the streets. Why were they walking in the streets? Because hardly anyone had shoveled or scraped their sidewalks.

If people would take the time to clear their sidewalks, pedestrians could walk safely on the sidewalks and cars could drive more safely on the streets. Then, perhaps, schools would have been able to have only a two-hour delay rather than a snow (and ice) day.

Oh, by the way, the President’s girls go to a private school in Washington. DC public schools opened two-hours late yesterday.