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DuckMan6699 t1_j5tksox wrote

Reply to comment by AlVic40117560_ in When was the last winter it didn’t snow? by Phl_worldwide

Why would you want a blizzard?

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CockercombeTuff t1_j5to654 wrote

I mean, once upon a time it meant a snow day and for some (I realize not for all*) a break from obligations and a moment to have fun without all the planning and cost of vacations, whether as a kid or a parent or just an adult temporarily jumping back into kid activities with friends.

It wasn’t even that long ago. I was off from work (law firm) a week in early Feb 2010 while living in DC because it was the third major snowstorm (2-3ft, blizzard conditions, etc) that season and the city budget for clearing the roads was kicked 😆. I wasn’t a lawyer, so I didn’t have a secure work laptop. My roommates and I had blast that week. Internet was down for part of it, we had a fireplace, and lived in a walkable area.

It’s great we’ve solved some issues caused by blizzards now, but the downside is that we’ve also eliminated the enjoyable side of the same coin.

*Especially for major metro/urban/suburban areas, there’s a job/obligation/expectation and class divide that is stark when a blizzard rolls through. Small towns, IME, are more forgiving of this, non-chain businesses might just close for the day, or used to. It makes me sad that we couldn’t have more truly collective, real holidays, even Thanksgiving is a bit poisoned by non-holiday demands.

Come to think of it, the stark class and job obligation divide that is on display during blizzards is in a similar way one of things that really made the COVID pandemic so painful and riddled with anger and frustration. People who were privileged enough to get “hygge” or pursue a new hobby or workout at home or whatever were often the same people demanding obligations and expectations from those that couldn’t.

Didn’t mean for a long comment, it just got me thinking.

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fritolazee t1_j5tpovk wrote

I love snow, shoveling, hot chocolate, feeling my nose go numb, the beauty of it fresh, the ugly of it dirty and half melted, all of it. Bring it!

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GruffWaffle835 t1_j5ttluq wrote

I'm with you! The world feels hushed and suspended in time for a brief moment. Everything looks magical. Winter is my favorite season and snow my favorite weather.

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CockercombeTuff t1_j5tzsuc wrote

You are spot on about the quiet and just overall busy-ness. It makes you truly recognize how "loud" the world is, the overwhelming signal to noise ratio (in favor of noise). Makes me miss running on country roads in the spring and fall (for college track/cross country).

Next spring, if the opportunity presents itself, try Wissahickon or Pennypack (or similar parks outside the city if that's where you are) after a good rain and the sun breaks out. I've gotten that feeling of quiet--at least from human created sound/noise--and suspended time at those moments.

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GruffWaffle835 t1_j5u7nys wrote

I'm in NW Philly and it's a goal of mine to make it to the Wissahickon when it's snowing sometime this year! I'll have to time it right so that the roads are safe to drive on and the snow is coming down heavy enough so that it's sticking but not so heavy that I'll have a hard time getting around. But I always experience that god-I'm-so-small sense of awe when I'm there and I'm sure the snow would only dial it up. I wouldn't be happy living in a rural environment year round, but the hushed quality of snow makes me appreciate the unique quality of stillness that you only get when it feels like there's no one else around.

As a small digression, I'm convinced that so many people hate winter only because our culture deemphasizes and devalues anything to do with slowing down. Winter should be a time of rest, recovery, taking stock, looking ahead. Of course people hate it when we're being forced to go go go at any costs when it feels so counterintuitive to this time of the year. (I mean, capitalism is still a problem in the summer; I just think that messaging makes winter in particular a difficult time to deal with.)

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CockercombeTuff t1_j5u9wi0 wrote

Yeah, this is the first year in a long while in which I have finished the holidays and felt a real sense of slowing down--or well, I did until I recently adopted a puppy. But the I feel the desire to just disconnect and hibernate--not entirely, since I am a very outgoing and active person, but relative to my baseline. All the years living in New Orleans were kind of exhausting, even for me. Halloween through like April/May was constant: the holidays, Mardi Gras season, St Patrick's/St Joe's, Mardi Gras Indians, Easter, French Quarter Fest, JazzFest, Bayou Boogaloo...crazy busy.

The summer was the downtime.

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LFKhael t1_j5u0xm0 wrote

I don't mean to channel a specific youtube channel, but god the "cities aren't loud, specific things in them are" rings so damn true if you stop for a minute and analyze the noise sources.

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CockercombeTuff t1_j5u7wau wrote

I mean, that is a bit of a pedantic point (I don't mean that as a personal attack). The full phrase would be "cities are loud places." The specific things are all human-created machines, processes, actions, etc., and cities have way more people and thus way more of these specific things. I don't get what point the youtube channel is getting at.

The specific things exist in my Jersey Shore hometown, but my current street in Philadelphia is way noisier right now in January than Ocean Ave, thus by extension, the city is a loud place, and the noise is constant. Even 3am is not exactly peaceful on my street.

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fritolazee t1_j5u02xh wrote

I lived in west philly during a big snow in 2010-11ish and I remember people had lights up in their street trees. It created a kind of tunnel of sorts made up of retainer walls from the old houses, snowdrifts, and the tree trunks/lit up tree canopy, which were also covered in snow. It was so magical to walk through at night. All this sloppy cold rain can bite me.

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Garwoodwould t1_j5tp4qo wrote

All snow means to me is... shoveling. And, l'd rather not. l don't care if it never snows again

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AlVic40117560_ t1_j5tl1cj wrote

For the snow? What do you mean?

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DuckMan6699 t1_j5tnjs1 wrote

Would you wish for a hurricane for the rain? Or a tornado for the wind? Blizzards kill people and generally fuck up everyone’s day

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dc122186 t1_j5tos08 wrote

Blizzards don't get bad enough here in Philly to kill people, especially now that work from home is so widespread, most people wouldn't even be travelling.

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DuckMan6699 t1_j5tpyp4 wrote

The blizzard of 96 killed 13 people in PA and caused $1b in damages in Philly. Any blizzard impedes the ability of ambulances and fire trucks to get where they need to, and many Philadelphians don’t have heat in their homes, or homes at all.

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dc122186 t1_j5tr481 wrote

2023 is a lot different than 1996 and to pretend that the situation would be the same is disingenuous

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DuckMan6699 t1_j5trpnr wrote

I’m not sure what is so different with respect to the city’s ability to respond to a natural disaster

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dc122186 t1_j5tsodi wrote

Police and fire budgets are training are much more substantial than they were almost 30 years ago. Forecasting is better so people will have more time to prepare. Much fewer people would venture onto the roads in order to get to work since work from home is so widespread, and the roads are where the majority of fatalities occur. I've lived in Philadelphia for my entire life and haven't had a power outage last longer than 15 minutes.

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DuckMan6699 t1_j5txez2 wrote

Those things may mitigate some danger but it’s ignorant to pretend they make blizzards completely safe. I’m not sure why people are defending the guy who said he wants a natural disaster to occur. Beyond the safety issues and monetary damage, major snowfalls are pains in the ass

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dc122186 t1_j5ty4nb wrote

Well, in true American tradition, they're not a pain in the ass for me so I love them

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AlVic40117560_ t1_j5u1wdj wrote

People die when it’s 70 and sunny too. I’ll be out playing in the snow while you’re inside making a Facebook post about the tragedy of a snowstorm. Not everything in life has to be terrible. You can choose to see the good in life.

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DuckMan6699 t1_j5u35vu wrote

Alright buddy keep living in your winter wonderland where it’s fine to wish for natural disasters. I hope nobody takes the parking spot you dig out

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AlVic40117560_ t1_j5u3g1b wrote

People take the spot I dig out all the time. I just dig out another. It happens. I’m not going to put a cone in the spot like a jackass. I’m usually out there helping my neighbors dig out there spots too, so it’s not like I’m only digging out one spot anyways.

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AlVic40117560_ t1_j5tp4y3 wrote

I don’t care for rain or wind that much. I do enjoy snow though!

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TiberiusCornelius t1_j5u765m wrote

I still like blizzards personally.

It's less fun now when you gotta be the one to shovel and still have responsibilities than when you were in school and got a day off. But I like snow, and it's always kind of neat going outside and there's just two feet of it right there.

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AKraiderfan t1_j5ujke5 wrote

because its fun.

Even as a parent(full day of minding my child), a full time employee(take time off to care for said child), and a homeowner with sidewalks to shovel, a pile of snow is still ultimately fun as hell.

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PassyunkHoagie t1_j5tq5ph wrote

If they don’t flip it at the counter, the next one is free!

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