Yesterday was our second snow day and I was delighted. I enjoyed a nice, leisurely morning that didn't require me to suck down a cup of coffee at lightning speed and I was able to sit and listen to the local, early morning news. The latter was a mistake. It usually is.
What's the beef, you ask? Stupid people.
The two main ways out of our town is via two main bridges- the Ravenel and the Don Holt:
The keywords there are MAIN WAYS out of town. There are other ways that don't require crossing a bridge. But they take longer and would, God forbid, be an inconvenience to some people.
One of the big stories on our local news was that the "town of Mt. Pleasant was crippled Wednesday as icy conditions kept the two main arteries in and out of the town closed." Really? We were crippled? I don't think so. First, we have loads of local businesses that were open (we are not secluded nor do we depend on downtown Charleston for anything) and second, most people were just plain smart enough to stay at home. We aren't used to these conditions, so we stay off the roads.
But our mayor (newly elected) is not happy because having to close the bridges had a negative "economic impact" on our town. AND THERE IT IS. It's always about money around here. She claimed that billions of dollars in revenue were lost and that "even the Port was closed." (Which was fine with Eeyore, who works at the Port).
She doesn't mention how many lives were saved. Or if anyone suffered from the loss of power.
The mayor for downtown Charleston also expressed concern and is planning to meet with the DOT to see what can be done to prevent bridge closures in the future. Our mayor stated, "Unfortunately, we are not as equipped as we should be to deal with these emergencies."
What the hell are they talking about?
This is CHARLESTON, SC. We are a coastal area. We get snow about once every 4 to 5 years IF we're lucky. The icy stuff occurs with even less frequency. We just don't get the wintry weather. The bridges were opened, eventually. It's not like they stayed closed for a month. They didn't even stayed closed for a full 24 hours. Yesterday, the Ravenel bridge was closed again. But it reopened.
And the downtown mayor commented that "this relatively new bridge is causing so many headaches for his residents." What a typical political statement.
Here's the problem: the mayors think they are bigger than Mother Nature. And, in my opinion, if they don't stop it, God might take a notion to show them just how stupid they are to think they are more powerful than nature itself.
Here's the deal, mayors and people who complained about the closures: you are not bigger than nature. If a winter storm comes through packing freezing rain, sleet, snow and winds up to 15 MPH, THE BRIDGES ARE GOING TO FREEZE.
How do these people not know this? How can they honestly think that they can defeat Mother Nature?
Politicians. They're all the same- from the top down. Let's make the people think that we can stop nature from freezing bridges. And, while we're at it, since we ARE a coastal area, let's make people think we can stop hurricanes from coming to our towns too.
Right.
Our mayor, in conclusion, stated: "Obviously we need to keep those thoroughfares open at all costs."
Neither mayor can recall a time that "the Ravenel Bridge has been closed for as long as it has." That's a hoot. The bridge isn't even 10 years old. It's 8. Well, it will be 8 in July. We've had two winter weather events in that time. Neither was like what we had this week.
Not that I'm a fan of our DOT, but I believe they did a great job considering we have this type of weather every decade or so. They were ready and they got out there. When the biggest bridge has two inches of solid ice on it, everyone else can just get over it (see what I did there? LOL)
Here's an idea. If this ever happens again, I suggest the two mayors be sent out there to deal with the two and a half mile frozen bridge. And all the people who complained about the bridge closings can go with them.
Meanwhile, I spotted two future leaders of our town in my snow covered front yard late yesterday afternoon (middle school males). One decided he needed to turn some of my snow yellow ( if you get my meaning). They didn't hear me come out the front door but, when they saw me, the one zipped up faster than I have ever seen a male zip up. Shame he didn't catch it in that zipper.
Meanwhile, I spotted two future leaders of our town in my snow covered front yard late yesterday afternoon (middle school males). One decided he needed to turn some of my snow yellow ( if you get my meaning). They didn't hear me come out the front door but, when they saw me, the one zipped up faster than I have ever seen a male zip up. Shame he didn't catch it in that zipper.
Idiots.
Do people in your area act stupid like this?
