On the drive home today, 680 News was on to affirm the obvious: snow was falling, roads were clogged, and people weren't reacting well. But while I did read the weather forecast in advance (0 degrees feeling like -7 with the wind chill, strong winds, and "few flurries" amounting to 1-3cm over 24 hours), the intensity of the snow fall did catch me by surprise.
In cheesy sci-fi movies, when they want to indicate super fast travel through space, the stars whiz at you and by you, making it actually seem as though they're rushing off to points beyond and you're the one standing still (also, in those scenes, how does the traveler never get hit by stars? I've always wondered how the path can be so perfect as to avoid each and every star, especially when speeding so quickly).
Anyway, that's what the snow looked like tonight, teeming flakes on a direct collision course with every windshield. We were only traveling about 40-ish kmh, but it still seemed like an interstellar journey to me.
What really amazed me, though, was the sheer number of drivers who were taking risks and chances, the kind that even I- queen and absolute ruler of impulsivity and daring- wouldn't take. There were cars topping 80, 90 kmh, switching lanes like they were playing Hot Potato with the roads. There were cars putting on their hazards well, well in advance of the snarl. There were transport trucks tailgating and GO buses racing, and there was even one car passing others on the snow-covered shoulder. (What?)
But one thing that impressed me was how many drivers used their signal lights. It was almost like the snow had a magical effect on them, causing them to spontaneously and in unison realize, "Oh golly, something actually happens when I move this bar! Blinking lights! Ooh, fancy."
Alas, the spell will probably have also lifted by tomorrow morning, or at the precise moment the snow has melted.
No comments:
Post a Comment