Sideswipes —
Good morning, Netizens...
Dr. J. sent me a heads-up this morning in e-mail that another powerhouse Pacific Storm is about to march ashore in Seattle. Weather forecasters are talking high winds, sleet, snow, rain—you know, all the usual dire things. With a stinging windstorm expected to slam into the Puget Sound area Saturday afternoon, packing snow, freezing rain and gusts of up to 75 mph, utility officials were scrambling Friday to prepare crews to deal with the possibility of widespread power outages.
Shucks, folks, this isn't that bad is it? Well, here in Spokane, we are bracing for yet another snow storm. In the parlance of the Spokane Weather Bureau, 5 TO 9 INCHES OF SNOWFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SPOKANE AND COEUR D`ALENE AREAS. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED SUNDAY MORNING THEN AGAIN SUNDAY EVENING INTO SUNDAY NIGHT.
Gee, does this mean we are going to close City, State and Federal government for an unprecedented third business day on Monday? Sure, why not? Look at all the money maybe we're saving the taxpayers. I'm certain the City employees have a benefit package to cover being paid for such contingencies as snow emergencies, don't they? Most people I know have missed two days of work already, and it comes right out of their pockets, not the city's largess.
Yesterday, in the middle of the day, the Mayor of Coeur D'Alene announced that all city streets in that fair city had been plowed. I wonder how many miles of city streets (and engineers to measure them) Coeur D'Alene has compared to Spokane? That must be a mileage issue.
One delightful old wag told me yesterday they should be done with the side streets in Spokane maybe by Sunday night, excepting when it starts snowing Sunday, the city crews will probably stop all snow removal operations on residential streets, to put all their energies back into plowing the main thoroughfares.
I am a lineman for the county
And I drive the main roads...
Attribution: Jimmy Webb, 1968
I'd stick to the main roads so long as I can get there from here in Hillyard which ain't happening. (various expletives deleted) The Wag of Spokane.
Cross-train Mayor Queen Mary on a road grader. Put her in the saddle of one of those grand machines, along with all the other talking heads of City Hall, and we could have our city streets completely plowed too.
Dave