SnoZilla

OhBoyOhBoyOhBoy! I love it when a story ambles up, plops itself into my lap and says, "Howdy!"

The blizzard came pretty much exactly when they said it would. I have experienced every blizzard here since the one in 1967, so I was prepared and saw this as an adventure. I don't live in Chicago. I live in the suburbs that normally get socked by stormy weather long before the city. I left work early in anticipation, just as the storm was taking a deep breath before the blow. Although the blizzard had not really revealed itself in Chicago, it was showing its fury as I drove out of town. SnoZilla had already started to eat my town when I arrived. Nevertheless, I stopped at the grocery store to buy the makings for baking bread. I wanted that warm, comfy, cozy feeling of chaos outside, but comfort within.

It was a wonderful adventure. I went out during the blizzard and took pictures and movies. They didn't come out all that well due to the blowing snow, but it was still an awe-inspiring adventure. As the snow fell, it was swirled around in the fierce wind so that it looked like it was coming from all directions to form mini tornadoes. It reminded me of the Tasmanian devil that was sometimes featured in Bugs Bunny cartoons. No one was out there other than me. (Well, once in a while a car that had straggled through the traffic drove by on the way to its home.) I loved it! Snow was piled up four feet high on my deck and about 5 feet high in my driveway. I live in a condo, so I didn't worry about that. The company hired by our association would take care of that.

I was very lucky to be snuggled in my home, missing the disasters that held other people hostage. Like I said, I don't live in Chicago, but I used to. The story of the people stranded and stuck on Lake Shore Drive was unnerving. Lake Shore drive is a winding major artery in Chicago that runs north and south very close to Lake Michigan. Because the Mayor of Chicago wanted flowers and plants along the center median, there are no cutaway breaks to escape and maneuver into the opposite lanes. It is a major thoroughfare for people who work in downtown Chicago.

Waves of up to 30 feet were predicted by some weathercasters for that drive. However, local weathercasters said that there was not much chance of that since the perimeter of the lake was frozen. There were people stranded on that road for hours and hours. Many people ran out of gas and had to sit with people in other cars to keep from freezing to death. They had no idea what to do. As the blizzard continued, huge drifts covered their cars, assuring that they would not be going anywhere. There was no helpful information on the radio for those people. There was no information shared from the city to the radio traffic announcers. How do I know all this, you ask. Well, I listened to the radio all night, hearing the stories people related via cell phone.

Trucks came to rescue people, then disappeared. Citizens with all-terrain vehicles came to help. Finally, troopers on snowmobiles came to rescue people. The city paid to rent those snowmobiles. Many of the hundreds of cars abandoned on Lake Shore Drive were towed to undocumented locations; side streets, lots, etc. Several people had to spend one or two days looking for their cars because no one knew where they had been placed.

Some people call those Lake Shore Drive people stupid, but I don't agree. I listened to extensive coverage of that event and one thing I kept hearing was that the traffic reporters all said that traffic was moving; Moving slowly, as one would expect, but moving. None of the traffic reports revealed that the Drive was at a standstill because of three consecutive accidents. I have noticed here that the traffic reports seem to be about a half-hour behind the actual events. Why is it that we have the technology to have red-light cameras and speeding monitors to fleece people out of their money, but we can't provide up-to-the-minute traffic reports?