The Calm Before

It's Friday night, and all roads in the Nation's capital lead to the supermarkets, where the lines are as long as ever. And it's easy to figure out why ...

Tonight: Snow showers will give way to a steady, heavier snow overnight. Low 29F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph. Snow accumulating 5 to 8 inches.

Tomorrow: Snow will be heavy at times along with gusty winds. Cold. High 32F. Winds N at 20 to 30 mph. 8 to 12 inches of snow expected.

Tomorrow night: Snow along with gusty winds at times. Low 28F. Winds NNW at 20 to 30 mph. 2 to 4 inches of snow expected.

... which is why they're all stocking up on white bread and toilet paper.

Sal told me tonight that I didn't have any food in my place. Well, other than a freezer stuffed to the gills, enough homemade chicken soup to get through the weekend, and ten pounds of rice, she may be right. Little does she know, that nothing stops Chinese take-out from making its appointed rounds.

Everybody panics around here when there's so much as an inch of snow coming. And they drive like idiots on the roads. We've got people from all over the world here, including a bunch of cake-eaters from diplomatic missions, for countries where most people have never seen snow, much less learned how to ever drive in it. You say you're at a red light and nobody's coming the other way? No problem, just drive on through! And these are the lunatics who get immunity if there's an accident.

I never know why the electricity goes out as often as it does, especially over on the Maryland side. Montgomery County could be without lights for three or four days before they figure out, hey, this ain't business as usual here. As for Virginia, they must hold the power grid together with bailing wire, that's all I can imagine. But I've got a car with anti-lock brakes and skid control, the safest car I've ever owned. I've got places to go this weekend; not too many, but enough to have to be careful. All you do is allow more time than usual, drive slower than usual, allow more room than to stop than usual, and consider every move more carefully than usual.

That, and assume everybody else on the road is crazy as hell. You'll usually be right.

And I'll be alright as long as my high-speed internet is working.
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