The Great Snowstorm of Winter '06 - Hyperbole Much?

Written on 3:46 PM by Jack B.

Every year in New York, at least once every Winter, we get a massive snowstorm. And by massive I mean, a foot or more of snow. Sometimes we get it twice a year but usually it all comes down in one big shot. This year it came last weekend. From Saturday to Sunday morning, the city was basically shut down as the snow fell and fell. I had made plans for that Saturday myself and had to scuttle them, staying indoors, watching TV and eating junk food. But the strange thing about this particular snowstorm was the news coverage it received. If you went by the news reports this is the worst we’ve been hit ever with the greatest number of inches of snow in recent memory.

I take a bit of exception to that though. By the standards of our usual snowstorms, this wasn’t much of anything. When I went out on Monday, it wasn’t that cold (and believe me, it can get COLD here in February), it wasn’t that windy, and the sidewalks weren’t even that slippery from the snow having turned to ice. Two years ago I slipped onto my behind (embarrassing, as heck) twice just because of the ice. Last year my mother slipped right in front of her OWN HOME and fell on her face into the concrete (and hey, my Mom’s not exactly some young chick anymore, you know). She was OK, thank god, though she ended up with a bloody nose and black eye, but it just goes to prove the difference between a real snowstorm and what happened this week. Sure we had a lot of snow. If I was 10 years younger I would have gone and built a snowman (or attempted one at least) or built a mound for sledding but I’m not that childish (or stupid –you know how easy it is to get a cold building snowmen?) anymore. In which case lots of snow is just basically a hassle getting to work/school/whatever. Trains are delayed, buses are late, traffic is even worse than usual.

But this week? It wasn’t too bad getting where I had to go and I did it with zero injuries to my body and without getting a cold and without having to wear a zillion layers of clothes...and that is proof enough that despite what some may have said...New York City has had worse.