Webbready

Snow fell yesterday, then rain pelted the ground last night in a relentless march. Drizzle turned to ice upon contact with the cold ground and covered concrete with a shiny glaze. Then after this cold bath, white flakes fell like dandruff onto the earth’s new, icy flesh, forming another layer of skin around its surface. This armor of frozen water trapped people in their homes, and made traffic, the life blood of the city, instantly freeze in a solemn chill. Winter has shown her icy face in all its glory, and our bodies tremble in frigid fear at her wrath.

Despite this, when all is said and done, we in Pittsburgh were spared some of the worst effects of the latest reminder of this season. The freezing rain made a nightmarish commute for today, of course, especially since many who had abstained from venturing to their workplaces yesterday forced themselves to go to work today out of need rather than greed, despite the conditions that turned roads into skating rinks. Yet some cities received over a foot of snow in the span of one day, and its residents were to plow through the snow to continue their daily regimen. Also, the spectre of the Blizzard of 1993 remains in the collective memory of this city, when schools were closed for days on end and the snow on the ground extended well past my knee. In perspective, this mix of precipitation and cold was more notable for the lack of this precise mixture in recent winters, rather than any unique features of this snowfall.

Of course, it’s easy to say it isn’t bad when you’re at home or in an environment which has been heated to a comforatable temperature. As I passed an accident on my way to work today, I looked at the traffic that waited behind the obstruction. Not only were any victims or actors in the accident affected, but a multitude of people who wanted nothing more than to get to their destination. Some of the people waiting may have been running late and chided themselves for not leaving earlier. Instead, I prefer to cope by applying illogical and fallacious thoughts to the situation.

Accidents are very common; had the impatient person in traffic left five minutes earlier, he or she may have been in the accident he or she is complaining about. Furthermore, the existence of this accident makes it less likely that those in stuck traffic will suffer the same fate that day. If there’s a 1/100 chance of being in a car accident, then 99 cars will be exempt from being in an accident. It’s far more likely that the impatient person will be one of the 99 cars than one of the next 100. Also people will temproarily drive more carefully after seeing the accident, which makes not only the 99 cars safe but any of those within a certain range of the accident immune from harm. Seeing an accident is not good, but it should make one feel safer, because if it happened the careful driver, by the “law of numbers” it can’t happen to someone in the middle of a traffic jam.

Of course, I know that much of what I wrote above is both illogical and untrue. However, it can be comforting to think about an accident involving parties I don’t know in this fashion, instead of viewing a wreck as a commuting obstacle to overcome.