I enjoyed reading the recent article in the New York Times titled, "And Then, in a Grimy Squish, Came the Slush," by Michael Wilson. I loved the line, "Slush, The great equalizer." That's so true, though I had never thought about it before. "No one gets a slush day from work. Pretty people get just as wet as the rest. The newest iPad on the block does not help its user against slush. The expensive shoe sinks with the same squishy splash as the humble loafer, the grimace of its owner all the more dazzling with its whitened teeth. An ode, then, to slush, with its ugly little name." I love good writing!......Yes, I was in the city today, having brunch and I can tell you I dealt with slushy, muddy street corners and intersections that were a challenge to navigate.
The blizzard that arrived with full force on the day after Christmas, as most people know, caused quite a disruption in New York City and the surrounding areas. The night of the storm I couldn't sleep. I can't remember any blizzard I ever experienced, in my lifetime, that was accompanied by such high winds. It had hurricane force winds. I like to watch storms, they fascinate me, but watching the large trees bending back and forth and listening to the howling winds was unnerving. My cousins called from Marine Park, Brooklyn after the storm to complain that Brooklyn was a mess and there were no snow plows for days on side streets, all the stuff that was reported in the news, that made people irate. Over 400 buses were stuck in the snow and over 100 ambulances in the city, it was a nightmarish scenario. Let's hope this never happens again. I guess the investigations that will take place will help to prevent future failures of this sort, because it seems a lot went wrong.
A few months ago I wrote a blog about severe weather being the new norm, ("Freak Storms the New Norm?"). That wasn't my opinion, it was the prediction of some scientists who believe that because of global warming, we will experience more ferocious and unpredictable weather on planet Earth. Hope it's not the case, but it seems like there might be some truth to it. At least that's how I felt as I watched and experienced firsthand the storm's wrath bearing down. Of course, there are many scientists who don't believe global warming is happening at all. I wonder how many signs they will have to see, before they change their minds. Perhaps they never will. I wonder what they think about the catastrophe unfolding in parts of Australia with epic "biblical flooding" threatening cities and the Australian people. Or what happened in Russia this past summer when record heat caused drought and massive wildfires, with loss of life and homes?
I wanted to start off the new year with an upbeat, positive blog but that did not happen. Oh well, I hope and pray that "all will be well," and it will be a great new year for all. We need prayer and God more than ever. That's my humble opinion.
NJA
In many ways, it is a disaster of biblical proportions. (Andrew Fraser-Queensland, Australian Treasurer)
