I don't know, we don't get a lot of illegal day-laborers from Spain around here.

While living in San Antonio, I found it hilarious that the city was paralyzed with even major highways being closed after just a couple inches of snowfall. Having learned to drive in the upper Midwest, I had traveled in worse conditions on motorcycle.

are you sure she wasn't just assuming their driving was bad because they had to change gear with the stick?

I saw that in Charlotte, NC, too. Less than 1.5 inches and all the resources in the county were busy trying to keep I-95 moving, so the rest of the roads weren't plowed and sanded which caused everyone to stay home. I was scratching my head as to why they would plow 1.5 inches. :crazy:

We were working at a plant that employed maybe 250 people, and when we got there(in our rentals with regular tires), it was us and a handful of managers. Now granted, there were probably some helping the old lady next door, taking care of business, or just sledding with the kids. But talking to them later, quite a few admitted snow scared them.

When it's a stick shift, you don't pronounce it "mon-well." :)

Oh, goody. More snow this weekend.

I shall be in a mountain cabin this weekend. Fireplace, warm and toasty, good food, no TV, with books and games. Might do some gun shootin' (not AT any live things) and some hiking.

Not a romantic getaway, going to my brother and sissy law's nice cabin in southern Ohio. So, they're really more hills than mountains. When does a hill become a mountain? 'Cause they're some big ass hills.

That's awesome. Have fun.

I know of a mountain that's about 112 feet tall. It's all in the name. You name it a mountain, and then it's a mountain.

And I'm driving in it.

Outside Allentown right now, heading into Bayonne for a 0530 appt, then off to Moosic to pick up a load from a driver who is too scared to move, let alone drive to Louisville, KY.

Sigh.

I thought you were done truck driving?

I was actually thinking about you last weekend when we did a quick trip up to Scranton and back the next day. More driving than I normally do, and the weather was bad too, but just another day for a trucker.

It's all about the infrastructure. Places that get tons of snow regularly are prepared for it. When I lived in mid-northern Ontario, we had 12" snowfalls overnight constantly. It didn't matter, because the region had snowplows and salt ready 24/7, working 24/7. Everyone put snow tires on in the fall and everyone had chains they could ADD to the snow tires. Nothing ever closed.

But consider a location that has mild winters and gets snow maybe once in twenty years. There's no economic justification to keep snowplows and salt and sand on call 24/7/365. An inch or two of snow will bring these places to a standstill, but it's not their fault. People in these places don't buy snow tires at $900/season; why would they? So everything closes with minimal snowfall.

Live and let live. I'm happy when, if I'm living in a place that doesn't get much snow and it snows, people are cautious and places close easily. That's safe. I get scared when people who have no idea how to drive in snow attempt to race to work at 80 mph with summer tires.

It seems it doesn't take long to lose snow driving skills, one or two winters without much snow and poof, they're gone.

Yeah. My skills are pretty weak these days. I used to stay home when it snowed only because I fear the other drivers here. Now I'm self aware enough to know I'm nothing special myself. Still better than most here, but a shell of my former Maine self.

Well you people have allowed some snow to leak down on us, dammit. As much as a whole half-inch in some places, patchy grass showing through everywhere.

Still enough to close the schools.

I thought so too. I was about to become an EMT when the wife fucked up my life. Now, I am back where I was. Sigh.