It’s not that we Yankees are tougher. We’re just better prepared for this weekend’s giant winter storm.
We have parkas, snowplows, sand- and gravel-spreading trucks, and more services for the stranded, at-risk homebound and the homeless.
Omaha, where I live, may get off lightly when it comes to snowfall, but no wind is stronger than what’s rolling across the Northern Plains headed southward.
Nothing prepares you for 50-mph frozen wind that slashes at you to create frostbite in seconds. Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot once famously asked, “Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the wind turns the minutes to hours?”
Southerners face this wintery reality through the weekend and Monday. Then the East Coast gets pummeled. You’re simply not prepared. Why buy plows, snowmobiles and down vests when they’re needed so rarely?
I don’t suggest malfeasance, mismanagement or bad policy. It’s just that we Yankees contend with brutal cold, wind and snow more often.
So, as a Nebraskan, my heart goes out to you. In the meantime, I’ll head to my grandson’s hockey game … to warm up.
Thanks, Thomas, particularly for the link.