Someone told me this joke the other day:

When its snowing bad outside 98% of the people stay inside scared to drive.  The other 2% are from Buffalo and say “Give me a beer and lets get going.”

That in turn reminds me of a story one of my college history professors told me (it was Peters for those of you from NU).  He said he was driving cross country in his beat up car and came to the base of some mountains out west.  The police had set up a blockade and were turning away any cars without chains on their tires.  When he got up to the blockade they told him the roads were bad and no one would be able to handle it without chains.  When he told them he was from Buffalo they said “Oh you’ll be fine” and let him through.

I don’t know where people get their perceptions from out here.  Ohio is scared of snow.  I know its all relative, and that I did live in Buffalo for years, but come on.  The storms out here drop less than five inches most of the time, and if it is going to be more than five inches, its predicted over ridiculous amounts of time.  “10 – 12 inches of snow predicted over the next 36 hours!!!” and people freak out.

I know Cleveland has only sixteen plows, but canvassing the city they should be able to reach all streets multiple times in 36 hours.  All the main roads should be fine.  Calm down and think straight.  Drive slower.  Trust your instincts.  Give yourself space between you and the next car.  Enjoy it.

Someone used Snowmageddon.  Cleveland doesn’t know what snowmageddon is.  I don’t know if it ever has.  Its sad how stupid people are with driving out here.  How “bad” it gets here according to everyone.  I’ve never driven in white out conditions in Cleveland, but I certainly have elsewhere.  White Out conditions are bad driving conditions.

Cleveland needs to get over this immense fear of the snow.  2 – 3 inches of snow doesn’t mean “death defying driving”.  I drive a Hyundai Accent.  Its tiny.  I think it weighs less than 900 pounds.  Point being it is not a truck, not an SUV, not even a sedan.  Its a tiny car that by all rights should be worse driving in snow than just about anything else out there.  But I do fine driving it on the Cleveland streets in the “horrible snow storms” we have here.

Anyways, I put this as my Facebook away message Friday night.  I stand by it.