The Saint Paul Brain Trust

So, weather is what we have up here in the Great White North. Local news? Is mostly a place to run the weather reports. Teasers during the Oscars? Were "I'll tell you how much snow fell."

Yes, we had a snowstorm. The weather reporters have been hyperventilating into paper bags since at least last Wednesday about this storm. Large numbers were being tossed around like confetti at the Love Boat launches--90% CHANCE OF SNOW ON SATURDAY!!!!

Friday night, we were getting deadlines for cancellation of events--church services, school concerts, all kinds of plans were being put into effect to deal with the snow.

Except. City Planning.

It started to snow on Friday night, by 11 pm. By mid-afternoon Saturday the grass had all disappeared and we were looking at a couple solid inches of snow that was settling in to stay for a Nice Long Visit. Months even. By late Saturday night--10 or so--Driving was getting tricky because of the drifts and accumulation. One of the suburbs was already running multiple snowplows to stay ahead of the weather.

But. Not Saint Paul.

By Sunday morning, before 10 a.m., the snow was so deep that I couldn't get my van out of the driveway. More accurately, I got my van stuck in the snow in the street at the end of my driveway. It took some real ingenuity to single-handedly push my vehicle back into the garage.

Because the street was not plowed.

Because despite FOUR FULL DAYS of ADVANCE WARNING, the City of Saint Paul DID NOT declare a snow emergency until later afternoon on SUNDAY, and the plowing didn't start until AFTER 9 PM THAT NIGHT! Nine frickin' P.M., people! Which means that the snowplows didn't START the emergency streets until SUNDAY NIGHT. Which means that on Monday morning when it was time for my kids to go to school?

That's right. Couldn't get out of the garage. AGAIN!

When did my street get plowed? Well, it's currently 2:30, and it's finally been done. Plus, it's since gotten so warm that once the damn street got plowed? The remaining skim coat of snow has MELTED. It was a close thing--if the city had waited any longer, they wouldn't have needed snowplows. AT ALL!!

So, we had a home made snow day. Sure, nothing was officially closed, but since we don't have skis, and the family pets are too small to pull a sled (the dog weighs 14 pounds, and the guinea pig weighs about 2), there was no way to get to school.

Stupid city.