An Open Letter To My Smug Northern Friends

Traffic during Snowjam 2014

Source: Georgia Department of Transportation

Dear People Who Do Not Live In The Deep South:

Dealing with roads covered in ICE, in a city where there are almost no trucks for salting/sanding/de-icing and where almost no one has AWD, snow tires, chains, or vehicles equipped for sub-freezing temperatures is NOT the same as what you think of when you think of “driving in the snow.” In addition, unless you live in Los Angeles or Washington, DC, you likely have no concept of how long our commutes are in Atlanta or how heavy our traffic is – even on a day when the weather is perfect.

I understand how you might find some consolation from your decision to live in the Yankee Wasteland by mocking us rubes down here in Dixie, but you really have no idea what you’re talking about. Also, in a few days we will thaw out and return to wearing short-sleeves while sipping Coca Cola on our front porches, while you are still making your daily shovel to the sidewalk in the hopes of finding your mailbox, and possibly that spaniel you let outside in December.

 

For Further Reading:

The Day We Lost Atlanta (from Politico)

How 2 Inches of Snow Created a Traffic Nightmare in Atlanta (from The Atlantic)

Why the South Fell Apart in the Snow (from Gizmodo)

 

 

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