Keep It In Perspective, Dingbat!

A recent trip to Calgary again showed me how fickle the weather can be. Although it was near the end of April, we experienced a six-inch fall of snow with temperatures hovering near the freezing mark. The resulting icy road conditions resulted in seven injury accidents and 79 non-injury accidents.

A local newspaper headline screamed, “Icy roads anger drivers.” One angry citizen ranted that the roads were like a skating rink and claimed, “I don’t think there’s any excuse or adequate explanation for the mess.”

Unfortunately, Dingbat there are some very good reasons and explanations for the situation that you are whining about. Firstly, we do not yet control the weather and when it snows, the snow accumulates. When the temperature eases above the freezing mark the snow melts into water and then refreezes into ice if the temperature drops. Thus the roads become icy. I assume that you expect the city to know of your unhappiness and rush to your house immediately with a sanding truck. The other one million residents should stand in line behind you.

This ridiculous situation did not deserve a headline in the paper nor a quote by Mr. Dingbat. The city probably has a couple thousand miles of city streets that they service and maintain. To react to a disgruntled citizen over one icy road that would probably be melted by day’s end is unnecessary. Mr. Cranky Pants get a life!

If Mr. Cranky thinks he is being hard done by because of a little inconvenience, consider the following. In Nassau, where I live, a developer built a 156-lot subdivision in 2005. Houses were built and people moved into the dwellings. As of April 2009, the families have been forced to live without electricity, telephones, water and sewage for the past FOUR YEARS. Everyone involved in the fiasco is pointing fingers in typical blame-someone-else fashion. Now that’s inconvenience!

If you think a little ice on the road for one day is a big problem, consider the residents of Killarney Shores who cannot turn on a light, have a bath, flush a toilet or make a phone call. At least not at home and not for the past four years. So keep it in perspective, Dingbat, and throw a little salt on the ice or stay home and watch cartoons!