Six on the brain #6

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I’ve been thinking about some of the things that have been said and written about Denver in the wake of last week’s blizzard.
I do feel horrible for the people who were stranded at Denver International Airport for much of the holiday weekend. And I have to agree that much of blame for not getting the facility running for two days is the result of officials being under prepared.
But I don’t know that there was much more that could be done. It was a lot of freaking snow and crews worked around the clock for days.
In today’s paper, Mike Boyd, an aviation consultant, compared DIA’s snow removal efforts to that of the Bangor, Maine airport. It’s an easy leap to make and it’s a common misconception that Denver winters are particularly rough. They’re not.
I did a little research this morning and I learned that Bangor has an average annual snowfall of 85 inches. Denver’s is roughly 55 inches, depending on who you choose to believe.
Mike Nelson, Denver’s most popular weatherman, said last night that the average snowfall during Denver’s snow season is 26 inches. That seemed a little low to me, but I figured the guy knows what he’s talking about or that I heard him incorrectly.
Probably a little of both.
Nelson also said that snowfall to date for this snow season is almost three feet here, and that last year’s entire Denver snowfall was just 30 inches… less than Chicago’s and Boston’s yearly averages (40 inches and 41 inches, respectively).
The last time we got hit with this much snow in such a short period was three years ago. Prior to that, I recall a Wednesday in April of 2001 when we got 18 inches overnight. But that little blizzard’s output was all but completely melted by noon Thursday. I wore shorts and a hoodie.
So the “It’s Denver. Why aren’t they more prepared?” argument isn’t necessarily valid. And comparing this city to one that gets at least three more feet of snow per year isn’t exactly one-to-one, either. I don’t care where you live, getting nearly half your average annual snowfall (if we’re using the 55 inches) in 24 hours is a tough job to come out from under.
But what really concerns me about the blizzard last week is that most, if not all, of the side streets here remain covered in ice. That’s Denver mayor John Hickenlooper in the picture above. The shot was taken yesterday… a full seven days after the snow began.
I grew up in Central Illinois, where the snow whips over flattened cornfields and makes roof-level drifts every winter. I understand that packed snow turns to ice and can’t be plowed away. But in years past, Denver city crews sprayed liquid ice melt and laid down gravel mix on roads to make them less treacherous.
I’m not always the smartest guy, but I have to think some traction is better than six-inch thick sheets of bare ice.
With another nine to 30 inches of snow blowing in from the northwest, I ask: What’s the plan, Hick?
Is Rachel Ray simply famous for being perky? Don’t get me wrong, I think she’s adorable—maybe a little too chatty—but I’m not sure what she does on her cooking shows that’s particularly appealing.
It’s just cooking quick meals and eating cheap.
When Tom Brokaw drops the word “bling,” like he did on Letterman last week, you know it’s dead.
How do they come up with drug names, and why are they so klunky and bad?
Why do I continue to watch MTV when all it ever does is disappoint me? I caught about fifteen minutes of the show called “My Super Sweet 16” last night. In a nutshell, it’s a show about super-rich teenagers and their sixteenth birthday parties.

All I could think was that parents who lavish this sort of life on their kids did so as a substitute for the actual parenting. I probably heard the words “whatever makes you happy” ten times.
I’m not talking about love here. I have no doubts that the parents love their kids.
But, for the life of me, I don’t know why a teenager needs a $100,000 car. Hell, I don’t know why a teenager needs a $10,000 car. Maybe I’m just too Midwestern.

All wasn’t lost for me and my wife, though.

Right before we changed the channel we got a good laugh: the birthday girl was out on a photo shoot with her friends. I have no clue why they were on a photo shoot, but while it was happening one of the girls exclaimed, “I feel like Paris.”

“How does she know how Paris feels,” I asked my wife.

“Just pick an adjective. Vacant. Stupid. Those can’t be too far off.”
“Masterpieces are not produced from love of life. They are produced from despair” ~ From Ellery Queen’s DEAD MAN’S TALE

Interesting quote. Perhaps it’s true. What do you think?