Winter in Washington: Snow Much More

Here in Our Nation’s Capital, there are a lot of things not to like about getting socked with an unprecedented amount of snow in a city where it’s, well, without precedent.

Like the shoveling.

And for those of us with flat-roofed houses, the inevitable roof leaks. (The door to my upstairs bathroom is now shut so I can’t hear the dripping, which I consider ‘being proactive.’) Much more seriously, for many thousands of people, no gas or electricity.

Cabin fever.  Wrecked plans, many of them genuinely important. And more shoveling.

I can hear the collective lack of sympathy from all the places where massive amounts of snow are routine. Fair enough, but we didn’t sign up for this when we moved here. We’re about to blow past the record set in 1898-99 of 54” of snow in a winter (and most of ours is happening in a span of 10 days). So to those folks:  maybe sometime in Antarctica where you are, it’ll be 80 degrees all winter, and trust me, when that happens, you’ll think it’s an interesting topic.

So here in DC, it’s a huge deal, and the mess and disruption from these storms are all too real. And we will be dealing with them long after the end of Snowpocalypse/Snowmageddon/SnOMG/SnoUDidn’t.

(Snomore, please.)

But while it’s still falling (outside my window at this moment, with snow falling like crazy and 40 MPH winds, it’s like Greenland on a bad day), before we deal with it all, let me just note:  

It’s glorious.

The best part is the transformation of ordinary things.
It begins with the visual. I’ve lived in the Capitol Hill neighborhood for over 10 years, and I’ve seen the seasons come and go (including the odd snowstorm), and the neighborhood change both in terms of buildings and people. It’s all gradual and not unexpected. But stepping outside to find your city completely transformed is altogether different, and wonderful.

The snow itself is beautiful, when it’s coming down, and when it’s fresh on the ground. And it covers up some parts of the cityscape that, well, we don’t miss. But it also serves to highlight what is here:  when so much is covered in white, we find ourselves noticing what we can see -- the houses, the landmarks that we normally rush past without a second look.

Part of why we’re noticing them is because we’re out walking around town. Digging out your car is tough, driving on the streets is tougher, and toughest of all is finding a place to park, because no one wants to give up the spots they dug out! It all adds up to staying on foot if you possibly can. People are opening up their homes for dinners and game nights, or wandering around visiting people, or organizing mass snowball fights. It’s sort of why some of us wanted to live in cities in the first place.

The snow is breaking down barriers. I’ve heard from many friends that they are finally getting to know those mysterious neighbors they’ve eyed warily for years. And there are spontaneous outbursts of kindness, as people see others grappling with the stuff and pitch right in.

I’ve come home a few times to find my Scandinavian neighbors have shoveled my steps for me. (That is, when they’re not out going for a jog through the blizzard – ‘It’s not so bad.’ And come to think of it, this morning the neighbor on the other side of my house was doing a workout outdoors during an absolute white-out. I find the snow inspiring, for sure, but I seem to be the only one around here not finding this particular inspiration.)

The snow is falling on all of us here, rich or poor, black or white, American or international. We’re divided along so many lines here in the city, but not this time. If you’re alive, you’re snowed in. (And maybe even if you’re not:  the famous last line of James Joyce’s short story ‘The Dead’ describes “the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead”).

Soon enough, the streets will be clear again, the leaks patched, and all we’ll have to show will be the pictures and stories. Between now and then, it’ll be rough for a while. But for now, while it’s many other things as well, this is, in part, a gift.

Washington, DC Snow Storm from Es Video! on Vimeo.