Snow: Do you love it or hate it?

On the way to work this morning, my sister walked by a limousine stuck in snow on the corner of Bergen Street and Flatbush Avenue inBrooklyn. On her way home from work this evening, she passed the limo once again. It--and the people who started clearing the snow out from underneath it this morning--was still there.

Sunday night's east-coast blizzard hurt the city, hurt travelers and hurt businesses. The cold, dry, powdery snow made drifting so easy, and left roughly all five boroughs with two feet of snow. Flights cancelled, delayed and passengers slept at Kennedy Airport in Queens.

This afternoon, I walked outside my apartment on Fifth Avenue and 95 percent of shops closed on account of weather. Mind you, Fifth Ave in Park Slope is one of the busiest streets. What?! Completely astonished, I shook my head and walked back up the two flights of stairs to my apartment and made myself some chai tea. It still amazes me the difference between Michiganders and the rest of the country in winter. We [Michiganders] truly are a special breed. I suppose I could include the rest of the midwest and even Colorado in there somewhere. Surely, if Michigan had major lake-effect snow and whiteouts, businesses would be open the next day. And those that weren't...flogged, mocked until the end of time. In short...declared pansies.

It seems after several years of the city experiencing a storm similar to Sunday night, it would be better prepared. My sister, however, made a valid point: The city experiences an intense blizzard approximately 15 days out of the entire year. Michigan experiences this lovely element of winter six months per year. Economically speaking, it wouldn't make sense for the city to assemble an army of snowplows like those in several cities in Michigan. They are quite pricey--certainly not like renting a limo. But come on!!!! Two feet and one of the most powerful, influential cities in the world completely shuts down. Uuhhh...really?

The week before Christmas, several friends and acquaintances said they wanted a white Christmas. Well, you asked and now you've received my friends. It's quite funny to notice the transition of people wishing for beautiful, flakey snow, then despising the wet, dirty, pain-in-the-ass of it all. Yo New Yorkers, just be thankful you don't have to live with it for half the year!

Photos courtesy of Richard Perry of The New York Times.