There's a Time to Drive, and a Time to Build Snowmen

This is my favorite photograph of the east coast snowstorm. Ignore the stop light, and it could have been taken 150 years ago.



David Kurtz at TPM, which provided the superb photo above, on the transformative power of paralzying amounts of snow:

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), on DC during this epic winter:

A city that was designed for travel by foot and horses loses some of its charm with modern traffic congestion. A deep snowfall is the perfect antidote, as it adds beauty, muffles sounds and discourages automobiles. The broad streets and sidewalks reveal their grandeur when covered with snow instead of cars.

Saturday evening at dusk, just after the week's first gargantuan snowstorm had abated, my wife and two kids and I had a magical walk down Connecticut Avenue to eat dinner at our friends' place. Only a handful of cars came by. Dogs were cavorting off-leash. Without engine noises, you could hear the pleasant patter of other pedestrians. People paused to watch the sunset.

Other old-fashioned niceties have emerged, too: impromptu visits from neighbors, meals lingered over because there's no place else to go, an ephemeral sense of community that passes even between strangers on the street. As the accessible world has shrunk, it's also become more pleasant.

I'll be fine if the thaw doesn't come right away.

If you have snow where you live, go out and enjoy it. It never lasts.