Snow Idiocy

It's snowing here. Not just a couple of flakes here and there, enough to heap scorn on those wimps who batten down the hatches and refuse to emerge until Spring. Rather, it's a nasty nor'easter that's got the entire northeast part of the country pretty much shut down. Not only have all the schools, businesses and government folk canceled out for the day -- and probably tomorrow as well, in order to shovel out, as this isn't supposed to stop until late tonight -- but several local highways have officially "closed," meaning fines for anyone venturing out onto them. In short, it's a mess.

DS and I went out this morning at 6:00 (we wake up early even without an alarm) and shoveled the first six inches off the driveway during a break in the precipitation. Now we're snuggled stuck here at home, waiting it out. In between cooking, eating, cleaning up, deciding what to have for the next meal and when to have it, plus reading, blogging, and other time wasting computer activities working on the new novel, we're watching television. The problem is that the weather is such a mess, it's preempted all the local network television affiliates' regular programming for "all weather, all the time."

The main message these and other news outlets are trying to convey is, "It's a mess out there; stay home if you possibly can." Of course, in addition to the talking heads and perfectly coiffed meteorologists in the studios, each station has people out in the community (usually at a Wawa), bundled up in parkas monogrammed with their station's logo, standing out there in the blowing snow, bringing us up to the minute news that basically consists of, "It's a mess out there; stay home if you possibly can."

Given that there's so little on TV, I must confess that we've been watching some of this coverage. One reporter at a super-Wawa (one that sells gas) was interviewing idiots drivers who pulled up, because hey, who wouldn't want to be on TV! Naturally, the first question the reporter asked was, "Why are you out in this mess?"

Here's the response that blew out my idiot meter:

I went to the gym.

You went to the gym? You went to the GYM?!? You needed to work out; fine, I get that. Exercise is important; possible even addictive. But why the hell don't you stay home and shovel your damn snow?!?!!

Idiots. They're everywhere.