Beginning February 6, 2010, the Washington, DC metropolitan area was brought to a sudden crawl and for many a complete stop. The usual sounds of DC were hushed: horns were silenced and swearing turned off as a steady stream of flakes began to quickly and quietly consume the entire region. When it stopped, totals reached at least 24 inches in most locations, only to be topped by a foot or two more four days later.
The "snowcation"--a.k.a. snowmaggedon or the snowpocolypse--created a hermitage of a once hyperactive area. Times like these can make a person stir-crazy or maybe realize just how crazy this town can be. We like to be in control and busy and moving fast, and actually faster, and why is THAT person driving when they can't drive fast enough???
And then...then there was snow...lots and lots and even more. In a way, it was majestic...magical...beautiful...and more powerful than our egos and our demands. It made cars impossible to drive, no less find! Car became the road became the sidewalk became the yard, became all one in the same. Everywhere you looked, snow, waves and waves of snow, draped over everything, as if to say: "time to rest," "time to breathe." And if you ventured out to travel by hoof or sled or by any means, you took your time, watched your step, paid attention to those around you, and maybe even stopped to really chat...there was no hurry.
...for a brief stretch of time...
