The Big Mess

The City has become a complete mess this morning. I woke up after a wonderful Valentine's day evening to find a slushy mess to wade through in order to get to work. 27 inches of melting snow in an already fairly dirty city is not the most ideal combination. Really. It's hard to imagine what everything will look like when the snow completely melts down. I used to think that snow was like a detergent, that it covered everything up long enough to clean it up and then when it melted left behind everything new. It made sense to my elementary mind. Snow melts, flowers bloom. Clearly the earth was cleaning itself up. of course that can't work in a city of pavement and brick. So I wonder what it does for the city?

It seemed to produce a sense of comraderie on Sunday. Walking around in the snow, people were cheerful, calling out to each other as they waded through the nearly waist high snow. The guy at the corner store let me come in with a dog and didn't make me pay the full price for the orange juice and Sunday Times I picked up. People scooted out of Dog's way as I walked back to my apartment and I said hi to everyone who actually said it back. Very unusual turn of events. On Sunday Night, the NYUers were out in full force, partying and calling it a snow night. I remember those days from college, where snow meant it was a party, especially if there were a good chance school would be canceled the next day. We were willing to walk in the snow to get to Sigma Nu, but much less inclined to head towards English or History the next day.

Here, Monday was a regular workday for most of the city. We walked and managed to pull ourselves through the crowded sidewalks, exhausted by the time we reached work. Work was much more laid back, and has continued to be so through the week. With everything such a mess, most people dont want to wear nice clothes, especially if they're just going to get dirty. Everything becomes more casual. People here just accept there is nothing they can do about the mess until the snow is gone, and a part of the New York winter is literally washed away before their eyes. The dogs love it, dashing through the snow and sending up a spray of flakes everytime they make a quick turn. Everything about the city works differently when it is covered with a blanket of quiet, and for once, peace.