Here in the Seattle area, we don’t get all that much snow. One or two minor or moderate dumpings every five to six years and then one good one every decade or so.
Minnesota is different. From what I understand, if they don’t get snow, it is considered rather unusual and that Armageddon may be at hand.
So you can probably understand why my brow furrowed a bit when I read this leftist screed from a woman bitching that her local municipality didn’t plow the parking lot of her condo complex.
Which is private property.
When the Seattle/Tacoma area got dumped on last year the local muni never even got around to plowing my street. Which is fine. It is one of the multitude of reasons I bought and built up Buddy the Jeep.
Two weeks of snow so deep that I worried about the structural stability of my deck as I was shoveling it clear on a daily basis, and I didn’t have to rely on government at all because I took care to cover “All the bad things that could go wrong” myself.
And then in the other extreme, we have Phoenix Woman, who is one of the major posters at the hyperleftist FireDogLake blog, wanting her private property plowed so she can go get a Fair Market Bean cappuccino or some such bullshit.
Of course, she blames this on The Republicans in her state, taking money from not feeding the Tiny Tim Cratchett’s of Minnesota (and plowing her private property) so that they can dive into piles of money like Scrooge McDuck (which is exactly how I see her picturing them).
One place I do know a bit about and know that it snows a lot is Montana. My wife was born and raised there. Her uncle used to make extra money in the early AM plowing the parking lots of multiple commercial businesses, and at least one trailer home park, before going of to his regular job.
Because the local muni wouldn’t do it. Too much liability. Too much wasted time spent catering to the strange demands of the various property owners.
In fact, I know of no local munis that will plow private property.
Yet she acts as though it is completely normal and that her locals are derelict in their duties because her property management folks had to hire a privateer.
So, you snowbound types, am I wrong to think she’s a whining screech owl to believe the government should plow her private property?
Please, enlighten me.
I’ve never lived anywhere that had the city plow their lot. Every major mall and chain store in Omaha has privatly owned trucks at 3:00 am doing the work.
Our HOA contracts with a local landscaping business for plowing.
I used to ride along with a tow company flatbed with a plow attached. We’d do a dozen 7/11’s, then start again at the first one. On the back was a big-assed box of sand that we’d shovel out after plowing.
I lived three winters in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in the Lake Effect Snow belt. We had 232″ the first year I was there. I had a contract snow-plow guy, just like every one else with a long driveway (mine was 105 yards long).
No one in the village got their private property cleared by the government. If you lived on a school bus route, you got your street plowed first, but if you didn’t, you waited. When it was really bad, we drove our snowmobiles to work or to the market. The cops would overlook that if the snow was over 6″ on the roadway.
Last Christmas in Portland, I was snowed in for a week (my City doesn’t plow this street). I made do with the supplies on hand (readers will remember that I am a BEAR about having adequate supplies on hand).
In the case of Phoenix Woman, I do find some sympathy, but I had to look it up in the dictionary. It was between “shit” and “syphilis”.
You’re a tank of gas away from Lord of the Flies.
Actually, in most of Montana, the government only plows the highways and city streets.
Transplanted Californians in rural Montana get to learn about snowplow diplomacy … if they cause trouble ( like calling the police because a neighbor is shooting an MG at cans from his back porch ), they discover that the reason their portion of the access road was plowed last year was because that MG owning neighbor was being kind to the newb … and plowing him out while he had the blade attached to his truck last year.
I grew up in WI, and no city/county trucks ever touched private property.
Rivrdog, the only thing your comment was missing was plowing a mile of snow buck-naked with trash can lid and a Ruger GP100 frozen to you thigh, heh.
When I lived on a dirt road in middle-of-nowhere Michigan, it was a rare day when the county got around to plowing our road before one of the farmers living on the street went ahead and did it. Their philosophy had something to do with the milk tanker needing to get to their place being more important than who actually plowed the road.
We were always very grateful and nice to them.
Howdy All,
1. I am the Engineer in a large rural Iowa County. We have sufficient challenges to get across the 1150 miles of paved and rock roads of which we have jurisdiction in a timely fashion- given the change in demographics and commuting patterns we have seen in the last 20 yrs, much less put our equipment in some condo parking lot. I’m not sure they would want our heavy, steel wing laden vehicles and blades with V plows in their lot anyway.
or
NO, I can’t plow private stuff. I ain’t got enough time, equipment or money to take care the miles I’m on the hook for to the standard that the modern driver expects.
It’s December in Iowa – normal winter driving conditions – slow down, stay home.
Regards,
The County Engineer
Up in Vail, CO. the State plows the highways and the towns plow their roads and my condo complex used to hire a private company but just bought a truck with a plow blade and our property manager does it himself.
“Minnesota is different. From what I understand, if they don’t get snow, it is considered rather unusual and that Armageddon may be at hand.”
Which would be rather absurd. I’ve been to Minnesota a few times in the winter; there have been days when it was too cold to snow.
Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either, but that’s what my friend (who’d lived up there for several years) told me.
You forget, she’s a progressive, private property=theft.
Comment by D.W. Drang
December 28, 2009 @ 10:10 pm
You forget, she’s a progressive, private property=theft
Unless it’s her property. Then the State had damn well better take care of it for her.
Gerry N.
Heck, here along the snowy shores of Lake Erie, we cant even get the city to plow the streets unless they are considered a major highway. We just dig out as best we can. That is probably a blessing in disguise because the poor guys driving the snowplows work such long hours, it’s likely they’d fall asleep on my street.
Well, I clicked on the link, and that’s just not what the lady said.
I think you need to read it again.
She didn’t say anything about the parking lot – she’s upset because the city didn’t plow the street.
Says right in the article that the condo association hires a private contractor to do the sidewalks and parking lots, and the street only got plowed after the condo association persuaded said contractor to please do the street as well.
I’ve lived my entire life in Minnesota. This has spanned a few towns and not one of them plowed private property. The basic concept that escapes some people is that private property is yours and you need to take care of it.
When the snow flies I just smile and laugh at the people who ridicule me for having a “planet killing” 4×4 truck. While they are spinning their tires I’m driving to work.