tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post3661232515618972687..comments2024-01-28T22:16:50.852-06:00Comments on Mr. Dilettante’s Neighborhood: Snowmageddon in St. LouisMr. Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-75354386980749781512019-01-15T05:03:58.490-06:002019-01-15T05:03:58.490-06:00Thanks, John!
Then, of course, there was the Bliz...Thanks, John!<br /><br /><i>Then, of course, there was the Blizzard of '76. Those were the days before we named every darn storm.</i><br /><br />I'm with you -- this storm naming gets silly pretty quickly.Mr. Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-8119813441401379632019-01-14T20:01:07.360-06:002019-01-14T20:01:07.360-06:00I am glad you and the family survived and are safe...I am glad you and the family survived and are safe. The blog wouldn't be the same if you weren't here to write it. I won't mention my winter driving experiences in the last half of the last century before I-80 was complete and things like electric signs told you stuff, but I did see a Corvair do about 4 complete circles before it headed off into the six feet of snow on the side of the road. (It kind of made its own offramp.)<br /><br />The stories we could tell of sitting around the old wood stove, while the spunky young gas attendants filled the cars with Ethel and the wise old station master told us about how this or that road closed at the slightest sign of snow still warms my heart.<br /><br />Then, of course, there was the Blizzard of '76. Those were the days before we named every darn storm.<br />Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10361837738099549106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-82679020610136401772019-01-14T14:48:53.251-06:002019-01-14T14:48:53.251-06:00CB radios? 10-4, good buddy.CB radios? 10-4, good buddy.Mr. Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-28471524965306664992019-01-14T13:13:51.824-06:002019-01-14T13:13:51.824-06:00Nonsense, sure, but you should hear my dad telling...Nonsense, sure, but you should hear my dad telling stories about snowfall further south. He worked as a semi-traveling salesman (process control equipment) and he knew instinctively that when you got south of Indianapolis, you turned on the CB radio as soon as you saw a snowflake or heard about it--and turned in at the next exit as soon as the truckers started joking about it.<br /><br />Dangerous nonsense, you bet, but when they're not used to it....Bike Bubbahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08193546045614393425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-49963046618041410242019-01-14T10:20:23.506-06:002019-01-14T10:20:23.506-06:00With the advent of smartphones I've learned th...<i>With the advent of smartphones I've learned the trick of typing in the initials of the state I was in and 511 to bring up a road-closure map of that state; there have been too many hairy winter driving situations in the last 40 years. Give the government a little credit over private enterprise in this situation - the DOT maps are a lot more current and focused on the situation than the radio stations. Of course, the weak spot is still the humans that are supposed to staff and update the info. Perhaps they, too, were stuck in the blizzard!</i><br /><br />The maps are good, but if you’re driving you aren’t supposed to be looking at your phone of course. That’s why the overhead signs are so important. In this case, MoDOT knew there was a closure as of 5 p.m. We arrived in the area at 6 without any warning of trouble ahead. That’s where things broke down. There’s no reason that I can see for not updating the messages on the signs, especially since we passed several of them before we reached Boone’s Crossing.<br /><br />We learned some things on this trip about the importance of co-piloting. I just hope MoDOT learned something. This was a very dangerous situation.<br />Mr. Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-46454724175531684622019-01-14T09:47:55.958-06:002019-01-14T09:47:55.958-06:00With the advent of smartphones I've learned th...With the advent of smartphones I've learned the trick of typing in the initials of the state I was in and 511 to bring up a road-closure map of that state; there have been too many hairy winter driving situations in the last 40 years. Give the government a little credit over private enterprise in this situation - the DOT maps are a lot more current and focused on the situation than the radio stations. Of course, the weak spot is still the humans that are supposed to staff and update the info. Perhaps they, too, were stuck in the blizzard!<br /><br />Worst situation was the day before Christmas, '84, when I was stuck on 35W near Clear Lake, IA when IA-DOT closed the highway. While waiting for a plow to clear the turn-around so we could all go back to Clear Lake, a semi came crashing through the lineup of cars, killing two people, and just missing me (that's the short story). Very few hotels in that area, and they were full. I ended up sleeping on the floor of a Lutheran church in CL that night, after feasting on all the food the church members brought in from their own tables for us stranded wayfarers. Less than a year later I was coming back from Winnipeg at Thanksgiving and started seeing the same weather conditions. I thought to myself, "I've seen this movie before," and exited at Rothsay, MN and got one of the last rooms at a little motel by the exit. <br /><br />Gad, I hate winter travel in the midwest. Why can't all the major holidays be scheduled for summer?3john2https://www.blogger.com/profile/05359114327414576258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-34412157304534448242019-01-14T09:12:41.440-06:002019-01-14T09:12:41.440-06:00seriously, understand your frustration, but I tend...<i>seriously, understand your frustration, but I tend to cut people more slack the further south we go....</i><br /><br />With all due respect, Bubba, that’s nonsense. <br /><br />The problem wasn’t execution, it was communication. We had no advance warning that the road was closed. There were message boards in use on 64 going eastbound, but there was no mention the road was closed ahead, even though it had apparently been closed since 5 p.m. MoDOT let people just drive right into the gridlock, making matters worse. And instead of getting road reports on the one major news radio station in the market, KMOX decided it was more important to tell its listeners about autograph sessions and Cardinals events in Edwardsville, IL. You would think breaking into regular programming in a historic blizzard would be more important than finding out where 80s era Cardinals pitcher Ricky Horton was going to be appearing this week, but apparently not. <br />Mr. Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-29712402349312709972019-01-14T08:52:16.861-06:002019-01-14T08:52:16.861-06:00I was wondering what Michael Blandic was doing sin...I was wondering what Michael Blandic was doing since he left the mayor's office in Chicago.....seriously, understand your frustration, but I tend to cut people more slack the further south we go....Bike Bubbahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08193546045614393425noreply@blogger.com