We were originally supposed to get 3-5 inches of snow from this storm crossing the continent. It was downgraded to 1-3 inches. But today, we got a dusting followed by a coating of ice.
Day four of the state of emergency. Even the people who were well prepared are running low on supplies now. Lots of online bartering happening - cooked supper for baby formula, toilet paper for cigarettes.
This morning I got up to beg for a tin of pop at a hotel. The lovely lady sold me a few.
__________________ Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
So, yesterday and today the City has allowed groceries to open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. so that people can buy supplies. The stores are all picked bare but everyone was able to get something. The mood has improved now, though the novelty of this storm is very much worn off.
By 9 a.m. there were thousands of people outside every major grocery, and lines of dozens, sometimes even hundreds, outside every superette and convenience store.
I gave up on the Merrymeeting Sobey's and went to the superette at the bottom of my block.
Ya know, I get that it's awful, and I truly wish the best for you, but damn, you make St. John look amazing! Even with this apocalyptic snow storm, there is something about the city that makes me want to visit....in the summer, or the fall, which I bet is beautiful. Maaaybe Christmas. In any case, your photos are tremendous. Always are.
Nothing says "Miami Beach" like a 3-foot pile of snow out front!
Do you happen to know the history of that building, by the way? It's a rare local example of tropical Art Deco, I'm betting.
I don't know much about it. It was built in the 1940s and it's one of several art deco buildings downtown. There was a general push for us to modernize at that time. Getting rid of Victorian commercial and clapboard residential buildings was seen as desirable progress. The art deco ones are a few nicer examples of what we got instead; much was more industrial. This all ended with the construction of Atlantic Place - a huge, block-sized brick rectangle of a building that replaced our finest, most ornate Victorian block. That started our rabid heritage protection lobby and saved the rest of the city.
*****
RE: Making fun of TO for calling in the army - I hope it does stop. It's so provincial.
__________________ Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
Still, one year ago there wasn't a scrap of snow and things were bustling.
I feel like I just got out of jail. Man, 8 days cooped up is too many days.
So... the City needs to do another fucking cut on my street. We've had one plow since the blizzard. There are two deep tire tracks and a mound of solid ice in between. At least one car lost its front fender (it was left on top of the snowbank outside my house). And so far tonight THREE cars have gotten stuck. I helped dig two out with the neighbours, and ignored the third and let them handle it.
#PoorNeighbourhoodsMatterToo
__________________ Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."