Contributed by:
Eric J. Lubbers
Article Contributed on: 12/21/2006 11:30:40 AM
What's worse than a bus stuck in the snow?
Two buses stuck in the snow.
A pair of RTD buses felt the brunt of the rapidly drifting snow Wednesday night at the intersection of Pennsylvania Street and 11th Avenue in Capitol Hill.
They weren't alone. All over the city, cars, trucks, SUVs and even some snowplows were stuck in the high drifts and deep snow on side streets.
I myself was snowed in at my girlfriend's house near 14th Avenue and Josephine Street last night. But I was bound and determined to get to work this morning because, my friends, the news never takes a snow day.
Armed with only my knit gloves, long underwear and as many sweatshirts as I could wear and still move my arms, I attacked the three- to four-foot drifts that had piled up against my car. I didn't have a shovel, so I was using the broad end of a window scraper to move a few ounces of snow out of the way with each swipe. Thankfully, one of Sarah's altruistic Congress Park neighbors happened to have a spare shovel. Thanks, lady-whose-name-I-didn't-catch!
After a few runs through the drifts, I unsheated the mighty Element from its icy tomb and was on my way down Josephine. I called
YourHub.com community journalists
Brendan Leonard and
Seth Davis, who both live on my way to work, to see if they wanted rides. Brendan was covered: He was snowshoeing (
I'm not kidding ). Seth said he'd meet me at Colfax and Pearl.
While I waited for him, parked in what is usually a busy commuter lane at 9:15 a.m. on a weekday, I witnessed a curious sight. There were cars on Colfax, yes, but more interestingly, there were streams of people hiking down each side of the street. At least a dozen people for every car I saw.
There was something very "post-apocalyptic migration" about the whole sight, until I got out of the car to walk around with Seth. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was in a really good mood. People were talking and laughing outside of Roslyn's Grill, hikers said hello to everyone they passed, dogs played unfettered in the middle of usually busy streets, a brave cyclist hopped a drift and managed to ride down Colfax toward downtown; it was like everyone in the city simultaneously got a memo telling them to relax and enjoy the day off.
Even Seth and I stopped to help a fellow citizen in need (see box for more details).
Sidebar: Cadillacs + snow = bad freakin' idea
Walking down Pennsylvania back to the car, Seth and I watched as a white Cadillac coupe, complete with gold trim and other gaudy luxury accessories, tried unsuccessfully to hop a drift onto Penn from 13th Avenue. Along with two other guys who saw it happen, we went up to the car to help, only to be met by what appeared to be an old man dressed in a young, flamboyant man's accessories. The man had one wrinkly, ringed hand clutching a cellphone and the other cranking the steering wheel helpless. The rings, coupled with his feathered, had-to-be-dyed sandy blond hair, matching designer denim outfit (jacket and pants) and his ridiculously over-the-top car, I couldn't help but imagine it was Liberace, back from the dead and stuck in a blizzard in Denver. We tried to help him off the drift, but he was stuck but good. We told him so, but he dismissed us with a wave of his ringed hand and said, "Oh well, I just need to get some sand. Thanks." Despite his optimism, I wouldn't be surprised to see that caddy still sitting there when I go home.
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Seth and I finally made it to the office here at Colfax and Broadway at around 9:45 after an extremely uneventful but pleasant drive. And, thanks to the intrepid folks at the Starbucks in our lobby, we were properly caffeinated to boot.
Getting home might be another situation entirely.
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Got your own blizzard stories or photos? Share them with us and the community by clicking here and you could see them in next week's paper! If you have any questions, give me a call at 303-954-2615 or send me an e-mail at lubberse@YourHub.com.