Snow and Boulder

Sunday (two days ago) marked the deepest snowfall of the season - seven to eight inches, depending upon your location and the wind.  I figure we had 8 inches, since I had four inches of snow over ice on the car in the morning before I went out, and I had to remove another four inches at 5 p.m., when I made my evening trip to Pip and Squeak.  I realize that a lot of people in Boulder are new residents - we have a growth rate of more than 1,000 people each month - but it would be nice if people used common sense in snowy weather.
     First, when you clean off your car, besides the windshield and side and rear windows, clean off the mirrors and your headlights and tail lights!  If you don't have a good scraper, wait until your defroster works well enough to clear your windshield.
    Second, turn on your headlights!! 
   Third, if you are crossing an area that has NOT been cleared by a snowplow, remember that your vehicle WILL fish tail, if you use too much speed.
  Fourth, please do NOT ride on someone's bumper (like mine)....
  Fifth, be aware of crazy pedestrians - they will walk in front of you with great nonchalance - whether they have the right of way, or not.  A person ignored the "Do Not Walk" crossing sign yesterday, and was struck and killed by a vehicle.   -  Last night, in the dusk before true nightfall, a did not see a person dressed in either black or navy blue who was walking a black dog.  I DID see the white doggie poop bag, which was my only warning there was something/someone on the street corner.
  Sixth, please give yourself enough time to clear off your car (if you aren't lucky enough to have a garage, or covered parking) and get it warmed up BEFORE you leave for your destination...  Driving the roads without a clear view, and/or speeding to make up lost time is both dangerous and stupid.
  Seventh - be aware that "black ice" is everywhere - if you think you see water on the road when it's cold out, it's probably ice.  You will slide and swirl.  It's fun, if there is absolutely no one else around - but if you're in heavy traffic, count on multiple hits....

   My last comment is about the beauty of the snow at North Boulder Park - I pass it twice a day, morning and evening - and I have a fantastic time watching the cross-country skiers having a ball out upon the open playing fields coated with snow.  It's a glorious sight!

College Towns

Each August or September, I am reminded that I live in a college town - while in Gainesville, it was the University of Florida; here in Boulder, it's the University of Colorado.  I lived a couple of miles from campus in Gainesville; married housing here in Boulder is across a two-lane street.  We moved to Gainesville when I was 5, and I lived there until I was 39;  I moved to Boulder 9 years ago, when I was 48, and for the past 7 years have lived immediately across the street from the CU campus.  I ought to be used to new students arriving and acting like, well, new students - away from home and on their own for the first time.
  Maybe I expect a little more from college students than most people do.  Being a Navy brat, I was raised to respect my elders, and call them "Sir" or "Ma'am."  Being polite to everyone, including strangers, was a habit, or you stayed at home.  Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky.  I know that I deplore the use of quite a few usual technological advances out in public, which I supposed makes me an old fuddy-duddy.
  Here are a few of my most disliked happenings that I've observed so far this year  (classes started three days ago, on Monday):
  1.  There are paved, clean, open bike paths beside the roadway.  Why must students ride their bikes on the sidewalk; they do not have a bell, nor do they ring it, as they approach pedestrians from behind.  (I've been hit 6 times in two days by handlebars.)
  2.  Stopping and talking while in a group of 4 or more people, blocking sidewalks, walk ways, aisles in grocery stores, parking spaces, etc.
  3.  Talking in their loudest speaking voice on cell phones or ear phone devices - everywhere.  In a park, in the library, in the bathroom, walking down the street, in the grocery store, on the bus...  There is no place where one can get away from people talking loudly at all times.
  4.   Texting while driving, talking on the phone while driving, putting on make-up while driving, reading while driving, flossing teeth while driving  -  no wonder there are so many accidents happening these days.  It used to be you'd only get distracted if you were searching for a good station on the radio....

Oh, well.  Enough grousing.  No.   Wait a minute.  I must tell you about the man, about my age, who stepped out of the automatic door at the grocery store, up-ended his soda bottle, and proceeded to stand there, drinking, until he had finished the drink.  He did not step aside, and I counted 16 people waiting for him to move aside so they could leave the store.  When he moved, he stepped in front of the "in" door, and stood there, while taking his time to toss the bottle in the can that was on the other side of the door railing.  He then turned around, to step into the parking area, and seemed surprised to find 6 people standing behind him, waiting to go inside.  (I was waiting for a friend to pick me up, so I was just observing.)  He stepped around the corner, leaned against the building, and belched loudly - not bothering to cover his mouth.  After another couple of minutes, a college boy came out of the store and joined the man.  They spoke for a moment, and then both of them headed back inside.  Curiosity made me follow them.  They took four steps inside the door, then stopped, blocking the entrance (because of the railing), while the son pulled out his phone - BlackBerry - whatever, and said, "Dad, you have to look at this great app!"  I finally tapped both of them on the shoulder, to ask them to move, so I could continue to enter the premises of the store....  Like father, like son...  I guess.