Perspective

The snow came down. It came down so vigorously that it covered the windows just as soon as you cleared them off.

By the time I truly realized just how stupid it was to try to get to work, it was easier to just keep going than to turn around. I was only eighteen minutes late.

I drove slowly. I kept as far behind the car in front of me as I could and still see it. I couldn't see behind me for most of the drive. I slid into the bank on the side of the road once. At my last oil change, I was told that the front tires on my front-wheel drive Saturn would only just pass inspection (if I were to get an inspection) and that they would need to be replaced. The mechanic even said "all bets are off if it snows." Still, I went to work. Slowly, carefully, and got here in one piece.

I'm listening to one of my coworkers complaining about her drive. She was in a four-wheel drive SUV and was complaining about some poor soul in a little front-wheel drive car like mine going twenty mph down the road (twenty?! I don't think I went more than ten or fifteen at any given part of my drive!). At one point in her story, she just exclaimed, "I have four-wheel drive, just get out of my way! You shouldn't be out there if you can't drive in it!" In part, she's right. If you don't trust your skills at the wheel or your vehicle, you really shouldn't be out in this mess. The other side of that coin is that many SUV owners think their vehicles give them supernatural powers in bad weather.

While I think I understand my coworker's frustration, I think she didn't understand the situation of the person in front of her. That lady could have bad tires, like I do, but work in a job that required her to be there despite the weather, like I do. Honestly, do you think someone who does not own a snow-ready vehicle would be out in this mess if they didn't feel they had to be? Only patience really serves in this weather.