New Englanders are making noises about how Nemo harkens back to the big bad blizzard of 1978. The lack of technology and preparedness left scores of folks stranded in their cars on I-95. It also left the region with a hefty price tag: $520 million in 1978 dollahs, which equals about $1.85 BILLION in modern, inflation-adjusted terms.
When I heard Governor Deval Patrick’s “driving ban” the libertarian in me recoiled. I had no desire, of course, to drive in the tempest. But the government-sanctioned proscription of it suddenly made me want to hop into my heated leather seats an joyspin down Washington Street.
I didn’t. Instead I:
- charged all of my Mac electronics
- baked peanut butter cookies, broccoli potato medallions, and a random mash of perishable items best used before dawn
- double-checked my stash of Ikea votive candles
- Netflixed “The Day After Tomorrow” to see how bad things could be…say, if I lived in a dystopian version of Manhattan
A buried Saab and eight hours of shoveling are pretty much all I had to show for my trouble. These hardcore Yankees got me beat.
Astrid Lium 