ICE!
They say it's an unusually cold winter, and I certainly hope they are correct. We had a few days of snow, but the temperatures have remained in the low 20's for the last few weeks leaving the snow, and even worse, turning it into solid sheets of ice. The sidewalks, in particular, are dreadful, and I now prefer to call them icewalks. You take baby steps as you walk to town, or the coffee shop, or grocery store. Then, after awhile, you gain confidence, let your mind slip to a different thought besides walking, and inevitably your boot slips out from under you and you flail your arms, trying to look like a graceful ice skater but looking more like a windmill.
I've only fallen once. Perhaps that means someday I can dream of becoming a professional icewalker. Probably not.
The locals walk quite quickly down the icewalks, often in high-heeled boots with ridiculously pointed toes. They pass me like I'm an invalid. The only local I've seen fall was a drunk who would have fallen anyways. Only, on the icewalk, he slid a good five feet and his keys and belongings slid the other direction. I tried to ask him if he was okay, but I only know how to say "How are you?" so he looked at me funny and probably wondered if I even existed or was he dreaming in his drunken haze about two foreigners (the other being Hideki, the teacher from Japan) with horrible Slovak pronunciation. But more on the language later.
The icewalks are ridiculous.
The major roads and part of the sidewalks have been cleared. They have normal snowplows here and use some combination of sand, salt and gravel to keep them drivable in all conditions. On the sidewalks, the landlord, shopkeeper or owner will come out with a tool that looks something like a flat hoe, and chop up the ice in front of their building, then shovel it away. They always stop at the property line. There are small clearings now and again where you can actually walk. The city takes care of the bus stops, and they usually are the first cleared parts. But those long stretches, the no-mans land of the sidewalks, I mean icewalks,…well…watch out Fred Astair, here I come.
I've only fallen once. Perhaps that means someday I can dream of becoming a professional icewalker. Probably not.
The locals walk quite quickly down the icewalks, often in high-heeled boots with ridiculously pointed toes. They pass me like I'm an invalid. The only local I've seen fall was a drunk who would have fallen anyways. Only, on the icewalk, he slid a good five feet and his keys and belongings slid the other direction. I tried to ask him if he was okay, but I only know how to say "How are you?" so he looked at me funny and probably wondered if I even existed or was he dreaming in his drunken haze about two foreigners (the other being Hideki, the teacher from Japan) with horrible Slovak pronunciation. But more on the language later.
The icewalks are ridiculous.
The major roads and part of the sidewalks have been cleared. They have normal snowplows here and use some combination of sand, salt and gravel to keep them drivable in all conditions. On the sidewalks, the landlord, shopkeeper or owner will come out with a tool that looks something like a flat hoe, and chop up the ice in front of their building, then shovel it away. They always stop at the property line. There are small clearings now and again where you can actually walk. The city takes care of the bus stops, and they usually are the first cleared parts. But those long stretches, the no-mans land of the sidewalks, I mean icewalks,…well…watch out Fred Astair, here I come.
posted by Karen at
4:26 AM
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