On Monday morning, we all woke up to the beautiful, treacherous, deceptively festive sight of several inches of snow-covered ice on the ground. With it came a reprieve from classes, work, traffic jams and general commuting responsibilities, at least for most of us. For those of you who didn’t get the day off, including those in the service industry, caregivers and health care professionals, bus drivers and mail carriers, etc., we salute you. I’ve been singing “The sun will come out tomorrow” from the musical Annie all day in honor of your arduous travels. According to the local weatherfolks, those lyrics will actually come true sometime Tuesday morning. Here’s hoping.
The rest of Monday evening turned into an icy nightmare, especially for those of us who live in the hillier parts of Seattle. The ice was inescapably thick and blanketing most of the roads throughout steeper neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and Queen Anne once the temperature dropped. At last check it had fallen to 20 degrees. I personally got stuck with a friend going downhill on Mercer between Harvard and Summit. We made a left turn and, oh dear, that’s not good. We couldn’t get any traction to back up, and we certainly weren’t going to point the car downslope on a steep hill covered in ice that leads directly to the guardrails on I-5 north. Not exactly how I would like to die, and certainly not today Satan. Nope. Some genius decided to put the ice warning/roadblock signs at the bottom of the hill instead of the top, which apparently made sense to them at the time. Said friend had to park her vehicle and abandon it for the night in a stranger’s driveway, and some poor schmuck was brave enough to Lyft us both home to opposite ends of Seattle. Randy, my new Lyft-driving friend; thank you, wherever you are. May your all wheel drive see you through the night, and your customers all tip you well. You are truly a snow angel. Or ice angel. Whatever. My benediction remains pertinent regardless. Also, I think I have frostbite.
Before it got scary outside, some of us here at the Seattle Collegian took the opportunity to chronicle our day away from the newsroom and classes through photos, and we thought we would share some of them with you. A little fluff on this fluffy day; you know, just because. Consider this our version of cat memes, but with dogs. We hope you enjoy a small glimpse of the snow day through our eyes and that your hearts are warmed on this cold, cold night.
Author
Astro (they/them) is the Editor-in-Chief of the Seattle Collegian, the President of Seattle Central's Queer Cooperative club, a fully-professed Guard with the Sisters of the Mother House of Washington, a social worker and behavioral scientist, founder of Transgender Day of Remembrance at Seattle Central (TDoR), Board Member-At-Large with Diversity Alliance of Puget Sound (DAPS), and a self-identified Queer-Alien-Person-Of-Color. They have won awards for their journalism and community service work as well as for innovation in leadership and academic excellence, and are an active and outspoken advocate and activist for both the LGBTQ+ and recovery communities. They speak regularly at events relevant to these causes, and work closely with their fellows to support these communities. Social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion are their banners, and their belief in the gifts, strengths, and resilience of all minoritized communities is the driving motivation behind their work and their mission: using the powers of journalism, self-expression, creativity, conversation and connection to uplift and foster acceptance for all peoples.
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