We live in New England, so crazy weather is nothing new to us, right? So why is it, when our local version of "snowmageddon" doesn't materialize, we lose our minds and point the finger at the seemingly hapless meteorologists, the Mayor for calling a snow emergency and Traffic and Parking (and subsequently the contracted tow company) for the parking violations and needless tows?

Looking back to last week, it is fact that everything and everyone, including the National Weather Bureau, predicted only slightly less snow than hit the entire Eastern Seaboard from Maryland to New York City. The computer models all said the same things and there was enough snow that fell along the corridor to provide the kind of tangible evidence that yes, we were going to get slammed.


So what should we expect from the people that call the shots? Are they not supposed to make decisions to ensure our safety? Of course they are.

And what makes it worse for those people is that it costs money when we get a snow storm – hard money, not the kind of soft money that we had to pay out for a parking ticket or a tow that was refunded anyways – the kind of hard money that will hurt when it comes to do the FY11 city budget.

So maybe we should cut them all a break, because they (and we) have to live with the short term fallout from their choices, and then they get another additional kick in the ass when it comes budget time. And that's not fair.