i'm not an amateur: i grew up in Cleveland.

Couple inches of dry, non-sticky snow have fallen in the past, oh, three hours.  And it's been cold enough for long enough that it's accumulating.  Which, you know, around here is practically apocalyptic.  (OH MY GOD!  IT'S SNOWING!  WE MUST HURRY OUT -- AT 5MPH -- TO BUY WHITE THINGS*!)  Drove home from datlowen's at about 30 mph, and I admit I fishtailed a little on the on-ramp to 395, but the thing is, I can handle that.  And then, about halfway up my hill, traffic stopped.  I could see flashing lights, but there was a tallish pickup truck in front of me so I couldn't see what was going on.  Once in a while someone came down the hill in the other direction, but the guy in front of me wasn't making any effort to go around whatever was in our lane.  Eventually someone came walking down the hill, and I got his attention and asked what was up -- seems a bus skidded out and got stuck.  (Effort being made to move the bus:  zero.)  And then a few minutes later, the cop came and spoke to the truck in front of me, which then proceeded up the hill.  And then the cop came to speak to me, and we had this conversation:

cop:  You're not going up this hill.
me:  I'm -- is it closed?  I can't go where that truck just went?
cop:  You won't make it.
me:  But I live here.  [points to building we're next to]  I don't need to go, you know, all the way up the hill.  Just to the parking lot.
cop:  People are skidding and spinning trying to go into the garages.
me:  I just need to go, you know, to the driveway right past the bus stop.
cop:  You can't get to the bus stop.
me:  I don't want to -- past it.  Just -- I mean, I understand your concern about the safety --
cop:  Look, you're welcome to try.  But if you hit my police car, I'm going to be very unhappy.

And of course I was fine.  Skids on my way up and into the driveway:  none.

Now my car is parked in a happy facing-a-bit-uphill spot with the wipers standing away from the windshield, and it's even money whether the city will be operating at all tomorrow.


*grocery store shelves tomorrow morning will be bare of bread, milk, and toilet paper.