Life generates comedy

Approaching our house from street over snowbanks

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the neighborhood amidst snow hills that nearly shield the view of our house from sight in the street.  The sun aglow makes everything better for me, even the cold 30 some degrees.  Somehow the suns rays create the illusion of warmth.  Two days in a row of sunshine after a grey gloomy Sunday with the biggest snow dump we have had this winter.  It began to snow very early Sunday AM in the dark and kept it up all through the day.  The City snowplows ran late, but we had nowhere to go so it did not matter to us.  And our guy came to plow our driveway at  7:45 that evening. The snow had drifted to  better than a foot in some spots.  Monday morning I shoveled the walkway because this year he does not  do that, last year he had guys who used a snow blower and shovel on that but this year he is working alone on the Bobcat.  So I have been getting winter workouts.  This year seems more difficult than last, perhaps the familiarity has made it more of a chore, a necessity.   

Snow hill in front of pharmacy blocking parking access. 

I had to go to the Pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Jerry.  Yesterday I had noticed a huge hill of snow in the street in front of the pharmacy.  The snow was huge and eliminated 3 parking spaces on the street making it a big challenge for the more feeble folks around town.  And they rely on the small town pharmacy.  I thought it was a very strange thing for the city snowplows to build such a mountain there but thought no more of it.  Likely they were running short handed or behind on snowplowing from the storm.  . While uptown yesterday I saw the City excavating, moving snow mts out.  They do a generally good job opf that here in our little town that fancies itself a city, with Mayor, town council and all the administrative accompaniments that consume our taxes.  However I never complain about the city taxes because I believe we benefit from the services like the prompt continuous snowplows that keep our streets and roads cleared and accessible all winter.  Many places are not so fortunate.  

But yesterday I heard while in the pharmacy that here in La Crescent, straining to be a city, life is not imitating art but imitating the Charmin toilet paper commercial.  That is the one that has been regularly on TV lately with the Charmin bears discussing who will pick up the panties on the bathroom floor.  "I'm not picking it up, you pick it up," declares Mama Bear to Papa Bear and so the conversation goes between them.   But this is not about toilet paper but about comedy, sometimes  not so funny.  You have likely heard a the phrase "life imitating art"  which I googled to learn it too has a term, " Anti-mimesis "  It means a philosophical position, the notion that an event in the real world was inspired by a creative work,What is found in life and nature is not what is really there, but is that which artists have taught people to find there, through art.  Oscar Wilde opined in his 1889 essay The Decay of Lying that, "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life"  But I am digressing because  what I learned is not about  art but more about the preposterousness that can go on in  a small city when foolish bureaucrats believe they are important and begin to assume a sense of power.  I know it happens in all levels of corporations, governments, and anywhere where a small minded individual begins to feel important.  

I

City hauling off snow  with equipment, to the river

mentioned that I had seen the City was at work removing snow hills from the area near the fire hall and perhaps they would get to this one next or soon.  Talking about the inconvenience of the snow mountain on the street outside the pharmacy with the pharmacist, I mentioned that it seemed strange for the city snow plows to leave such a hillside. Now I am able and can park across the street at the market and walk over, wade through, negotiate the obstacles.  But many are much more feeble and cannot, especially difficult for those with limitations like walkers and canes.  He told me the rest of the story, that apparently it was not the city crew but whoever snowplows the small nearby parking lot which has access to a local tavern and a CP/A office.  He said they were having a problem over this and  in my words, not his, some City Fool declared "that's not the City's snow" and decided La Crescent will not remove this snow mt blocking parking spaces on the city street by the pharmacy..Apparently dumped there from an adjacent parking lot. I hope the next time they pile it in front of City Hall. I said, "Someone should put a big sign out there saying"  "Not the City's Snow?"  Too bad some petty fool has decided to play out the "I'm not picking it up you pick it up" commercial. 

Small towns with time to do better. Today I called to register my annoyance and was assured that the City will get to it. Not sure what happened but this was better and easier than I expected. And so although this was my  FB post yesterday I thought it worth putting here.