New York has always prided itself on not being one of those cities (ahem, D.C.) that just shuts down when an inch or two of snow hits the pavement. We press onward like our neighboring cities to the north, forcing kids to get on buses and making incomprehensible announcements about alternate side parking that nobody understands. Instead of deciding whether to go to work or school, we debate whether it’s socially acceptable to use an umbrella in the snow, and whether we really need to bring another pair of shoes to work along with the cute wellies we just got at J.Crew. (We heard Michelle Obama has them.) But not today! The storm that began last night — and, let’s be honest, didn’t impress us that much until this morning — is predicted to get so bad that New York City Public Schools have called a snow day. That never happens! You schoolkids, promise us you’ll have fun for all of us adults who still have to work, okay? Don’t just stay in and Twitter. Go outside and have some good old traditional American fun in the snow. You know, build a snowman, hide behind parked cars and throw snowballs at taxis, make mush angels — whatever kids are supposed to do in the city. By the time we get out of work, the snow will be all mucky and used up and no good to play in. Do it for the grown-ups.
