Weathering the snowstorm?
Whining belies hardy reputation
We're supposed to be known for our hardiness, for the way we embrace the elements with stoicism and even a touch of pride.
So what happened?
This season's first snow - big, fluffy flakes totaling 10 inches or less - paralyzed an entire region. Workers fled their offices early, clogging highways and side streets. Drivers fishtailed trying to get to supermarkets, only to find parking lots jammed with customers buying last-minute items like bread and batteries. Yet the rush for supplies proved unnecessary. Much of the snow melted yesterday, a sunny, 40-degree day, exactly as the weather reporters said it would.
Nathaniel Philbrick, author of "Mayflower" and "In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex," said he sees signs that New Englanders' storied moxie is on the wane.
In fact, he used the word crybabies to describe peoples' reaction to Thursday's storm, one that set no records, came as no surprise, and delivered the kind of snow, dry and light, that is a DPW commissioner's dream.
"The fact is, once you get used to these modern conveniences and luxuries, even the mildest inconveniences become an epic tale of deprivation," Philbrick said. "Perhaps our threshold will be so diminished [that] our version of the Essex disaster and the Mayflower will be the drive home from the mall in 2 inches of snow."
To be sure, parents needed to get children from the many schools that were dismissed early. The snow, at its peak, was falling at an uncharacteristically rapid clip. City, state, and private industry offices were closing in virtual unison.
Still, Philbrick echoed the thoughts of many residents yesterday who were befuddled by the way the city reacted to the storm - more like, perhaps, the way Washington or Memphis shuts down over an inch of snow.
"People who live here should know how to handle this by now," said Yvonne Thompson, a 49-year-old construction worker and lifelong Boston resident who pointed out that meteorologists had been predicting the storm for days.
Joel Geary, an electrician, agreed as he ate lunch at the Victoria Diner: New Englanders have gone soft.
He described Thursday as a "very pleasing" afternoon. He said he left work around 11 in his truck, stopping for a coffee. He made it home to Norwood in under an hour, taking back roads. Once there, he made a sandwich, watched television and left shoveling for Friday morning. It is known as hunkering-down, he said, and it is what people should do in a storm.
People are "looking for something to be afraid of," he said. "You got to watch everything you eat and drink. You can't go to a mall without being afraid of getting killed. It's kind of sad."
Meteorologists said Thursday's storm did offer occasionally blinding conditions, and large amounts of snow fell in relatively short time. Such conditions can prove scary for the uninitiated.
"It was bad," said Roberta Benvenuti, a Back Bay resident who spent more than four hours driving her children home from Brookline. A native of Florence, she said she is not used to Massachusetts winters.
And not everyone thinks New Englanders are becoming wimps.
Kevin Breunig, communications director for the Appalachian Mountain Club and a New Hampshire native, said he's seen a spike in people's interest in winter sports like hiking and snow-shoeing. "People aren't getting soft," he said. "They just want some help in getting started."
They want snow shoe classes and hikes led by leaders. And they want to know which Gore-tex shell to buy, he said.
Not exactly intrepid, considering that people used to wear wool pants and skirts when braving the elements.
"When I was growing up, I was used to snow of a foot or more, and snow before Thanksgiving," Breunig said. "It does seem like less now, a warm trend. It's possible people aren't as used to the big storms."
While some may blame global warming, Boston received more snow in January 2005 than any month since the city began recording snowfall.
Mary Pennellatore, who lives on the same street in Dorchester where she was born, called it a matter of attitude. She recalled that a festive atmosphere surrounded a storm that shut down schools for weeks. People ambled around in the streets, socializing. Kids went sledding.
"Today it's different," she said. "People have to get home to their computers."
Jim Claiborne, a captain with the Police Department, said he thinks people are more afraid of weather because it gets a lot of hype. "Bad weather has become such a big part of the news; people have become oversensitized," he said. "All these things are in your living room now."
Parker Llewellyn, who lives on Beacon Hill, said he suspected that many people overreacted because "there's fewer and fewer New Englanders living here." He said reports of New England hardiness may be exaggerated.
"This was a nothing of a storm," he said. "But I'm from Chicago."
Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com. 