BUZZURRO

This morning at around 10AM I left the house to drive. It snowed yesterday, and the roads were a mess, snowy, slushy and icy, but I figured that by the day after a snowstorm,at 10AM no less, the city and state would have taken care of the roads. The snow had after all stopped falling by 6PM the night before. The sun is out. It’s a beautiful day.

I’m from NJ. Sometimes it is hard to say nice things about NJ, based on the negative press it always gets, but on the day after a snow storm the major roads were always plowed clean and driving on them was never a problem. It was actually kind of nice because even though the roads were clear from snow, the scenery on the side of the road was covered in it and it is a very pretty thing to see.
Back to New Mexico…the roads today were still a mess. I could see that dirt was thrown on the icy, snowy mess but that only turned it into a mushy, slushy, slippery bigger mess.

It was tough going. Everyone was driving slow. 2 times I had to make a turn and felt the car sliding away from my control. I saw 2 accidents on the short drive home too. It’s a big shame that the roads are in such a bad condition the day after a snowstorm. It’s not like it never snows in this area either. It snows a few times every year. They should have cleaned the roads a little better. I was not happy I was disturbed by what I was seeing. So, what’s an unhappy and disturbed girl supposed to do? Call and complain to the correct officials. I did.

I called the city to complain about their roads. They told me to call the state because the roads in question were state roads. The state told me to call the city to complain, but when I told them that the city had given me their phone number in the first place, they transferred me to the correct people ,whoever they are. This person told me that they can’t plow the streets because the snow will then block entrances to buildings. They only sprinkle dirt and salt on it and let the normal flow of traffic take care of the mushy stuff left over, and/or the sun to melt it so it’s not even a problem.

Huh? This is a policy of making the roads clear of snow? Let the traffic or sun take care of it? That’s the most irresponsible thing I’ve ever heard. Cars are slipping and sliding all over. Traffic accidents are occurring all over.
I complained again and told whoever I was speaking to that the streets were a slushy, slippery mess.
“Nothing we can do.” He replied. “We can’t plow the roads with cars on them. ”
When I pointed out that in other states who get snow they plow the roads and while people may not like having to clear more snow from their properties, they do like the clear roads better.
He repeated that there is nothing they can do. Snow may be an act of God, but cleaning or not cleaning the roads is an act of man. In this case a lazy man from a lazy state.

UPDATE: Now the roads that I complained about are snow-free, ice-free and even are dry. The sun was out and melted a lot of snow, but many of the side streets and parking lots are still filled with ice and snow. Could my complaining have been the reason they were finally cleaned ?

His technique is not exactly perfect, his interpretation is a little slow for my taste, and the player has huge feet, yet I liked the video.

Yesterday as I was walking outside I saw my landlord putting up a row of paper bags alongside his house. “What are those bags ?” I asked him while pointing to one. “They are farolitos.” He responded. “Faro WHAT ?” I asked. And he replied “Farolitos. They are a New Mexican Christmas decoration. They are traditional. These one I am using are electric, but many times they are just paper bags filled with sand and candles.” “Oh.” I responded, not thinking that a row of brown paper bags was very aesthetically appealing, as Christmas decorations usually are.
Nevertheless, when I got home I did like any other computer geek would do. I Googled ‘farolitos’, I wanted to know their history and why they are a New Mexico tradition. I found out that what are called ‘ farolitos’ in Santa Fe and other Northern New Mexican towns are called ‘luminarias’ in Albuquerque and other Southern or Central New Mexican towns. New Mexico is very unlike New Jersey or California where I have also lived. They have a lot of traditions here, many of them Spanish in origin.
This is what I found.

At nighttime I left the house to take a look at these farolitos. They look pretty.

Here is a picture of some farolitos at night: