Disaster aftermath

The disaster is over. God's anger on us is a memory of the past. We can take a breath of relief. Together with the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean and the earthquake in Pakistan, we can classify last week's snowfall as one of the most dramatically moving events that stroke our little planet in the millennium.



(that's Milan on February 1 - notice the efficient snow shovelling technique called "melting" - it's an import from the Middle East)

Now, you see, Italy is very special. It has winters, but they are seldom snowy. Rome, our capital city, has seen a relevant snowfall only once in the last decade. However, at times, in periods when you would least expect it, snow happens to fall down. But this time it was beyond expectation. Snow!?! In northern Italy, the land of Giorgio Rocca> and Piero Piller-Cottrer, in the end of January?!? coincidence is hard to believe sometimes!

Rub your eyes, blink twice: it's snowing indeed. It so does for a day and a half. So what do most Italian people do when they see 70 cm of wet snow (the largest single snowstorm in twenty years) on the ground?

Needless to say: they keep on with their lives as if nothing has happened. They do not go out and make snowmen, throw snowballs at passers by or ride sledges. They do not stay home with their wives and open a nice bottle of vin brulé. Instead, they go to work, try catch a flight at the airport, take a train to visit their loved ones, do the weekly shopping, and so on.

Yes, sir, we are productive people, we never stop and always expect the best. And what happens when you have 70 cm (that's about 2ft6in) of snow falling within 36 hours? surprise! disbelief! things stop working?!? how could that be??? look how brilliantly other European countries, certainly much better at terms with severe winter, such as Finland and Sweden react to such events, how seamlessly they go through severe snowfall. How could we expect Italian infrastructure to perform less than perfectly?

In the wake of the indignated protests of people who complained about the delays and cancellations, here's a few pieces of advice for the next time snow is forecast to fall in Italy.

1) Travel as much as you can, with as many connections as you can find, and make your schedule as tight as you can, taking particular care not to leave any cushion time: things won't go wrong.

2) Drive normally, enjoying the sight of the white blanket ahead of you. Never contemplate the use of snow chains as stopping to put them on may disrupt traffic behind you.

3) Remembre not to shovel the pavement in front of your house. Doing so may prevent people from falling down, thus taking the enjoyment out of a day spent at home.

4) Use motorways extensively, especially in traits that witness heavy lorry traffic. Ignore speed limits as usual, as they are put there by ignorant politicians who have no clue how good a driver you are and how safe your car is, especially in slippery conditions.

5) Do not listen to Italian authorities urging you not to move. Who are they to say that you and 58.2 million other Italians should be deprived of your basic right to expect things to function perfectly regardless of the weather?

6) Make as much noise as you can in every situation. Complain, shout, shake your head in disgust, fuss around or just throw snowballs to old ladies. It will help improve the general mood.