Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Snow joke
Driving home from Oshawa (East Toronto) to Hamilton on Sunday night, I experienced my first Canadian snow storm. You know how in England the weather's never really that bad, so if you really want to do something you won't let the weather stop you?
Not so in Canada. A third of the way home we realised we should have stayed in Oshawa. Visibility was between 50 and 100 metres, and the snow was swirling around us in massive clouds and dancing in drifts across the road. Previously recognisable landmarks looked like they were covered in the ash of a nuclear holocaust, and everything was deserted.
In the middle of all this, I realised why North Americans, as well as other people from non-temperate climates, seem to believe in God more. When you're in the middle of a snowstorm or a tornado or a flood, it's easy to believe that your destiny isn't entirely in your hands. Whereas it's hard to find evidence of a higher power walking through the drizzle in the centre of Slough.
Not so in Canada. A third of the way home we realised we should have stayed in Oshawa. Visibility was between 50 and 100 metres, and the snow was swirling around us in massive clouds and dancing in drifts across the road. Previously recognisable landmarks looked like they were covered in the ash of a nuclear holocaust, and everything was deserted.
In the middle of all this, I realised why North Americans, as well as other people from non-temperate climates, seem to believe in God more. When you're in the middle of a snowstorm or a tornado or a flood, it's easy to believe that your destiny isn't entirely in your hands. Whereas it's hard to find evidence of a higher power walking through the drizzle in the centre of Slough.
