At the Intersection

Here was a little moment last week that typified the headaches all this snow has caused travelers. As I was coming down the hill on 36th Street between Lancaster and Market, I noticed four trolleys stacked up, with a growing line of cars behind them. Apparently, a SEPTA truck was blocking the way, and since trolleys run on fixed lines, none of them could advance. Deliciously, Philadelphia Parking Authority, star of the reality TV show, "Parking Wars," was writing up the truck.

Perpendicular to this, on a small side street, another line was forming, this time behind a poor woman spinning her wheels in the mushy snow. I approached her, made a two-handed shoving gesture, and then got behind her car and pushed her on her way. She rolled down her window and, in a relieved voice, said thanks, and I tapped the back of her car as she proceeded and said, "You stay safe out there."

Maybe it was the snow quieting everything, but even in the craziness of the morning rush, I didn't hear any honking and I detected a general sense of patience. I guess it's hard to have squabbles between people when the weather has ganged up on us and we have to band together to survive it.

(By the way, the photo above is not from that day, but from two days later, when three trolleys were stacked up going in the other direction. It was too cold and sleety to pull out my camera on the day of to commemorate the moment, so I decided to snap this photo two days later instead.)