Albanian victim

The unusual occurrence of yesterday, during the snow storm mentioned in the posting below, fatally struck an Albanian man, who was on his way home from work, as per this article. The place of this accident is in my residential neighborhood.

Snow, snow, snow.....

After wrong predictions earlier this month, we are currently experiencing our third snow storm, which started on Wednesday evening and is till ongoing. We have had one a week for the past three weeks, and our airports, after many cancellations are still experiencing 5 hour delays.

We are fortunate not to loose electricity in NYC, but the Northeast has now more than 800,000 people in the dark! The country occurrence of fallen trees has also hit our city along the famous and fashionable Fifth Avenue that borders our Central Park. One man walking in it yesterday was killed by one large tree that cracked under the weight of the accumulated snow. The plows are working constantly, in long hour shifts, but it is hard to keep up clearing the streets with this steady fall and 40 mph twirling winds that blind everyone.

I canceled a couple of appointments and I am grateful not to have to go out, as I had to, years ago, when employed. Now my volunteer work can be handled from home, thanks to technology, and I am the master of my own time in any kind of weather, but I distinctly remember some very bad winters in NYC in the 1950's.

The only regret today is that I cannot take any pictures, as done many times in the past, because my digital camera has decided to fail me. As soon as the streets become more navigable I'll be shopping for a new one. Meantime, I can proudly say that I have conquered the annual tax related work, and it feels good to have completed at least this boring annual project.

Sunny Albanian Riviera

The snow forecast for today in New York did not materialize, although the surrounding areas are struggling to clean up after a heavy storm that has blanketed for thousands of miles the southern/eastern United States. Washington (DC) was shut down yesterday and practically paralyzed. This is considered its worst snow storm in 90 years.

Meantime, I can't believe my eyes when reading today's report in the travel section of the Los Angeles Times about the writer's visit to Saranda. The displayed picture of this lovely area, considered part of the Albanian southern riviera, where loads of tourists flock to these days, seems a bit too summery since I know that today's weather in that town is in the middle 50's (~12C). Nevertheless, it's heart warming to see it during this long and cold New York winter!