freezing rain

i just fell on my ass outside despite carefully inching along on the sidewalk from the train station to my apartment. a walk that normally takes three minutes took over fifteen minutes. i was literally sliding down some inclines - i didn't even know they were inclines until today, because these surfaces don't normally look like inclines, but i was literally *sliding* down the sidewalk, so they must be sloped. oh, and i was wearing sneakers, not my work shoes. see, there is currently a half-inch to three-quarter inch sheet of ice covering exposed pavement on side roads and sidewalks. even though i used extraordinary caution, I FELL ON MY ASS AND IT HURTS.

tomorrow, during rush hour, there will be a night's worth of freezing rain on the ground, and it will be **sleeting** in the new york city metro area.

if the transit workers decide to strike, it may result not only in inconvenience, but there is a strong likelihood that there will be a multitude of accidents, which may possibly result in deaths as motor vehicles and bikers/pedestrians attempt to navigate the city on frozen surfaces. (law people: think mens rea - "reckless" at the very least). a co-worker planned on walking across the brooklyn bridge tomorrow in the event of a strike. the pavement on bridges freeze faster than street-level. there will be tens of thousands - possibly over a hundred thousand people walking across that frozen bridge. and there will be cars. and more cars. and more cars. driving on frozen pavement. you don't think something will go wrong?

they better not strike. to do so tomorrow would be criminal.