Thank GOD last week is over

What a week it was for commuting. I've never been so happy to see a weekend in my whole life.

Wednesday was a day for lovers, but it sure wasn't for drivers. Snow, ice, extreme cold, locusts, earthquakes and tornadoes all pelted Pennsylvania, and, aside from New York State, there are probably at least 40 other states I would have rather been living in.

It took me three hours to get to work, and when I arrived, I found out the school where I teach was closed. Joy. I turned right around and drove home - 3 more hours.

But really, I have no right to complain. There were people on I-78 who spent up to 24 hours in their vehicles, without moving. The National Guard was called up to bring in drinks, baby supplies and ready-to-eat meals to motorists.

And this was just a blizzard. I shudder to imagine how the state would have handled a national or regional emergency if this is the level of competency we get with an ice storm. Absolutely outrageous.

What's more, it's not like we are Georgia, Southern California or Florida, places that rarely if ever see In the last 15 years, I can think of three blizzards off the top of my head, and dozens and dozens of other storms that created mayhem in Pennsylvania.

To his credit, Governor Ed Rendell seems full-hot on the deal.

As reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Yesterday, Rendell called for an investigation into what he deemed as the state's "totally unacceptable" response to the crisis and the "total breakdown of communications" among state agencies.

"How could it happen that I wasn't notified until five of 8 p.m. and notified by a state trooper at the residence, not by anybody in the normal chain of command?" Rendell questioned.

He added, "I haven't gotten an acceptable answer as of now and that ticks the heck out of me."

Well, that's a start.

Motorists being stranded on an American highway for 24 hours because of a winter storm is unacceptable and inexcusable.

To make it worse, from my point of view, the state wasn't quite circling the wagons enough to quickly fix the problem.

Case in point: last Thursday, I was traveling on Route 422, about 20 miles west of Philadelphia, but not too far from where motorists were stranded for 24 hours on I-78. While on 422, I noticed a snowplow scraping the roadway and pushing melted snow another foot off the shoulder of the bare route, which was mostly dry and in no way a hazard. A waste of gas and man hours. I can just imagine that situation - a driver collecting OT to scrape a dry roadway, stranded motorists a few counties away be damned.

Rendell seems determined to get to the bottom of the debacle. He has called in James Lee Witt, a former FEMA director during the Clinton Administration who serves a public-safety consultant, to conduct an independent investigation. (Remember the Clinton Administration? Way back when we a federal government much more competent than we do today. At least Rendell didn't hire Michael Brown.) The state Senate's Transportation Committee and Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee are also investigating. A hearing is set for Thursday.

On Friday, Rendell would not rule out the possibility that the state's handling of the storm emergency could result in employee determination(s).

Call me crazy, but if there were massive problems about 40-50 miles away, shouldn't our state have been circling the wagons, calling on all available resources to get the interstate reopened? (On Thursday, sections of I-78 were still closed, and I know this firsthand, because I was detoured around the closed roadway on my way to work - see photos below.)

Thank GOD for timing. This is I-78 in Berks County, not far from Allentown, Pa. I travel this highway, on this very section, every day, and I traveled it about two hours before this photo was taken (in the direction of the lone white car, above right). (AP Photo/The Morning Call, Don Fisher)

This is a view along the same area of I-78 going the other way. An accident shut down the interstate, and while the traffic sat still, the snow and ice came and came and came. By the time the accident was cleared, the highway was impassable. Some sat on the highway for upwards of 24 hours. Governor Rendell had to call out the National Guard to deliver baby supplies, gasoline and meals to cranky, enraged motorists. (AP Photo/The Morning Call, Don Fisher)

I'm just happy I was not one of them.

How many days until spring again?

(Top photo from AP)