Chateau du Mal Voisin

Saskatoon got a lot of snow overnight.  It was the inevitable day we have every November, the first really big snowfall where everyone gets stuck and is late for work the next day.  I was supposed to go get winter tires this morning but after about 10-15 minutes of brushing my car off and watching everyone getting stuck on the street, I decided not to chance it.  Even if Brahm and I could both get out of our neighbourhood without getting stuck (he following in another vehicle so I could get a ride home after - apparently at this time of year Kal-Tire prefers you to just drop your car off at 7:30 am and they'll get to it when they get to it), I'd rather not be out driving today if I don't have to.

While we were scraping and then trying to figure out the best way to get out of our neighbourhood without getting stuck, a couple of across the street neighbours came out and started shoveling their walks.  They called friendly hellos to each other, and I smiled, thinking about what a nice, neighbourly neighbourhood we live in.

Then, friendly hellos over with, they started yelling up the street about how stupid everyone is because they are trying to drive uphill to get out of the neighbourhood.  No matter what way you go from where we live, you've got to confront an upward hill at some point, so the general thought process seems to be if you can get onto a side street that isn't quite so steep you can get out.  According to these neighbours, if you go all the way to the bottom of the hill and then go up the side street, it's easier.

Okay, fair enough.  But I felt like it was kind of jerkish while people were probably having stressful moments trying to get unstuck, being worried about missing an important meeting, etc. for these neighbours to literally yell up the street to each other "HAHA these idiots never learn, year after year it's always the same!  It's our yearly tradition to sit in our living room with our coffee and just laugh at how stupid everyone is!"

Come on.  There are a lot of apartment buildings and rental units on our street - not everyone has lived here forever and knows the trick about driving to the bottom of the hill.  So neighbours, when people are frustrated and stressed, especially those who don't know the neighbourhood (like the poor lost taxi driver who barely spoke English and basically drove up and down the street for half an hour trying to get out the same way he came in) or just having a bad morning because their car is stuck, either stay inside and laugh at them if you must, or go outside and give them some neighbourly advice.  Don't stand outside and loudly mock them because that is just plain RUDE.

EDIT, later in the day:  My mom came over to pick me up and go downtown, and we took our rude neighbours' advice from this morning about going to the bottom of the hill and going from there.  GUESS WHAT, we got stuck.  So we came back to our street and went up the hill partway and then did what the neighbours were laughing at this morning and got out.  So... SHUT UP smug neighbours, but also thank you for shoveling your sidewalks because they were easy to walk on.