rome & atlanta have something in common

So.

Whoda thunk Rome and Atlanta would have something in common.

Not a Bernini statue (although Atlanta has a rusting Olympic torch).

Not a square… albeit it is really a circle <St. Peters> (although Atlanta has a dome that would make the Vatican envious).

Nope.

Snowplows.

Neither of them has any snowplows.

This week Rome had an Atlanta-like freak winter snowstorm of eight inches of snow. Apparently Snowdrifts reached 6 feet outside the city (not sure how that happens with 8 inches of snow but … whatever ..).

Cars were abandoned on roads.

Grocery stores were running out of milk & bread (someday someone will have to explain the correlation between snow/ice & milk/bread).

I heard that even dogs & cats started living together (sorry … Ghostbusters reference).

Anyway.

Italian newspapers reported Rome has only three true snowplows. But. Italians being industrious folk … have rigged up some tractors to help clear streets.

Ah ha!

But here is where Atlanta could learn something.

The Italian National Civil Protection Agency handed out 4,000 shovels to residents.

Shovels.

What an awesome idea.

Could anyone speculate the response in America if the government suggested that in times of snow you, god forbid, take a shovel (we will give you for free) and shovel your own streets.

Yikes.

The National debt debate would pale in comparison.

Ah.

But what if we encouraged everyone to do it in Italian?

To shovel: spalare

A shovel: badile

Ah.

But if you have any doubts as to the smarts of the Italians … they actually disrobed a woman with a shovel (albeit a big one) … on television … http://www.break.com/index/woman-stripped-by-mechanical-shovel.html

Show this to Atlantans and I bet guys will be lining up to shovel on their own.

For the women?

Geez. Even their shovels look like designer shovels.

but.

This isn’t about shovels.

This is about the fact that neither Rome nor Atlanta hasn’t any snowplows.

How about that?

Enlightening one may even say.

Written by Bruce