It's been awhile since I've written, and it's an odd topic that's pulling me out of my hiatus. This past Saturday, the Grand Strand saw 4ish inches of snow that started at approximately 7:00 PM the night before. This level of accumulation hasn't happened in this area for a decade. I can guarantee you that if it had happened on a week day, school would have been cancelled the night before. Why? Because contingency plans for dealing with such weather simply are not in place due to the infrequency. It doesn't make sense to invest in them.
Also scheduled for Saturday was the annual Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon. It was cancelled the night before. As it turns out, on Saturday morning most roads were pretty clear, despite the white stuff. Many runners and others are quite upset the city officials did not wait until the morning of the event to call it of. Lots of folks are on very tall soapboxes talking about how our government is taking down tourism, first with the May Bike Week being dismissed and now a cancelled marathon. To those folks, I have three words to say. Get. Over. It.
To the runners who trained for so long and traveled to this area for the event, this isn't directed at you. I'm so sorry for your wasted effort, time and money. I'm really hoping for you that you can get your entry fees refunded. I can certainly understand why you'd feel greatly disappointed and probably even angry.
To those who were not involved in the event, and one step further, not involved in the process that cancelled Bike Week, stop talking. I challenge any of you to figure out a way for the city to have coordinated a delay in the race time when so many volunteers are involved. I challenge you to figure out how it could have been postponed a day when the cycling event was today. I challenge you to figure out how any runners would have been able to stick around another day when so many of them traveled from out of area and had to return to normal life on Monday.
With inclement weather, tons of liability was hanging over the heads of the city. Had the hypothetical poo hit the fan and there been some sort of traumatic, weather-related incident that led to a legal event, this same group of soapboxers would have been pounding the pulpit about how irresponsible it was to open us taxpayers up to having to payout a settlement.
For the record, I'm sad for those who were affected by the cancellation of this race. A good friend of mine is extremely competitive and she was, obviously, unable to run. But I wish everyone would take just a moment to think about the otherside of the coin. More than that, I wish those who talk the loudest and most frequently would put all of that energy towards getting involved and actually attempting to make the changes they want rather than just flapping their lips about it. Be brave and step up to the plate. And if you're not willing...zip it.
No comments:
Post a Comment