Several years ago there was one hell of a blizzard that stoppd the entire state of PA for a number of days. For the first few days the only people allowed on the road were first responders and heating oil trucks...it they could even move.
I was stuck at work and crew change was a couple of days late. We were tied up for a couple of days and I was watching TV.
Slowly the main roads were dug out and it was news as to what was and wasn't open. On the news the Mayor was seen standng out amid a crowd of maybe forty or fifty people milling around him smiling for the camera. The neighborhood had dug itself out and the streets were clear.
The Mayor was babbling about how the real Philadelphia spirit was being displayed here and how proud he was of the people of the neighborhood
I'm from Pittsburgh and I didn't get the significance of it but the guy next to me was a hometown boy and sat there laughing his socks off.
"I know that neighborhood," he said. "Most of those people behind the Mayor are drug dealers. They probably hired all the local kids to dig the street out so they could go back into business!"
"Wow!" he continued. "Win/win. The Mayor gets a photo opportunity where he can spout off and the dope dealers get free advertising that they're open for business! Look! Some of them are making gang signs to advertise!"
Even back then if didn't surprise me a bit. That's what politicians do.
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