Alex Bryne, a 25-year-old retail worker, describes his trek through the snow Wednesday morning to work. “I’d rather walk to work than take the bus. The bus is too unreliable. I have an app that tells me when it’s supposed to be coming, but the time keeps changing. I’m not going to be late for work because I don’t know when the bus will pick me up.”
Wednesday’s temperatures in East Lansing were mid-thirties, so it wasn’t freezing for Bryne on his way to work. He added, “Luckily, the sidewalks were being cleared pretty quickly and consistently.”
But not everyone had the same experience. MSU student Alexis McMann, attended her classes Wednesday and Thursday.
“The buses were late, and I was late. The buses weren’t crowded though, probably because everyone stayed home. I wish my professors had let us just Zoom in.”
Alexis McMann
Drivers may have had a tougher time maneuvering through the storm. Many neighborhood roads were not plowed, making it dangerous for people to leave their homes. As she was leaving for her job Thursday morning, Jade Elder’s car got stuck in the snow.
MSU student Jade Elder’s car got stuck, a first for her. She said she briefly panicked about it. “Yeah, it was scary. I wasn’t sure if I should call my parents for help, not that they could do much.” Like Bryne, Elder, 20, was anxious about being late for work. “A guy walking his dog helped me push my car out of the snow. That was nice of him. I felt a little silly needing help, though.”
After what had seemed like a mild winter, the East Lansing community was able to help each other face the first big storm of winter.