The prosaics of travel

Today is the day I leave for Seattle, the first leg of my trip. Or rather, try to leave. I can now be counted among the living dead that haunt the airports in search of a rescheduled flight. Somewhere along my flight path, the weather interfered, my first flight was cancelled, and so I have to wait for a later flight not through Minneapolis, but through Atlanta. Usually you can count on that city to be relatively weather proof, but I think today even Atlanta is part of this winter's cauldron that is brewing storms all over the USA. There is no snow there, but it is cold.
Across from me is a mother and daughter enjoying a retelling of a funny story about when her daughter was lost as a child, so they seem to be making the most of the 'lost' time waiting. Others calculate the extra distances they may need to drive if rerouted to a different airport. A businessman, immaculately dressed, has an uplifting conversation, ending it with a huge smile. A marine waits to go home perhaps, or off to his next assignment. Boarding announcements for the lucky ones. Reading, iphoning, ipodding,blogging, daydreaming, sipping coffee, for the rest of us.
An airport worker walks out of the elevator "...We're going to get more snow next week, a big one this time..."
Enough snow!

So nu, what is a mogul?

Mo·gul (mgl, m-gl)
n.
Mo·ghul (m-gl, m-) or Mu·ghal (m-gl)

check out #2, Who knew?

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Mogul [ˈməʊgʌl məʊˈgʌl] n
1. (Historical Terms) a member of the Muslim dynasty of Indian emperors established by Baber in 1526 See Great Mogul
2. (Non-Christian Religions / Islam) (Social Science / Peoples) a Muslim Indian, Mongol, or Mongolian
adj
(Historical Terms) of or relating to the Moguls or their empire
[from Persian mughul Mongol]
mogul1
n
1. an important or powerful person
2. (Transport / Railways) a type of steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six driving wheels, and no trailing wheels
[from Mogul]
mogul2
n
(Individual Sports & Recreations / Skiing) a mound of hard snow on a ski slope
[perhaps from South German dialect Mugl]

Philadelphia wins big in snow removal moguls

The snow and weather cooperated to set up perfect conditions for the newest Olympic sport, city street moguls cross. This sport is a cross between the well known bumps and grinds of downhill moguls and the chaotic intensity of ski cross racing with such moves as busted double axles, tire spins, and fender benders.

Athletes who attempt this dangerous sport must be prepared to traverse a grueling course which includes unplowed narrow streets, out of order traffic lights and surprise Competitors like city buses, UPS trucks, disabled cars,SVUs and the ever ubiquitous oblivious cell phone toting pedestrian.

How is the course set up? First, there must be at least 18 inches of snow, and better yet, two sets in one week, too much for the sponsors of the event to clean up completely. Streets must not be plowed sufficiently and the weather is best when below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes for perfect conditions. In this scenario, cars and SVUs alike must dodge pothole like terrain of packed snow and ice. For the more advance competitions, two way streets are piled on either side with snow so that only one lane is available.

This weeks competition between Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC saw one of the most fierce battles since the blizzard of 1996.
Kudos to Philadelphia for taking all the gold, silver and bronze.