Here in Seattle the citizenry has been stunned by an uncharacteristic pre-winter storm season that has brought a call from Mayor Greg Nickels to stay indoors unless it is vitally necessary to venture outside.

Last night popular KIRO television news anchor Monique Ming Laven mentioned her difficult walk, one where she said "I could see my life flashing in front of me" as she walked home from the station location just south of Seattle Center back along Queen Anne Avenue on the steep upgrade leading to Upper Queen Anne on a heavily snow laden street.

Also on last night's local television news a distressed woman talked about waiting on normally busy Highway 99, also known as Aurora Avenue, for an hour and a half waiting for a bus to take her downtown.  She needed to pick up medication.  

Other people had waited at that same stop for better than three hours for a bus.  Fewer buses were available and many routes had been cancelled due to the elements, with some stalled at the transit center and  unable to function as a result of conditions.