"weird weather"
by lizbeth

christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, especially if you're a credit card company or merchant. december means traffic jams at the mall, long lines at the post office, and of course lots of snow. the more snow that falls, the more snow needs to be shoveled.

a white winter might be beautiful, but it's also hard work and expensive to buy all the tools you need. the harsher the winter, the more money you spend. and where do we spend all that green? mostly at a certain do-it-yourself home improvement giant with the pretty orange sign.

home improvement isn't just for the tool guys anymore. with the popularity of DIY home and garden tv shows, people are flocking to the big orange depot for everything from christmas trees to toilet paper holders. in the spring, they buy expensive lawn mowers and other garden equipment they might use twice. in the summer, hot tubs, outdoor lighting, and paving blocks to redo their walks. come fall, they head in for rakes and leaf bags. come winter, they buy snow shovels, snow blowers, and tarps for their cars.

when the sun is shining, people spend money for flowers and when the weather turns foul, people load up their SUVs with everything from lumber and plastic to lightbulbs and batteries. the worse the weather, the more the orange depot makes. whereas a light snowfall might bring in a little business, a heavy storm brings them in by the droves, stocking up on driveway salt, generators, and push brooms.

the best business is never business as usual, it's a hurricane or blizzard or tornado ripping through neighborhoods and sending the occupants scrambling for sand bags and plywood.

the nation's capital has had more than it's share of weird weather recently. in febuary of 2003, DC started out the year with one of the worst blizzards on record. 17" of snow buried the city and cost billions of dollars for snow removal. all spring and fall the coast was buffeted by thunderstorms, flooding, and tornados. in september, hurricane isabel hit the DC metro area causing floods and power outages that lasted up to a month in some areas. in december, while everyone was putting their finishing touches on their christmas decorations, the capital was rocked once again, but this time by a 4.5 earthquake.

the average homeowner spent thousands of dollars this year in disaster preparedness or recovery. but one industry stood to make a huge profit, the do-it-yourself super stores. and profit, they did. stocks rose, and in november, companies were reporting record results. the more bad weather rolled in, the more money flooded into cash registers and the pockets of the DIY fatcats.

one man's misery is another's opportunity, that is true, but thousands of people were suffering while one industry lit cigars with hundred dollar bills.

are the DIY stores in the right place at the right time, or is there something sinister at work? can a group of people use their fortune and influence to control the atmospheric conditions and use the weather towards their advantage? these 'natural disasters' and 'acts of god' could be under the influence of the big orange money machine, and we are just suckers in SUVs with a bed of nails and a fresh christmas tree strapped to the roof.