Snow Day 2009...it began snowing about mid-day Sunday, February 28. By the time darkness fell the white stuff was falling fast and sticking to everything. The newly wed Arthur and SIL arrived just after nightfall and declared there was a 'blizzard out there'. Their power was off and they came to Mom and Dad's in order to have heat and entertainment. Hmmm. You would think newly weds would have plenty of both, with or without electricity. Hmmm.
Our cable was out, but we have tons of DVDs, books, magazines and games. We also have a generator the size of a utility building behind our house that will run for four days on a tank of fuel. And a fridge and pantry full of food.
I tried to temp the children and hubby into watching 'Grumpy Old Men' with me, but they would have no part of that. So after visiting awhile I retreated to my room to do crossword puzzles and watch my movie alone.
Before it got dark, Courage and Krumm bundled up in layers and went out to play on sleds. They had a blast being children and getting frostbite. They urged me to come out, but I only made it as far as the front door steps. It was just too cold for me!
Finally, with all the children inside and thawed out, I went to bed and slept like a bear in hibernation. The next morning, after many calls to the county to see if we had been added to the long list of business closures (we were not on that list), Arthur and I got up, showered, and headed out to work.
Driving to work was not so bad. It was the parking lot at the county office that nearly got us!
The parking lot is approached from one end by a small incline, which we made up without problem. But shortly after we got into the lot, other folks started sliding and spinning and making a whole big mess of the parking lot. I moved my car from one spot after watching helplessly as a small car slowly slid and spun getting closer and closer to my 'New Old Betsy'. I moved her to a lower spot in the lot, away from most all other cars. But parking there made a longer journey for Arthur and I to make to the safety of the building.
It took me and Arthur almost half and hour to inch our way from the car to the building. The pavement was iced over into a sheet of slippery glass. We had to walk taking little baby steps, with knees bent to have some balance, and all the time searches for bits of dry ground to place our toes. And during this time, cars were sliding sideways down the lot, crashing into other cars and coming right at us at times. We watched as one of Arthur's co-worker's attempted to push cars and pleaded with him to stop before he was knocked down and crushed by a sliding car. He did eventually slide down and bust his butt, but luckily a car didn't slide over him.
The snow and ice are beautiful as it falls and covers the earth, but it is also dangerous.
To this day, I watch traffic tickets come in with the date 2/28 and 3/1 and I look to see what the charges are...over half are following too close with an accident and/or failure to maintain a lane. Hmmmm.
