QMusings

Ms. Q is not a snow bunny.

She does not like snow.

It’s cold. It’s slippery. It melts and makes things wet.

Cold and wet.

Cold + Wet = Not Fun

Ms. Q may not be a snow bunny but she IS a snow chicken.

I’m currently in Omaha, NE. Last week I got to drive on ice. That was fun.

Nail-in-the-eye fun.

It was very cold. In the teens. I didn’t like being a teen and found temperatures in the teens just as awkward.

At least it wasn’t snowing.

A couple of nights ago snowfall was predicted and the next morning it was everywhere. Big heaping mounds of it.

I don’t speak Inuit. Isn’t that the language that has a dozen words for snow? I am sure there is a specific word for densely falling, you-can-barely-see-in-front-of-you, lightly packed, kinda wet, snow.

What was that? There is an English word that means vast quantities of heavy, wet snow that if Ms. Q were out in it, she’d resemble the Spawn Of Michelin Man in a matter of minutes?

I don’t know this word. I live in a snow-free place.

The word is blizzard?

Oh. So…yesterday, ON HER BIRTHDAY Ms. Q drove in a blizzard.

I was really tempted to hunker down in the hotel room. The news was chock full o’ stuff about low visibility, stranded vehicles and strong winds. I heard about all the schools that were closed and all the businesses that were opening around noon.

I dislike being a weenie. Yes, I know there is a difference between being a weenie and being stupid. I did not want to hurt myself by being stupid. It didn’t look that bad but who knew what conditions were like further on down the road.

I leave my toasty hotel room and trudge my way to the car. The sidewalks hadn’t been cleared yet. It’s not that cold, maybe just around freezing.

I turn on the car and take out the ice-scraper-brush thing and start swiping away at the snow. It’s powdery and comes off easily. As usual, I leave a crown of snow on the roof since I can’t reach all the way across.

I get into the car. I figure if things look bad, I can always turn back.

I turn on the radio. No white-knuckling it this time with nothing but the sound of my breathing to listen to.

Nothing but news about cars in ditches.

The snow is coming down but melting as it hits the windows. I’m not finding it all that bad. I’m moving slowly and keeping a lot of space between myself and other cars.

Amazingly, the drive was okay.

The clients were dumbfounded when I arrived. They were certain I would call in saying I couldn’t make it. They are well aware of my snow weenie status.

I ended up giving a ride home to one of the clients. He has a rear-wheel drive vehicle and had difficulty getting to work. His place was about a mile from the hotel and I was happy to help out.

It was a good thing he was in the car with me. He not only brushed off all the snow as a courtesy, he told me how to rock the car out of the snowbank that had formed around my car.

I accelerated forward then backwards repeatedly in order to mash the snow down and get more traction. I got to smell burning rubber but was able to extract the car. Nothing like learning new moves in a rental.

The roads were much worse going back. Quite the bumpy ride. I saw snowplows and everything.

I turned 42 yesterday. Glad to know I’m still up for new and challenging experiences.

Be nice if the next ones are in a temperate place.

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