Snow and Soap Operas

 

 

We have had some frigid weeks, colder than I ever remember. The recent storm buried my car in snow, and eventually a five-foot snow pile lurked behind it. I had learned about “displacement” in science, and usually related it to “if I jumped into a small pool, the water level would rise.” In this instance, each time the snowplow came by, the snow from its big shovel displaced to create a mountain behind my car. Bully snowplows!

Many a time after other snowstorms, I had put on my snow boots and been able to traverse my walkway even if it wasn’t shoveled. It had been a fun challenge, pulling each leg up, out and forward as though walking through fluffy cotton candy. No such luck after this storm! Opening the front door, I tried to step out into the snow, but the cold was debilitating, freezing me in place like Elsa froze her sister in the movie “Frozen”. Hurriedly getting back inside, I vowed to stay housebound until the spring.

Trying to keep the house warm enough was the real test, and our old boiler chugged along continuously to provide a temperature high enough for the pipes not to freeze, but low enough that a second mortgage on the house wouldn’t be necessary to pay the bill. I bundled up in regular clothes, throwing on a bathrobe and slippers for added warmth. The lower household temperature, however, froze the butter I leave on the kitchen counter so it will be soft enough to smooth on my raisin toast. The mornings after the storm found me ripping my toast as I tried to butter each piece, huge lumps of unhealthy butter just sitting there without any chance of smoothing out. Alas, it was the final snowstorm humiliation!

Normally, I like snow when the temperature is reasonable. As a child, I loved to sled and make snowballs. Last month when shopping at Ocean State Job Lot, I found the ultimate, much needed, snow accessory; a box like plastic container with the shape of 6 snowballs inside. Apparently, the eye hand coordination of children these days is so poor that a tool is needed to make snowballs. They no longer have to maneuver their hands to form the balls, but just need to shove snow into the container, shut it, and perfect snowballs would be the result. One would have to assume that such ammunition would far surpass the handmade balls that might fall apart in mid-air were they not so cleverly created.

A gift I received for Christmas has managed to maintain my sanity while housebound. Where I would normally sit and watch television while sipping on tea that gradually cools, (a real problem for me, who only likes tea at a certain temperature,) Hubby bought me a device that keeps the tea at whatever temperature I want. Really! So it was, with contentment, that I braved the cold, bundled up in a velour blanket on a Lazy Boy, sipping my hot cup of tea and watching the real life soap operas. No, not the Housewives of Atlanta or Sister Wives, but the news channels that continue to entertain me with the twists and turns in politics.

 

The Trick is to Follow the Bus

I was late for work this morning. It is difficult to get to work on time with 3 1/2 feet of snow on the ground. Fortunately, my son, Steven, shoveled our driveway. Unfortunately, after he did so, the snow plow came down our small, side street again, piling another two feet of snow behind my car. He came back and shoveled away the same snow from an hour ago. Getting the car out of the driveway necessitated the technique of “rocking”…stepping on the gas all the way in “drive” and the car rocks forward three inches…quickly stepping on the gas as the car rocks backward four inches…repeat, repeat, repeat until the car is free from the driveway and in the middle of the snow covered road, (and my fresh, hot cup of tea has sloshed out of the cup, all over the floor mat in my car.)

I inched down the middle of our street, slip sliding away here and there, but generally staying in the street. Fortunately, no car came in the opposite direction as I am sure we would have both ended up in the snowbanks on the side of the road. At the end of our street, I had to practice another snow driving trick…speeding up way before a hill in order to have the speed and the traction to get to the top of the hill without sliding down backwards. This can only be done by an experienced snowy hill driver because one must also be able to stop at the apex of the hill in order to look for traffic coming in both directions.

Once safely at the top of the hill, I turned and joined the cars on the main street, usually a street plowed well enough to get to work without further delays. On this very windy day, however, the main street was littered with snow drifts and snow piles where they are generally least expected…in the middle of the road! I unsafely drove for a mile or two, dangerously plowing through the snow and frantically turning my wheel against a skid in order to set the car right on the street again. Then I unexpectedly learned “the trick”…I started to follow a bus! Most drivers hate to follow buses because they make a lot of stops, but in the frigid weather and with 6 feet of plowed snow covering the sidewalks, not a lot of people were waiting at the bus stops and the bus kept driving through. Quietly, lurking in the rear shadow of the bus, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that IT plowed through the snow, making a safe path for me. Traveling along behind the bus, I giggled at myself and my discovery! And because where I work is on a bus line, I was able to turn off into my agency’s parking lot without further safety concerns.

I will just have to wait for a bus going in the other direction so I can find my way home safely…