January 2005

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Snow - January 19

You wouldn't think less than an inch of snow could be so treacherous, would you? It was the fine, powdery snow, and it came to us during midday, just in time for me to leave for work.

I decided I could handle the drive, so I cleaned off the back windshield and headed out. There wasn't a problem until I needed to turn left onto Franklin Street. The snow was packed just right that the sub-freezing pavement under it turned it into frozen custard. I skidded as the turn started, and by some instinct remembered to go with the skid. That meant I missed the telephone pole.

Once straightened out, I realized there was another skid happening. On that one, I decided to get myself off that damned road for a minute, so I very slowly pulled into a convenient parking lot. I wasn't panicky, I just wanted to get out of traffic for a minute while I decided what to do next.

My decision was to head on toward the office, but as I got back onto Franklin I realized the street conditions were worse the further east I went. So I ended the eastward trek at the next intersection. I went into the shopping center where my friends Chris and Bradley work in Chris's business machines sales and service shop, to see them and to call the office.

Wendy answered the phone. We discussed that we needed a couple of things from Chris's store, and I told her I thought it would be smartest for me to go home instead of heading further east. She agreed, but suggested I stay there for awhile, to let the rest of the traffic thin.

That sounded like an excellent plan to me. I settled into one of the behind-the-counter chairs and Bradley and I commenced a catching-up session, since we hadn't had a chance to have a long talk in a long time. Chris came back about thirty minutes later and joined the catch-up.

We knew local traffic was heavy, but we heard that things in cities east of Chapel Hill were much worse, even though not much more snow fell. I later heard that the traffic snarls in Raleigh, for example, continued well past 11:00 p.m.

While I was there, it quit snowing. After a little more time, when school bus traffic had ebbed, I headed home, with a detour by the grocery store. The trip was completely uneventful.

I hope to be able to say that of the rest of this winter.