Adventures In Writing

Stranded In A Winter Wilderness!

The winter storm the weatherman predicted arrived Monday afternoon without fanfare. That morning had been cold and wet, but I didn't really expect the ice to arrive the way it did. It crept over us with stealthy ninja moves and turned highways into lethal wastelands. When I went to bed last night, there had been two fatalities, 60 injury related accidents, and 140 non-injury accidents. The police department gave up investigating anything that was not an injury.

My wonderful wife Sherry grew up in Minnesota and is used to inclement weather. On Sunday night, she insisted on going to your grocery store and stocking up for least three days. When all five kids lived with us, that was never a problem. I was known as the dad who had the corner grocery store in his house. I never bought less than 10 cans of anything, never less than the large economy size toilet paper, and never less than the 10 pound package of hamburger meat, which I divided into 1 pound packages and put into the freezer.



Without Sherry's foresight, one of us would have had to have been out in this mess. As it is, we get to stay home, warm and comfy.

On the way home from OU, I stopped at the Hastings bookstore to pick up a book I'd ordered. While I was there, I noticed they have a sale on hardcover graphic novels. I picked up five to tide Chandler and I over through our bleak separation from the rest of society.

After having a Christmas with 70° temperatures, it's weird now to face this ice storm. Thankfully, we haven't had any massive power outages yet. Then again, all the trees that were lost in 2007 haven't had a chance to grow back.