2002-12-03 - 9:08 p.m.
SLIP SLIDING AWAY
Winter is upon us full force. It�s been quite cold for some time now but we are adding snow. Despite our reputation, Boston has more snow that we do right now but our snow also is uneven. The winds were off Lake Michigan for the past few days and we have lake snow. Go inland some miles and you�ll find no snow at all.
Monday was the first morning that everyone was driving in the snow, although the real problem was icing of roads. Whatever the real cause of the problem, the results were obvious. By January we are pros at bad weather driving. On the first try, the bad weather often wins.
Much as I consider myself a very average driver, I think I�m actually a bit above average in bad weather driving. Part of my ability comes from living atop a huge hill in New Jersey, the land of the ice storm. Part of my ability comes from a general driving style in which abruptness rarely happens. I�m no lead foot and it helps in bad weather. I don�t take curves quickly and I�m more than happy to be minimalistic once I start to skid. Winter driving? Just go with the flow of the car.
What scares me the first snow even more than later ones is the realization that defense driving can only protect you to a point. If the idiot near me on the freeway insists on going 65 mph on ice covered roads and hits an ice patch next to me, it may not matter what I do or don�t do. I also fear going off the road more in the winter because I fear having to wait for help in the bitter cold.
I thought about all of these things as I drove across the Horicon Marsh this morning. By the time I reached the marsh, I was enough inland that I was not dealing with much snow. But the road bisected wide frozen water with reeds sticking up. I always fear going off the road there. Once, when caught in a storm, I went all the way up to Fond du Lac to come back down just so that if I went off the road I�d be in a farmer�s field somewhere rather than in icy water.
Trips like these remind me why I really got a cell phone. It�s nice for keeping track of who needs to be where when and whether anyone has stopped at a friend�s house. But I really got it for summoning help. I just hope I never really need it.
LAST YEAR: Twirling
LAST FIVE ENTRIES:
Just Another Manic Monday
The Limits of Might and Power
The Act of Creation
Why I Should Not Divorce
Turkey for One?
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Copyright 2006 by Ellen |
