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Here's the setting: post-holiday January after a whitish 2008 that satisfied most of those who wanted a white Christmas. Then, as the weather does, it began climbing to temperatures unheard of for the winter months, like 45 degrees. Not happy with this, Mother Nature concocted a new way to push people inside: the threat of a BIG ICE STORM. This one was definitely going to have major consequences. Roads would be treacherous. Wires would be iced thickly. Trees would surrender their limbs to the heavy load they would have to bear. Everyone was in DANGER!
To this end the schools decided to act to protect their charges by letting out early on the day the storm was still a prediction. This way when the sleet began falling in the late afternoon, the school busses would be done running and everyone would be home safely before the storm. The children were excited. The parents were perplexed. The teachers were grateful. The sky was empty. The afternoon passed quietly with no weather problems at 4 o'clock. Nothing at 5. Tick, tock, nothing at 6 either. Towns were readying the sanding trucks for the deluge, but none came. Weather forecasters nervously insisted that the arrival of this massive ice storm was imminent. Still nothing happened. I took the dogs out hoping to avoid the predicted storm. Shih Tzu's are little dogs and even though they act like bigger breeds, they must not be put into extreme weather any longer than necessary. Patches and Skittles welcomed the early walk for whatever reason, and as we finished, my husband arrived home. He chided me about getting ready for the big storm. "What big storm?" he jeered as the two dogs happily stampeded into the garage to greet "Daddy". His workplace had not let out early under this "threat", so what was wrong with everybody else? We were having our late dinner in front of TV as usual when I heard the first "plink". Then the second, and finally a steady pattern of "plinking" developed. It was 8 PM and I personally thought that the kids could have been in school all day. But as the TV shows came to an end, the "plinking" continued steadily. I prepared to take the dogs out for their Last Big Walk before bed, and what I walked into was definitely ice and lots of it. The bare trees were becoming covered with something that was sticking to the branches. The lawn was losing its stark green appearance to a silvery cast in the lights. Walking across it was becoming difficult for the dogs as they tried to follow my instructions regarding their bowel habits. But at last they were finished and ready to go back inside. For some reason my husband decided to empty the side of the garage that was next to my ramp so that this winter he could pull his car in. This meant that he wouldn't have to push off snow or scrape off ICE. This decision would prove beneficial as the evening wore on and the area became covered by ice. The "plinking" had resulted in a thick coating on the trees, the driveway, and on the station wagon that was parked outside. If anyone wanted to use it, there would have to be extensive scraping. But as things stand now, I am not driving, so it is a moot point. Morning dawned to reveal a thick coat of ice everywhere. The local TV station listed area schools that were closed, and most were. Yesterday's half day off had become today's "school closed". I could hear the pathetic sound of drivers trying to get their cars up hilly spots, the rubbery grinding noise permeating the air. My husband acted wisely and called in sick. I wondered how many others would do the same. Skittles and Patches tried in vain to get a grip on the driveway to cross the lawn to do business, but business would have to wait. Their "paddle paws" were fine for navigating in the snow, but on ice they were useless. Our driveway was what my mother used to call a "sheet of ice". The relentless "plinking" continued into the afternoon whereupon it became mere rain. Even rising temperatures did not alleviate the slick covering on roads, sidewalks, and OUR DRIVEWAY! I could not personally accompany my pets when they went outside. I would have to trust their obedience to me to come when I called. Thank goodness, they were well trained! Because even though the "ice storm cometh", the dogs must "goeth"! Just Mom |
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| Cartoon Courtesy of Coffee Cup Software |