Brrrrrr! We got ourselves a case of the Blizzard Blues in Ohio.
A major winter blast has covered around 15 states! Fortunately, the Buckeye State is just along the edge of the storm. In Central Ohio, there are no power outages. The weatherman said we'd get about eight inches of snow. However, if you look behind my neighbor who is shoveling the snow, it has certainly drifted higher than that. And, those dang flakes are still coming down!
None of this has come as any surprise. We've heard about it approaching for days. I visited the local grocery and was shocked with how busy the place was as people stocked up on goods. Thankfully, I was just there to get something at the pharmacy. I experienced no long lines to wait through. I didn't have to face any shelves that reminded me of times when a nasty little virus from China was the main story in the news. I imagine this time there was toilet paper available, but there were other shelves that had been emptied. I also think that hand sanitizer was most likely fully stocked.
You could say that experience is the best teacher. I decided days ago that I was just going to hole up in my home and go nowhere for the next few days. I wasn't always so wise. If you are an old enough fart, you can remember the blizzard of January 1978. And, I remember it. I actually drove through it, not my wisest moment.
I guess you can say ignorance is bliss. I knew there was supposed to be snow, but I never imagined what I would face as I drove from Ohio to Kansas.
INDIANA -- I must have pulled off the interstate to get gasoline. (At that time, according to Google, the average price of gasoline was 62 cents a gallon. I know, it's unimaginable today.) Anyway, as I pulled back onto the entrance to the freeway, my car slid completely out of control. I slid head-on into a guardrail on the entrance ramp. There was no damage to the car and, unbelievably, I was able to back out of it and continue on my journey. And, unbelievably, that's just what I did.
ILLINOIS -- By this time, visibility was close to zero. Yet, I continued on my way. I almost wrote "merry way", but it was not at all merry. I saw the lights of the semi-trailer coming up from behind me. That driver, however, didn't see me. He rear-ended me. But, since we were both crawling along at a snail's pace, one more time, there was no damage to my car and I continued heading west. Unbelievably!
MISSOURI -- Somewhere around St. Louis, I stopped for gasoline again. (Still 62 cents a gallon!) But, before I got back on the freeway, I had fuel line freeze up. I didn't know what it was at that time. I just knew the car wasn't going anywhere. This time, another truck driver stopped. He diagnosed the problem and told me I wasn't going anywhere else that night. I can't remember if he also towed my car to a nearby hotel, (but I think he did). I do remember he told me that I was spending the night at that hotel or I would freeze to death. Thankfully, at that time in my life, I had a credit card. It certainly wasn't a bill that I expected to have.
KANSAS -- It took much longer than the usual 12-hour drive to get back to the Kansas City area. I safely made it back home the following day. But, back in those pre-historic times, telephone calls charged extra for long distance communication. It was cheaper to call in the evening. So, I waited for cheaper rates before I called my mother to let her know I was safe, sound, and warm. In no uncertain terms, she let me know that she would have accepted a collect call a whole lot sooner.
So, with that little bit of blizzard experience under my belt, I have decided to sit this one out. However, I'm not as prepared as I should be to face weather like this. If power was out for a week, as it is in some parts of the country, I don't know how I'd cook anything on an electric stovetop that doesn't work. I don't even have means to open up cans without my electric can opener. Still, I'm safely in my warm home, with my computer and my kitty cat that likes to rest in front of my keyboard. Neither of us are suffering. I didn't even go outside to take the photo of my neighbors at work. I snapped that shot from my office window.
Stay warm.
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