Snow Tired

Please, allow me to vent for a moment. Now, I’m usually the guy who makes fun of others for getting all worked up over weather, so what happened today was a righteous comeuppance. It doesn’t mean I liked it, but it was definitely righteous. To truly explain I need to take you back to just over two years ago.

It was one of those rare times when I was alone at home, while my wife and kids were in Utica. We were supposed to meet at Applebees for lunch. It had been snowing steadily all morning, but it hadn’t really accumulated on the roads, so it lulled me into a false sense of security. And I was hungry for a Cowboy (Veggie) Burger.

Everything started off well, with my iPod plugged in and playing Guns ‘n Roses. The car handled well on the road, and I was well on my way… until I ran into the drifts. There’s a stretch of road where the winds are strong and they drive the snow over the road in drifts, but I was going along so well that I forgot the drifts were there. Then I was skidding, sliding across the opposite lane in what seemed like slow motion.

I ended up in a ditch that day, but I got lucky that it was shallow enough that the car didn’t turn all the way over, preferring instead to rest on its side. Several good samaritans came to my aid also, helping me out of the car and giving me someplace to rest while I waited for the tow truck, for the police, and for my wife. But since that day anytime the winds pick up in winter I get anxious.

Which brings me to today. They were predicting the storm of the year, with the number fluctuating between 6 inches, and 10 inches, to a whopping 15 possible inches. My daughters’ schools both let out early in anticipation of the storm, and I went to pick up the youngest one in order to bring her home. All was well on the backroads we usually take until we started climbing the hill. The snow was steady once more, and beginning to accumulate on the road. It was just too much for the car to climb against the wet slush on the ground.

So I pulled to a stop and sat there with my blinkers on, my 5-year-old reassuring me all the while that she was fine and that we were going to be fine. But I was getting anxious. My mind was filled with reminders of the fall into the ditch, and of the drifts, always the drifts. And I was thinking about earlier today when my coworkers were voicing their fears and I was standing there thinking, “It’s not going to be that bad.”

Luckily for us, a state trooper helped us get turned around and we took the long way back home. But I’m still anxious even after being home an hour. Maybe I should see someone about my fears. My wife says I should just get snow tires. That they will solve all of my issues. I’m leaning towards agreeing with her.

Sam