Friday, December 9, 2011
What a ride!
Disclaimer: You may not find this interesting.
I had quite the ride into work yesterday. When I got up at 5:45, I could hear the wind driving the rain against the house, and I thought to myself, "I guess the snow missed us. Well, good. It'll make the drive to work easier." As my former secretary used to say to me, "Silly boy."
By the time I realized that the rain had changed to snow, it was too late to leave early to deal with the bad roads, and I found myself in a world of difficulty when I left the driveway at 7:00 a.m. For one thing, the left front strut on my car needs to be replaced, as do the front tires that have worn down due to the wobble from the bad strut. For another thing, I have a full set of snow tires, but they're in the back seat of my car, doing me little good in the slush and snow.
From the first movement out of the driveway and onto the road, I could barely get any traction. I was surprised that the road had not been plowed; normally our road is cleared immediately. The roads got worse, and by the time I reached outer Ohio Street, I found a hill that I could not get over. I spent nearly 20 minutes making it over the crest of that hill after a series of stopping, sliding backwards and sideways, and lots of plain old waiting. Still, I made it over.
A quarter of a mile later, as I descended another hill, I made the mistake of shifting out of first gear. I gained momentum and was soon sliding toward the ditch. I turned the steering wheel away from the ditch, desperate to avoid the rapidly approaching telephone pole and the steep embankment beyond it. Two thoughts flashed through my mind at that point. The first was "Turn into the skid!" The second was "Dang it! Lord, please help me stop! Please help me stop!!"
I did and He did. At the end of that road, the engine quit and I rolled into the driveway of a car repair garage. While I got the car started again, I called my boss to say I'd be late, and I took several deep breaths while I got my nerves under control. The next road was just wet, and I had an uneventful trip after that. But oh, what a ride to that point!
I had quite the ride into work yesterday. When I got up at 5:45, I could hear the wind driving the rain against the house, and I thought to myself, "I guess the snow missed us. Well, good. It'll make the drive to work easier." As my former secretary used to say to me, "Silly boy."
By the time I realized that the rain had changed to snow, it was too late to leave early to deal with the bad roads, and I found myself in a world of difficulty when I left the driveway at 7:00 a.m. For one thing, the left front strut on my car needs to be replaced, as do the front tires that have worn down due to the wobble from the bad strut. For another thing, I have a full set of snow tires, but they're in the back seat of my car, doing me little good in the slush and snow.
From the first movement out of the driveway and onto the road, I could barely get any traction. I was surprised that the road had not been plowed; normally our road is cleared immediately. The roads got worse, and by the time I reached outer Ohio Street, I found a hill that I could not get over. I spent nearly 20 minutes making it over the crest of that hill after a series of stopping, sliding backwards and sideways, and lots of plain old waiting. Still, I made it over.
A quarter of a mile later, as I descended another hill, I made the mistake of shifting out of first gear. I gained momentum and was soon sliding toward the ditch. I turned the steering wheel away from the ditch, desperate to avoid the rapidly approaching telephone pole and the steep embankment beyond it. Two thoughts flashed through my mind at that point. The first was "Turn into the skid!" The second was "Dang it! Lord, please help me stop! Please help me stop!!"
I did and He did. At the end of that road, the engine quit and I rolled into the driveway of a car repair garage. While I got the car started again, I called my boss to say I'd be late, and I took several deep breaths while I got my nerves under control. The next road was just wet, and I had an uneventful trip after that. But oh, what a ride to that point!
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