Why yes, that *is* hail bouncing off my office window!
Today, it snowed and then hailed and then snowed some more. Everyone else in the office ended up going home early–my boss offered to let me go saying that he didn’t want me to get trapped there, but the project manager had demanded package tracking numbers which I could not obtain until the late afternoon, so I stayed. At the end of the workday, I scraped the car clean, popped on the heater, drove two blocks, and my jaw dropped. Cars were way the hell backed up, and I prepped myself for a hell of a long ride home, even though I live quite close to work. As soon as I pulled onto a more main road, however, I realized there was a problem…the snow on the roads had melted a bit and re-frozen into a sheet of ice. As I made this realization, the car in front of me fishtailed, hit the curb, and then when it backed up, it nearly hit me.
I made an executive decision: turn into the next parking lot, drive back to work, leave the car there overnight and walk home.
This was the correct decision to make. I would have sat in traffic for a very long time, evidenced by me passing the car that had nearly hit me still sitting almost in the exact same spot in the time it took me to drive back to the office and then walk back. As I made my way up the hill over highway 167, I saw a group of three men helping to push cars up the hill, as so many were ineffectively spinning their tires. I decided to lend a hand, and spent the next hour and a half pushing cars, vans, and trucks up the hill, and even a goddamned semi out of an intersection. We also cleared a path for an ambulance! Along the way, we picked up more people–one woman who had just gotten back from Montana had a bunch of road salt in her truck so she stopped and started spreading salt out on the road in front of stuck vehicles. Another man showed up with a shovel and started digging people out. People in stalled cars further back hopped out and helped people who were farther up the hill. It felt really good to help these people out and be part of the solution, especially since I know I would have been part of the problem had I elected to continue the drive home.
After a while, traffic started to clear, and people were no longer having issues getting up that section of road, so I walked with the guys back up the hill–we parted ways at the hospital, as one of their wives was in the process of having a baby. I continued on my merry way home, simultaneously warm from all the running and pushing and yet cold to the bone, and still ended up pushing another car out of the hospital employee parking lot. I don’t envy those who have to drive anywhere right now, and tomorrow morning after the roads are freshly frozen again, I will envy people less, if that’s even possible. At least in the midwest when it’s so cold that cows freeze into solid blocks and mastadons start thinking about making a comeback, most everything is flat so you don’t have to contend with hills coated in sheets of ice.
This is going to be a nasty winter, and I’m not looking forward to it. If the roads are still this bad on Thursday and Friday, all signs point to me having Thanksgiving dinner at Shari’s diner instead of with friends, which is a thought that defies physics by both sucking and blowing at the same time. But I am thankful to have a little faith back in the general good nature of humanity and willingness to band together to help each other out.
You made a good choice. My boss is still driving home and may not get home till 2 am.
Your post made me smile from ear to ear. My neighborhood is so lame. Well done, Mellzah 🙂
🙂 I was really surprised to see it, this area is so industrial that you don’t see a lot of community.
Good for you. I love hearing stories about restoration of faith in humanity.
🙂
this stuff is insane and we are off to wisconsin on thursday
Ugh, hope the runways are clear for you!
i think it will be okay and thanks for the good wishes.
i am looking for a place near the metra station in beautiful kenhosha to park a car sunday morning till monday afternoon as we are thinking of going to chicago. any suggestions or pay lots you know of?
and thanks for being a super hero and helping the natives last night, Lord knows they need a lot of help here.
*bows down before you*
you ARE the Snowpocalypse Queen!
Re: *bows down before you*
I do what I can. 😉
Be VERY glad you didn’t spend six hours on a bus like my boy Auggie did tonight!
Yeah, I could not have handled six hours on a bus! I am once again SO GLAD that I took snow and walking distance to work into consideration when I picked this apartment.
Good choice to walk. I work about 2 miles away in some unattractive terrain, but if push came to shove, I could, and have, walked home in the snow before, vs. braving the elements otherwise. Granted, I take public transit for my goings-on, but even that’s not reliable in the snow. Depending upon conditions, I give any bus 30-60 minutes to show, and then start hoofin’ it. My work is thankfully forgiving of those who make it in at the mercy of transit, and they don’t give me any crap about being late for it, since I’m usually one of the few that can or does come in.
Yeah, trying to take the bus when it’s snowing outside is asking to freeze your butt off waiting for one that might never come. Supposedly some 200 buses were disabled through accidents last night!
“a thought that defies physics by both sucking and blowing at the same time.”
HAHHHAHAAHA! I’m going to need to use this.
I ganked it from the simpsons. 🙂
Boo. The thing that blows about winter out there is that the infrastructure is so poorly equipped to handle it. And those hills! Guh.
Yeah, we really have nothing in the way of plows, etc. The year before last, the mayor had the plows running through his neighborhood almost 24/7, and no one else got any plowing at all.
When I lived out there, I remember the city of Seattle had something along the lines of 17 snow plows for the entire city. That’s like…nuts.
Whatever the number is, it’s not enough. And people need to not be afraid to salt the roads.
A friend of mine in Seattle was remarking how it’s early for it to be snowing. D:
Also, I’m glad in some part of the world people give a crap about other people. I guess it’s a good thing it doesn’t snow in LA because we’d all be fucked. No one gives a shit about anyone else here.
Yeah, it’s RIDICULOUSLY early for us. Usually if we see snow, it starts in late december, and then it’s a little dusting and the next day it’s gone.
Wow. While I did not think it was weird that my parents back home in northern WI got snow before Chicago did, I do think it’s very weird that Seattle did.
That being said, yay you! And your neighbors!
Uuuugh and it so rarely snows here at all that it’s especially strange to see it before Thanksgiving!
I’m impressed – you never see things like that happen around here. If you’re stuck, you’re just buggered.
That sucks. 🙁 Most places I’ve been where I needed a helping hand, there was always at least one person who was willing to stop and help me.
Every once in a while you might get lucky here but mostly, people just go right on by if they can. Kinda sad – small town hospitality my ass!
I’m am so grateful that school sent us home early Monday (1130am) and that when I got home after a pretty windy and cold fifteen minute walk, I was warm and dry and had power!
Seattle hills are really not intended for the SnOMG!
yay you! so you are in Seattle? I thought they usually got a buttload more snow that us here in Michigan. guess I was wrong. I’m glad that you were able to walk. and go you for being the superhero today! it is so nice to see people helping others out!
did you see the tornado in racine county yesterday too?
I’m glad you made it home safely! I always worry about people walking in the snow, not just that you might freeze to death but also that some out-of-control idiot might slide into you! We made it home from Seattle to F-W in 90 minutes. Your kindness to others will be repaid, I think. Shawn once spent 8 hours pushing cars up and down 272nd, and last night a group of young people pushed his big, heavy truck up a hill!
The power was out for 9 hours after we got home, but there are so many people still without it, and they will be for some time. We made a liquor store run to replenish our critical Bailey’s reserves.
Be careful out there!