Snow Blind

It was Friday morning and I was up on time. I was well into my exercise regime by 5:35am. I did a full workout churning out sit-ups, push-ups, and curls. I could still feel some dull pain in my left shoulder but nothing too concerning. Ykraps and I headed out for our walk by 5:50am.

After we returned I delivered Mindy’s coffee just like every other day. Next, I spent a handful of minutes on the PC reviewing the day’s headlines, weather, and Daily OM. The expected snow total had been upped from 4 - 8inches to 12 – 15 inches. I read it twice to be sure. Wow! According to the NWS we could expect snow to arrive around noon and continue through Saturday evening. The temperature would be dropping through it all. OK, we’ll see!

I dressed and left for my run by 6:35am. It was an uneventful run. I was back home by 7:11am ready for some breakfast. We finished off the breakfast casserole. I asked Mindy if she heard about the expected snow storm. She hadn’t, and was as surprised as I at the expected totals. She & Bella left at their usual time.

As soon as I finished my eggs I headed out to plant grass seed. I had been contemplating this event all winter long. Each year, near the end of February, there’s a window of opportunity to simply scatter seed onto the lawn, especially onto any bare spots. This is often considered the second best time of the year to sow grass seed, but also the easiest. Because of the heaving effect causes by repeated freezing and thawing the seed gets pulled down into the soil providing ideal germination conditions. There it will lie dormant until the soil temps reach approximately 59 degrees. And getting it down just before a coming snow storm adds even more protection from birds and such. I spent about fifteen minutes spreading seed by hand.

It was 7:45am by the time I finished up. Jacob requested that I not shower before walking him to the bus stop citing that there would not be time. He was right. I waited. We walked to the bus stop, me still in my sweaty running clothes. I chatted with Pat for a while. He & Lisa still planned to join us at Barley’s later that night. We expect it to be a good time. I headed back home for a much needed shower.

I arrived at work just before 9am. All the talk was of the coming snow storm. Much to my dismay, the snow began coming down just after 10am – a good two hours ahead of schedule. Not only was it coming down at a fairly good clip, but the wind was blowing hard too. By noon the weather was the dominate story with everyone. Some asked to leave citing worsening road conditions. Nonessential employees were permitted to depart early. A few others did as well. Many school districts called school early requiring some parents to leave to fetch their kids. By 2pm or so the NWS dropped the winter storm and replaced it with a blizzard warming! Now they had everyone’s attention. The snow continued coming down sideways all through the day. As you might guess, I didn’t take a lunch.

I left for home just after 5pm. I took the back way after witnessing I-270 at a near stand still both directions all afternoon. Mindy called just before I left work asking if Jimaken could borrow one of our snow shovels to dig out his drive. I agreed. We have three. It took me about 25 minutes to get home. Not bad at all. By then, Jimaken and the kids were already gone. Mindy said Jimaken helped her shovel our drive. I walked Ykraps immediately wanting that behind me. By the time he and I returned, I noticed that the Trooper had slid down the driveway about 12-15 feet, just five feet from the street. Wow!

Mindy asked if I still planned to visit Barley’s. I did. But before doing anything else, I wanted a nap. I took Mindy’s massage pillow to the recliner and tried going out. I was able to relax but never quite fell asleep. I upped around 6:45pm just as darkness was approaching. The wind was howling but the snow had let up considerably. Mindy said that Courtney Jump called to say that they were still going, too. Cool! It’s close.

We left for Barley’s around 7:30pm. Parking was a breeze given the weather. I got my favorite spot. Inside, there were several Friday night regulars on hand. The bar stools were fairly full, but the nearby tables were largely barren. I had a Drought fire to begin my evening. Mindy ordered wine. Not long after we arrived so did the Imber’s. And not long after them the Jumps. Later, Bill Gray made a rare appearance. Mark Pansing was there too. My old buddy, Tom Clark showed up around 9pm, as did Rene, and then Rick snuck in there at some point. An ex-date of Mindy’s, Jim Bosch, was there too. He had one of his sales associates, Molly, with him. She was very nice looking. I measured her a good fit for any of my single guy friends. In what I felt was a funny maneuver, I introduced three of them to her within minutes, Bill G, Mark P, and Tom C. Later, Jim B gestured that perhaps my intros were a bit over the top. Further, he stated as much in a very disapproving manner. Sorry!

Slowly but surely folks began to leave. In the end, it was just me, Mindy, Bob & Mary Ann & Tom Clark. We could see out the window that the snow was really coming down again. Beth & Dan were closing up the place as we hung out for the final 20 minutes. The lights were out immediately after we exited. The weather was brutal, and the roads were treacherous. Mindy invited Tom to stop by our place. He really wanted to hit another venue. After all, it was only midnight. Mindy won. We headed to our house. Tom followed close behind as we navigated I-70 west.

At our house we sat around the kitchen island while enjoying a few more beers. The time went fast. Eventually, Tom introduced us to a band from the Philippines via a CD he brought along. Can’t recall their name. Later, he pulled them up on You Tube where he and I spent the next couple of hours listening to all kinds of old music. Mindy headed to bed around 3am. Tom & I stayed up. Around 4am Mindy came down asking us to turn the music down. I guess we had it up pretty loud. Somehow or another it managed to work its way back up once again. Around 5am Mindy once again came down only this time took matters into her own hands. She turned off the PC audio. I chose not to question her motives. Tom, realizing the late hour, decided it was time to depart even after both Mindy & I insisted he stay. With no hesitation he bolted out the door into the horrendous blizzard conditions.

I was tired and headed up for bed. I choked down three Advil before making the dive.