Damsel in Distress

Well, I guess we'll be having a white Christmas. I have NOT been dreaming of a white Christmas - but since the ancestors saw it fit to settle here and I haven't taken the initiative to load up the Conestoga wagon and hitch up the oxen to settle somewhere warmer, I guess I can't complain.

It looks like I'll have to change my plans for Christmas as they're saying it's supposed to be the worst snow storm since the 1960's. I was not yet alive then, but I've seen a winter that left a house outside of Marshall under snow... so I guess this could be quite an impressive snow storm!

At least I live on a hill so I don't have to worry about flood insurance!

So yesterday morning I went to WalMart after work and did a few "test runs" with the Cadillac on the empty snow and ice covered parking lot. (It's much easier to get the rear end to swing than it is with the Buick... although the Buick is far better at "reverse cookies".)

And then I drove home...ward.

The snowplows had not gone by yet so there were a lot of drifts awaiting me. But we've had enough snow now where I've been able to practice my "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" style of winter driving, so I was merrily fish-tailing down the highway listening to Abba...loudly...(max volume, actually) when I saw a car up ahead that had its headlights situated at such an angle as to announce that it was in the ditch.

So I stopped and offered a ride to the person no longer driving.

I couldn't see the person until she was at the passenger door, and it ended up being this petite young college girl who was on her way to her grandparents place in Willmar from where she attends school in Iowa. She was dressed in shorts and had no proper attire for winter driving, so apparently when I do get around to pioneering off to somewhere warm, I only need to move one state farther South. It must be MUCH warmer there in December!

I was actually really surprised that she accepted the ride as readily as she did as I'd been at work and I'm sure I had some pretty good static electricity hat-hair going on. I figured she was either overly trusting or had a knife and some mad ninja skills. But she did accept the ride, so I moved my bag of frozen blueberries and my 4 boxes of Apple Flautas to the back seat, she got in, and off we went.

She said she'd been there for about half an hour and that 2 other cars and a snow plow had stopped. The two cars were people on the way to work that couldn't really do anything to help. I'm not sure what the snow plow guy was doing 'cuz he sure didn't seem to have plowed anything. (Although he DID give her the number to a towing service - that wasn't open yet.)

I prefer driving on bad roads by myself. With the Buick, as I come up on snow drifts I'd be thinking, "Ooooh! Here comes a BIG one!!", and fishtailing through the slop would get a "Wheeeee!!!!" With the Cadillac and a passenger it was more like "ohshitohshitohshitohshit..."

And of course the roads were extra sloppy whenever I met a semi.

I was also really, really tired. But for obvious reasons I wasn't going to let HER drive. :)

But I'm afraid that's really all there is to my tale. Through the combined efforts of my incredible winter driving skills and her ability to have a non-stop hour long exchange of text messages with someone at 4:30 am, we arrived safely at her grandparents place. She offered me $20 (I declined) for the help. I wished her a "Merry Christmas!" and a "Good luck with your car." and left.

So that was my Good Deed for the day.

I stopped at SA for a refill of the 64 oz pop and once again I was by myself and merrily slopping through the slush at speeds just a hair faster than the posted speed limit with the radio volume set back to the loudest setting. I got myself home safely, chatted briefly with the kids, and went to bed.

So then we fast forward to the afternoon. The kids are back home from school.

Something stirs in the back of my mind...
it's coming into focus...
Yes! There it is!
"David...Run out to the car and bring in the 4 boxes of Apple Flautas and and the bag of blueberries. Be careful with the blueberries so they don't drip all over."

I guess we'll be having blueberries with whatever I throw together to eat on Christmas Eve. I would have preferred to go to Sheila's and join the family in having our usual Bohemian meal.

Sheila and Rachel - thanks for the cards. They just showed up today! :)

Merry Christmas!!!