Wednesday, January 7, 2009

World Frozen Over

If anybody asked me what skills I possessed, the answer would have to include ice/snow scraping skills. Having enjoyed 26 years of supreme dominance in the field of arctic scraping it was only a matter of time before eventually crossing paths with the frozen albatross of the Northeast.

This morning as I stepped outside in route to the car I witnessed a most peculiar thing. The ground lay blanketed under a sheet of hard flat ice, and not just the ground but everything that touched the ground in the exposed atmosphere. There were no footprints nor could there be made anything of the type. I was experiencing freezing rain, a condition where rain solidifies into ice upon contact.

If you've been lucky enough to scrape your car out of an ice storm then I'm sure you appreciate the grueling upper body workout that goes with it. My windshield cover was encased in the ice that held my car hostage but luckily for me I was armed with some spare keys - yes those pesky extra keys that you never seem to know why they're even on your key chain to begin with DO have a special purpose! Bracing myself against an adjacent car I began a long drawn out process of removing the ice in the seam of the car door. Once complete I was able to get my workout with the real scraper and only after getting drenched in the rain that was still falling.

The radio announcer on the drive to work relayed school closures which happened to include every school within 60 miles and here I am thinking how nice it would be to be at home under warm covers instead of sliding across highway lanes. I sure do miss those days. Well today I finally met my match, and she is a most cruel mistress.

One of my hobbies is collecting funny and insightful TV commercials. I find this one in particular to be a lesson in keeping your 'cool':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDoEO6kSVEk

1 comment:

Jane said...

Oh dude - I feel your pain. I hated the freezing rain. It's colder than snow, and way less accomodating. I wish you luck and BE SAFE!