Snow flurries were falling. As a little girl, I’d join the neighborhood kids bundled up, and we’d go sledding, have snowball fights, and build snowmen. We’d be outside until dark, freezing before giving in to go home.
My mom purchased more winter garments in one winter than kids today get. Snow pants, a scarf, a sock hat with a pom-pom. Now they don’t own those things or care about snow or even know what a true “snow day” is since school closes at the mention of SNOW.
I wanted to declare a “snow day” every time I had to drive to work out of town on a blustery day. I often drove home after dark. When I did it was like driving through space with the snow falling from the black sky.
I worked as a co-manager for a grocery chain. The job had its good points, like not being in trouble if something was wrong, and bad points, like having to travel around filling in at stores if their manager was gone. One day in December, I was called on. The store was 40 miles from my hometown. I didn’t mind. It was a day with a different store, customers, and employees.
It was a cold day and the store was busy. The weather report said snow was on the way early evening, so everyone was stocking up.
I went to the back area to check for extra bread racks. The receiver yelled. “Did you hear? Snow’s coming earlier--around three pm. We could get a foot.”
Three pm? A foot? I felt a sense of fear swallow me. By five pm when I left, it would be awful on the roads.
“Are you sure? If that’s right, I need to leave soon.”
“Yeah, two-thirty pm now.”
I overheard customers talking about the "snowstorm" as I walked through the store. When I looked out front, the parking lot was full, and the big flakes of snow had started.
I called my District Manager, Alex, and asked when I could leave. He said to stay until four pm. Another hour and a half.
I’d been through snow scares in the grocery business, but this one felt bigger. The store was a mess. From customers dragging in snow to empty shelves. My car was covered with snow. I’d have to dig it out. I called Alex in tears.
“Alex, we've been swamped here. It’s six pm and getting dark. I need to start home. I have employees begging to get home too. We’ve got four inches of snow. The night manager has already called off. If I stay longer, I’ll have to stay the night.”
He told me to go. Alex thought that it might be necessary to close the store, depending on restrictions the police put on travel.
I didn’t have boots, but I had gloves and a snow brush. I made my way out through the snow, soaking my feet and shaking as I cleaned off the car. I anticipated this 40-minute drive would take an hour.
The traffic crept out toward the highway. Reporters on the radio were talking about poor visibility. I hoped once I got there, plows would be out. I was wrong.
The traffic was bumper-to-bumper in all four lanes. Every time the traffic started moving, it would come to a halt again, causing slide-offs and close calls. Often I felt my car sliding toward the car in front of me. My mama taught me to tap my brakes only slightly until I could stop without sliding further. Thank God it worked.
This 40-mintute drive was now at an hour, and I had another hour to go at this snail pace. My knuckles were blue from gripping the steering wheel. My windshield wipers were on high, but they couldn’t keep up with the snow.
Then the unthinkable happened. The wiper on the driver’s side snapped off from the weight of the snow. I couldn’t see at all. I rolled down my window, grabbed my snow brush, and leaned out to try to clear the windshield. It worked, but I had to keep doing it. I was soaking wet, and I could hardly feel my hands.
The upside? I had finally reached my hometown. I saw a plowed parking lot as I turned off the highway. I pulled in, rolled my window up, thanked God for getting me there, and sobbed. I got a blanket from the trunk. I turned off the defrost and blasted the heat. I felt numb all over.
It was the first time I’d picked up my phone since the ordeal began. There were missed calls and texts from my husband. He had called the store, and they told him when I left. It had been two hours and ten minutes. He was terrified I was stranded.
I called him. He told me to stay there, and he would come to get me. First he’d have to dig his truck out of the snow behind the garage and shovel a pathway in the alley to reach the street.
When he got there, he pulled me out of my car, and we hugged. He was as shaky and frozen as I was. But he made me laugh and calm down, as we got in his truck and slowly crept toward home.
I later learned there were 17 wrecks, 44 slide-offs, and nine serious injuries on that stretch of road that day. It was the scariest drive I’ve ever had.
After that experience, I feared I’d developed chionophobia, an intense fear of snow, because I’d have severe anxiety whenever it snowed. Maybe I should move to a warmer climate. Hmmm…
Since my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis nine years ago, I can no longer drive, so I know I’ll not have another experience like "the drive" that day. Yet even in snow, I still miss driving.
Be safe out there!
Debby Myers has always enjoyed writing. After publishing Vex and Valor, Verdicts and Vows, and Verve and Virtue, she has gone on to write and publish for four online publications about her battle with Multiple Sclerosis. She is currently working on a book of short stories titled Crumbs of a Cake and expects to have it finished and in print by early spring.
In her spare time she directs plays and acts as Publicity Director for Ole Olsen Memorial Theater. Debby’s favorite pastime of all is spending time with her grandchildren.
Her books are all available now on Amazon or get a signed copy directly from her by contacting her on her Facebook page The Vee Trilogy.
The Vee Trilogy tells the story of two families from different sides of the track. It starts set in 1969 in Brookton, Pennsylvania when the families are fused together through marriage and their saga begins. The Crawford’s and Hayes’ families are followed over four decades until 2009. Their struggles and celebrations remind us of how one marriage changes the lives of dozens of people for years to come as they are all entangled in three family businesses, sibling rivalry, and the parent/child dynamic. This cozy mystery shows that crime and addiction happen in all types of families and even small communities. Vex and Valor introduces us to the heroine of the series, Vanessa Hayes Andrews at the age of ten. Verdicts and Vows will bring the reader closer to the characters as we say goodbye to some and meet new family members. The final book Verve and Virtue has just been released!
Great storytelling. I was on the edge of my seat! Scary stuff.
Thanks for sharing the article, Liz & the opportunity to let me have others read and relate to my life experiences!
Thanks for the timely article, Deb! Brought back some memories of the drive to Logansport in the dark of the early morning. I don't miss that a bit!