So, a blizzard is bearing down on us. Ready for it?
We hear the same thing from law enforcement and highway personnel every time winter weather threatens stay off the roads unless you absolutely need to go out. Its advice worth repeating: Take it from someone who didnt follow this advice and found herself in a real jam.
It was two days before Christmas 2008. I hastily decided to load up the presents and the kids and head up to my parents house that night; my husband was working and would join us later.
My parents lived on the lake in the country and routinely had significant amounts of blowing snow. Undeterred by their warnings, and National Weather Service warnings, to wait until daylight, I headed out because, well, thats what I wanted to do.
It crossed my mind, after a few brief whiteouts near Belleville, to turn around . But I had made it that far, so with Christmas music playing and three kids under 9 quiet in the back seats, we kept going right up until I turned off County G in Dodge County, down the road to my parents house.
We were less than a half mile from the house when the minivan suddenly stopped, hopelessly, impossibly stuck in a snowdrift.
As I got out to assess the situation, it hit me: In my haste, I forgot to bring my coat, my boots, my gloves, as well as the kids snowpants and boots.
Another fine mess. I was ill-prepared to walk with three kids to my parents house but I didnt want to stay in the van either. There wasnt another car on the road yet. But if another car came down the road, they might not see my hazard lights until it was too late.
I dreaded calling my dad flashbacks to high school and his lectures about responsibility but swallowed my pride. Within a few minutes, he came barreling down the road, stopping short of the monster drift that had claimed my van and started toward us on foot, shovel in hand.
The only thing that shovel was going to do was give my old man a heart attack; I grabbed my dads gloves and started to dig in myself.
No amount of shoveling was going to dislodge my faithful ride that van wasnt going anywhere.
I stood there wind whipping and snow blowing, my father glaring, my kids watching wide-eyed and too scared to say anything wondering what to do next.
I was just about to call for a tow truck when a burly young man pulled up behind me, got out of a big, slightly rusty 4-wheel-drive truck and asked if I needed some help. He found some chains in his truck, hooked up my van to his truck and began to pull and pull and pull.
The van wouldnt budge. But that nice young man worked, and shoveled, and pulled some more, then pushed, and finally, after about 20 minutes, he got my van free. I offered my most sincere thanks and wishes for a Merry Christmas, and, despite his reluctance, a monetary gift for his trouble. As I pulled away, he was working to pull out another stranded motorist who had the misfortune to come down the same road and get stuck right behind us.
And hence I officially learned the importance of heeding weather advisories. (And I also officially learned to make sure everyone has all their winter gear before we leave town.)
The moral of this cautionary tale is dont be dumb like me. As nice as that young man was, you cant always count on someone being willing and able to bale you out. If he hadnt shown up, my stuck van could have posed a serious safety threat to the next passing motorist.
Law enforcement and highway personnel and weather forecasters know what they are talking about: For their own safety, motorists should stay off the road during severe weather.
One winter weather advisory is calling this a storm of historic proportions. If thats the case, or even if it pans out to be just a regular old snowstorm, be smart and stay off the roads as much as possible.
nnn
Our year-long series celebrating the Boy Scouts 100th anniversary concludes this week. Weve enjoyed sharing these photos of local Boy Scouts on our Life page each Friday for the past year. A huge thank-you to Ron Spielman for organizing and supplying the information and photos each week. Hes done a terrific job of keeping the project going for a full year and we appreciate his efforts to help share these Scouting memories.
nnn
From the Associated Press wire Monday: A southwestern Pennsylvania county plans to drop the green from its name in order to support the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
The Greene County commissioners say theyll introduce a resolution at Wednesdays meeting to change the countys name temporarily to Black and Gold County.
The commission chairman said the move is to ensure the Green Bay Packers dont even get any incidental support from the county, located southwest of Pittsburgh.
Wow feeling a bit threatened there, Steelers fans? Thankfully, we dont need such a measure here in Green County, Wis. It goes without saying that the only color that goes with green is gold.
Mary Jane Grenzow is the editor of The Monroe Times. She can be reached at editor@themonroetimes.com.
We hear the same thing from law enforcement and highway personnel every time winter weather threatens stay off the roads unless you absolutely need to go out. Its advice worth repeating: Take it from someone who didnt follow this advice and found herself in a real jam.
It was two days before Christmas 2008. I hastily decided to load up the presents and the kids and head up to my parents house that night; my husband was working and would join us later.
My parents lived on the lake in the country and routinely had significant amounts of blowing snow. Undeterred by their warnings, and National Weather Service warnings, to wait until daylight, I headed out because, well, thats what I wanted to do.
It crossed my mind, after a few brief whiteouts near Belleville, to turn around . But I had made it that far, so with Christmas music playing and three kids under 9 quiet in the back seats, we kept going right up until I turned off County G in Dodge County, down the road to my parents house.
We were less than a half mile from the house when the minivan suddenly stopped, hopelessly, impossibly stuck in a snowdrift.
As I got out to assess the situation, it hit me: In my haste, I forgot to bring my coat, my boots, my gloves, as well as the kids snowpants and boots.
Another fine mess. I was ill-prepared to walk with three kids to my parents house but I didnt want to stay in the van either. There wasnt another car on the road yet. But if another car came down the road, they might not see my hazard lights until it was too late.
I dreaded calling my dad flashbacks to high school and his lectures about responsibility but swallowed my pride. Within a few minutes, he came barreling down the road, stopping short of the monster drift that had claimed my van and started toward us on foot, shovel in hand.
The only thing that shovel was going to do was give my old man a heart attack; I grabbed my dads gloves and started to dig in myself.
No amount of shoveling was going to dislodge my faithful ride that van wasnt going anywhere.
I stood there wind whipping and snow blowing, my father glaring, my kids watching wide-eyed and too scared to say anything wondering what to do next.
I was just about to call for a tow truck when a burly young man pulled up behind me, got out of a big, slightly rusty 4-wheel-drive truck and asked if I needed some help. He found some chains in his truck, hooked up my van to his truck and began to pull and pull and pull.
The van wouldnt budge. But that nice young man worked, and shoveled, and pulled some more, then pushed, and finally, after about 20 minutes, he got my van free. I offered my most sincere thanks and wishes for a Merry Christmas, and, despite his reluctance, a monetary gift for his trouble. As I pulled away, he was working to pull out another stranded motorist who had the misfortune to come down the same road and get stuck right behind us.
And hence I officially learned the importance of heeding weather advisories. (And I also officially learned to make sure everyone has all their winter gear before we leave town.)
The moral of this cautionary tale is dont be dumb like me. As nice as that young man was, you cant always count on someone being willing and able to bale you out. If he hadnt shown up, my stuck van could have posed a serious safety threat to the next passing motorist.
Law enforcement and highway personnel and weather forecasters know what they are talking about: For their own safety, motorists should stay off the road during severe weather.
One winter weather advisory is calling this a storm of historic proportions. If thats the case, or even if it pans out to be just a regular old snowstorm, be smart and stay off the roads as much as possible.
nnn
Our year-long series celebrating the Boy Scouts 100th anniversary concludes this week. Weve enjoyed sharing these photos of local Boy Scouts on our Life page each Friday for the past year. A huge thank-you to Ron Spielman for organizing and supplying the information and photos each week. Hes done a terrific job of keeping the project going for a full year and we appreciate his efforts to help share these Scouting memories.
nnn
From the Associated Press wire Monday: A southwestern Pennsylvania county plans to drop the green from its name in order to support the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
The Greene County commissioners say theyll introduce a resolution at Wednesdays meeting to change the countys name temporarily to Black and Gold County.
The commission chairman said the move is to ensure the Green Bay Packers dont even get any incidental support from the county, located southwest of Pittsburgh.
Wow feeling a bit threatened there, Steelers fans? Thankfully, we dont need such a measure here in Green County, Wis. It goes without saying that the only color that goes with green is gold.
Mary Jane Grenzow is the editor of The Monroe Times. She can be reached at editor@themonroetimes.com.
