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Just another Ice Storm
Jan. 15th, 2007 02:22 pmWhat do they know that I don't know?
We had been hearing about the upcoming ice storm to hit Texas for days. We knew it would hit Sunday night. As of the news this morning, it sounded like it would start out icy and get worse as the day progresses, very likely even worse tomorrow. Every radio station and every TV station said "Do not drive unless you must. Stay home if you possibly can!"
My employer this week even shut down. Well, at least initially they decided to start an hour late this morning for some buildings... I drove into work. Carefully. Slowly. After digging my car out of 2 inches of sleet imitating snow. What with the little traffic on the road, I even made good time. Then the company decided to shut everything down at 2pm. That was fine with me. The supervisor of the classes talked with my class, and decided to head home at 1pm and play tomorrow by ear.
So I drove home at about 1pm... I took a longer route, avoiding overpasses and raised highways. I drove about 40 mph on access roads and 60 on the interstate. And I was getting passed! Not creeping kind of passed, but people acting like "What are you doing, going so slow, you crazy bitch!?!" as they passed me. I would slow down every time I felt my tires start to slip (which they did, any time I went over 60pm on the highway). It was not sleeting, but the ice on my side windows that I was not able to scrape off... Not exactly melting. And I could hear the ice on my tires protesting (yes, my tires were iced. Thanks.)
Midway home, there was a NASTY accident on the other side of the highway. Cars backed up for at least a mile. I counted five cop cars (and I wasn't trying to count them, I was trying to watch my side of the road) and could see the innards of a car over the top of the concrete divider. "innards" == parts of it were raised and crumpled in ways that seemed... life altering.
I saw cars entering the raised highways instead of favoring the on-ground roads (which are warmer, and less likely to be icey). And all of those people going past me at what must have been 70mph at least! What do they know that I don't? Do they have better tires? Their vehicles were sometimes heavier... Perhaps they get better traction? Perhaps they just feel immortal for no particularly good reason?
We had been hearing about the upcoming ice storm to hit Texas for days. We knew it would hit Sunday night. As of the news this morning, it sounded like it would start out icy and get worse as the day progresses, very likely even worse tomorrow. Every radio station and every TV station said "Do not drive unless you must. Stay home if you possibly can!"
My employer this week even shut down. Well, at least initially they decided to start an hour late this morning for some buildings... I drove into work. Carefully. Slowly. After digging my car out of 2 inches of sleet imitating snow. What with the little traffic on the road, I even made good time. Then the company decided to shut everything down at 2pm. That was fine with me. The supervisor of the classes talked with my class, and decided to head home at 1pm and play tomorrow by ear.
So I drove home at about 1pm... I took a longer route, avoiding overpasses and raised highways. I drove about 40 mph on access roads and 60 on the interstate. And I was getting passed! Not creeping kind of passed, but people acting like "What are you doing, going so slow, you crazy bitch!?!" as they passed me. I would slow down every time I felt my tires start to slip (which they did, any time I went over 60pm on the highway). It was not sleeting, but the ice on my side windows that I was not able to scrape off... Not exactly melting. And I could hear the ice on my tires protesting (yes, my tires were iced. Thanks.)
Midway home, there was a NASTY accident on the other side of the highway. Cars backed up for at least a mile. I counted five cop cars (and I wasn't trying to count them, I was trying to watch my side of the road) and could see the innards of a car over the top of the concrete divider. "innards" == parts of it were raised and crumpled in ways that seemed... life altering.
I saw cars entering the raised highways instead of favoring the on-ground roads (which are warmer, and less likely to be icey). And all of those people going past me at what must have been 70mph at least! What do they know that I don't? Do they have better tires? Their vehicles were sometimes heavier... Perhaps they get better traction? Perhaps they just feel immortal for no particularly good reason?
