Can we talk?

The Blizzard of 2009 and our family hero

    Well, it was a little short of a blizzard. But we haven't had much snow in years. So when our area got over 21 inches in a little over 24 hours, we had a mess. We've only dipped below 20 once since Christmas, but it's stayed in the 30's or lower in the day since the snowfall a week before Christmas.That means we have little melting. The plowed and shoveled piles are still there, and black ice in the driveways and parking lots.

    That first Friday, it started snowing about 3:30 as predicted (sometimes the weather forecasters call it). By 5;30 my brother showed up in his work truck to have dinner with us. My dad, 81, was working until six. Do you think he'd leave a few minutes early? No his work ethic, and his determination that no one is going to call him old kept him there until the last minute. He should have been home by 6:30. I allowed for slow traffic. By 7:15, my brother and I were both a little concerned. Dad knows how to handle a car in the snow, but I kept picturing an old man stuck in the cold overnight, or in a ditch somewhere. At 7:30, bro went out in the truck but couldn't get out of our subdivision. The traffic was at a dead standstill, cars were on both sides of the road. He came back. I called the other brother in town, closer to Dad's work to ask about road conditions. His four wheel drive was in the shop, so he was afraid to go out on his hill.
   
About 8:00, brother #1 said he would walk down the highway to look. He'd park his truck just inside the subdivision. So he walked and met other pedestrians coming the other way, loaded with bags, who had abandoned their cars or trucks in parking lots further back.He saw where the vehicles blocking traffic were. Finally, after miles in the falling snow, he recognized Dad's suv. Dad was sitting in his lane, burning gas to keep warm, not knowing why everyone was stopped. He was relieved to see Jack walk up. He got in and directed Dad, who then pulled into the oncoming lane, and took a side street that rounds back out to the road, missing the snow plow that had run off the road. Other cars started following. They'd made it home about 9 or a little after.

I guess it didn't work for everyone. By daylight, with the snow still falling, about 15 cars had skidded off on the side street. More had been abandoned on the highway. My niece and her boyfriend couldn't get the jeep onto the highway later to come get the baby. Fortunately, they had left plenty of diapers, and we keep extra babyfood, so her first night with us went well.

For me and my other two brothers, Jack was our hero. He had ventured out to save our Dad. Jack's in his 50's and he had worked hard all day. It couldn't have been fun walking in the cold and the snow in the dark, not knowing whether he would be wasting his time. I guess that's why he got Dad a cell phone for Christmas. Still, we look up to Jack. He rescued our father, and never expected any gratitude. He just does what needs to be done.