Friday, February 16, 2007

Sometimes Being Literal is Better

Our recent winter storm reminded me of the time when I was living in Pinehurst North Carolina. Because snow is a rarity there is/was no means in which to remove the white stuff in place.

I was baby sitting an infant in her own home while her parents went to a medical conference. The first night Pinehurst got 22 inches of snow. The area was paralyzed. The power and water went out that night. Luckily they had a gas fireplace and a gas stove/oven. I was able to keep the bay warm and fed for 2 days. By the third day I knew if the parents were not able to return to the home, Emma and I would have to head out on foot to one of the many shelters being set up in the area. Emma’s parents made it back and headed out to a relative’s home for shelter.

I was able to book a room in a hotel with a functional generator. By then the roads were passable for SUV type vehicles. Once comfortably ensconced in my hotel room I was listening to the radio. Many calls were being made requesting assistance. The best call was one from a woman who was desperate to have her street cleared. Although her terminology was very different; she stated that her street was in dire need of being scraped.

Scraped indeed; we call it plowing. As I look out my office window to the rather poor job done clearing our parking lot, I think to myself the person in charge of street scraping did not do the best job.

5 comments:

wallofdenial said...

all you need now is a box and a hill. then you can take advantage of your medical background!!!

Wicked H said...

Dave: My luck I'd break a hip. Although I could also do that walking to my car, both here and at home.

Let me go find some cardboard right now!

Robin said...

Down here we call it 'scraped' when there is a layer of ice at the bottom.

Enjoy your snow. Wear extra padding and stay loose - you probably won't break anything.

HotForSimon said...

She must have been plow-left!

Wicked H said...

Robin: I always wondered what exactly scraped meant. I still wonder what "aint worth a flyin flip" means. Can you enlighten me? Thanks for the advice, so far no spills.

HFS: Snort!!