The Vindication of Chicken Little
Henny Penny was on to something. I know this because, well,...just look at the photo, will you? This was taken yesterday, south of Cincinnati. Having started the day west of Chicago, with a load of hazardous material (flammable gas thank you very much), these clouds had been hovering just above the truck all day long. If one had been trying to tell time based on the amount of daylight available, one would conclude that noon would arrive at, roughly, a week from Thursday.
Those clouds had followed me the previous day as well. In fact, they spit ice on my truck the better part of last evening, and then today kept pace through the hills of eastern Kentucky and into West Virginia. Finally, as we homed in on Charleston, I thought that a sharp right turn down I-77 would lose them, but they were onto me. Not just onto me. They were all over me. And they were not amused. The snow began, and would not let up.
The idea of driving in the snow doesn't bother me much. As far as ideas go, I can sit there and think about driving in the snow all day without being bothered in the least. It's the actual driving in the snow that causes a problem. Particularly in the mountains, and especially while strapped to a seriously hazardous load. Add to that the fact that when the guys at the shop did a good thing by repairing the coolant leak, they made up for it by breaking the window defroster, which made it tough to keep the windshield warm enough to help break up the snow that was sticking to it, and I decided that Beckley, WV was as good a place as any to stay the night. There is, after all, hot food and Starbucks here. It's a good place to watch the sky fall. I remember once commenting that to get the truck washed all but assured that it would rain or snow the following day only to have David Limbaugh ask the following day if I had washed the truck with any climatic consequences. The answer then was no, but I must admit that I toyed with the idea just last week. Now however, I'm converted and won't give it a second thought. I'll let the falling sky wash the beast.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: The Vindication of Chicken Little
LIKE!
May '10
Re: The Vindication of Chicken Little
Just don't drive through St. Louis until you officially lose those clouds.
Sep '10
Re: The Vindication of Chicken Little
Dave Carter
The idea of driving in the snow doesn't bother me much. As far as ideas go, I can sit there and think about driving in the snow all day without being bothered in the least. It's the actual driving in the snow that causes a problem. Particularly in the mountains, and especially while strapped to a seriously hazardous load.
I was driving a little last night too, and it was hairy. I'm not a nervous Nellie, but driving a rig with flammable gas through yesterday's weather--yikes! Tense. I'd need a partner in the right hand seat--just to pry my fingers off the wheel when we came to a stop.
Re: The Vindication of Chicken Little
dogsbody
Dave Carter
I was driving a little last night too, and it was hairy. I'm not a nervous Nellie, but driving a rig with flammable gas through yesterday's weather--yikes! Tense. I'd need a partner in the right hand seat--just to pry my fingers off the wheel when we came to a stop. · Mar 6 at 4:12pm
It does concentrate the mind. I had a beautiful drive through Maine last week, taking in scenes like the one in this picture. It's a lake, frozen over with a generous layer of snow on top of the ice. Just gorgeous. Unfortunately, the road was iced over too. When I got stopped that night in Pittsburgh, I noticed that my upper arms were cramping up. I hadn't really noticed how tense they had been all day. On the other hand, I slept really well that night.
May '10
Re: The Vindication of Chicken Little
dogsbody
Dave Carter
The idea of driving in the snow doesn't bother me much. As far as ideas go, I can sit there and think about driving in the snow all day without being bothered in the least. It's the actual driving in the snow that causes a problem. Particularly in the mountains, and especially while strapped to a seriously hazardous load.
I was driving a little last night too, and it was hairy. I'm not a nervous Nellie, but driving a rig with flammable gas through yesterday's weather--yikes! Tense. I'd need a partner in the right hand seat--just to pry my fingers off the wheel when we came to a stop. · Mar 6 at 4:12pm
dogsbody, do you drive a big rig, too? That's so cool.
Jun '10
Re: The Vindication of Chicken Little
Dave, first you haul beans up north, then you haul flammable gas back down south. Couldn't you have let someone else take that "load?" If you can find one of those Wisconsin Democrats you can hook him into the defroster, that ought to keep the snow off the windshield.
Sep '10
Re: The Vindication of Chicken Little
Andrea: oh no. I was just thinking of it. Unlike Dave, I find that the very idea of driving a rig through snow bothers me.
I occasionally fly a small plane, which is much safer--especially since I never fly in icing conditions.
Re: The Vindication of Chicken Little
Bob, ....Bob.... oh bother....
May '10
Re: The Vindication of Chicken Little
dogsbody: Andrea: oh no. I was just thinking of it. Unlike Dave, I find that the very idea of driving a rig through snow bothers me.
I occasionally fly a small plane, which is much safer--especially since I never fly in icing conditions. · Mar 6 at 4:48pm
Oh, I get it, now. :-) And I completely agree with you. The very idea bothers me, too. Actually, the thought of even driving that monstrosity in good weather intimidates me.