it's bizarre really...
it's bizarre really, to lose control of a vehicle that you always feel so in control of...it's scary to lose control of something that controls you even... it's the world you step into when you want out.
so far i've gotten stuck in the ice/sleet/ick a total of 6 different times. once i surrendered to salt and dug myself out. once neighbors that i don't know so well helped me for a good 10 minutes. i still don't know his name, although i confirmed the thought that he's creepy. another time i tried to poll volt a mound of ice and a guy in a half ton or 3 ton truck or whatever circles the block and uncoils a nylon rope to yank me over the edge. that was to get debbie to her home so she could get to work... i was so afraid of getting stuck that after the man freed me i passed her house, her neighborhood, her entire block and i just kept my wheels rollin'.... finally i turned around on north Penn in an intersection clear enough to get me heading back the right direction. i told debbie to heal/toe epxress it back to the corner where we had been stuck and i'd pick her up there...i wasn't even about to get close enough to go through that again.
i got off work early the day the icy weather all came in, and rightly so. the doctor i work for was out of town (in sunny shiney hawaii) so therefore we weren't quite able to fight eye disease effectively. i get off work and think "Who IS working in this kinda weather?"...i'm thinking that all the to the parking lot of my favorite coffee shop...which is open...and i'm thrilled. it's weird. but, again, i'm thrilled. to my knowledge that coffee shop never closed.
i feel like i've seen it all. a woman with snow ski poles, stickin' em into the ground and working her way to the bus stop, in a skirt, snow boots and all. tonight i saw a guy on a bicycle just peddling by. his left hand stablizing the handle bar of the bike, his right hand gripping a guitar. i've seen cars abandoned along the sides of streets. the city transportation just goes right around them. the slow plows create a fortress of shoveled show tatooed with grime all around it.
myself personally... i slammed straight into the rear of car. a black man in a black Caddy. i was like oh sh*t. i did manage to mutter words of optimism ever so slightly, because with one swooping 20mph SLAM i helped him through the intersection where he was stuck. he must have slid off the ice that i had just slid on, and landed mid stream in the intersection. What did i do wrong? I dunno, i put my brakes on way back and cut my wheels every which way but straight, and still managed to hit him. My guess is that he had drugs in the car; he had a warrant for his arrest, no insurance, or just didn't plain care cause he waved me on and told me to leave half a minute after i hit him. Uh, get my a*s off nw 16th at 10:30 at night and head back home, um, yes, sir i'll take it. and i did. i was back on the icy roads with bits of paint missing from my front bumper.
It's just been so bizarre. little angels come from nowhere with a shovel and sand. most have shown up with the ability to heave hoe a car just enough to create traction again.
we laugh because our arms and inner thighs are sore from pushing my stranded car and from conservatively walking along all day long. shuffle shuffle shuffle. the intense flocking of arms to keep your balance.
the lives of two little kids were spared when a friend of mine slammed her car into a curb, not once but twice, to avoid hitting the two kids who were belly down, on the ice, in the middle of the road having fun. she also took the time to check on her own baby girl in the back seat, then get out of her car and scream at the parent who let the kids lay there. apparantly no differnece was made. she drove away seeing the kids continue t0 play in the road, on their bellies.
we're truely a product of our environment. what items are sold out at wal mart? sliced turkey, coke, diet coke, ddp...milk, bread, canned soup. kitty litter. sliced cheese. it's like the world is ending, but really our environment is confining us with its cold hands. dangerous hands.
some people screw it. they slam into a curb while driving from one city to the next, late at night to try and fix what the weather can't hold back. some people swear with tears in their eyes they're to must drive and smoke because they need to think. screw it. some people cook 8 cinnamon rolls in a tiny oven when there are only 2 people to please. my thought was: easy on the icing, and bring it to your neighbors while the rolls are still warm. they'll be just as surprised, love you for it, and you'll be surprised how simple it was to make a few people, confined and trying to stay warm, really, really happy.
so far i've gotten stuck in the ice/sleet/ick a total of 6 different times. once i surrendered to salt and dug myself out. once neighbors that i don't know so well helped me for a good 10 minutes. i still don't know his name, although i confirmed the thought that he's creepy. another time i tried to poll volt a mound of ice and a guy in a half ton or 3 ton truck or whatever circles the block and uncoils a nylon rope to yank me over the edge. that was to get debbie to her home so she could get to work... i was so afraid of getting stuck that after the man freed me i passed her house, her neighborhood, her entire block and i just kept my wheels rollin'.... finally i turned around on north Penn in an intersection clear enough to get me heading back the right direction. i told debbie to heal/toe epxress it back to the corner where we had been stuck and i'd pick her up there...i wasn't even about to get close enough to go through that again.
i got off work early the day the icy weather all came in, and rightly so. the doctor i work for was out of town (in sunny shiney hawaii) so therefore we weren't quite able to fight eye disease effectively. i get off work and think "Who IS working in this kinda weather?"...i'm thinking that all the to the parking lot of my favorite coffee shop...which is open...and i'm thrilled. it's weird. but, again, i'm thrilled. to my knowledge that coffee shop never closed.
i feel like i've seen it all. a woman with snow ski poles, stickin' em into the ground and working her way to the bus stop, in a skirt, snow boots and all. tonight i saw a guy on a bicycle just peddling by. his left hand stablizing the handle bar of the bike, his right hand gripping a guitar. i've seen cars abandoned along the sides of streets. the city transportation just goes right around them. the slow plows create a fortress of shoveled show tatooed with grime all around it.
myself personally... i slammed straight into the rear of car. a black man in a black Caddy. i was like oh sh*t. i did manage to mutter words of optimism ever so slightly, because with one swooping 20mph SLAM i helped him through the intersection where he was stuck. he must have slid off the ice that i had just slid on, and landed mid stream in the intersection. What did i do wrong? I dunno, i put my brakes on way back and cut my wheels every which way but straight, and still managed to hit him. My guess is that he had drugs in the car; he had a warrant for his arrest, no insurance, or just didn't plain care cause he waved me on and told me to leave half a minute after i hit him. Uh, get my a*s off nw 16th at 10:30 at night and head back home, um, yes, sir i'll take it. and i did. i was back on the icy roads with bits of paint missing from my front bumper.
It's just been so bizarre. little angels come from nowhere with a shovel and sand. most have shown up with the ability to heave hoe a car just enough to create traction again.
we laugh because our arms and inner thighs are sore from pushing my stranded car and from conservatively walking along all day long. shuffle shuffle shuffle. the intense flocking of arms to keep your balance.
the lives of two little kids were spared when a friend of mine slammed her car into a curb, not once but twice, to avoid hitting the two kids who were belly down, on the ice, in the middle of the road having fun. she also took the time to check on her own baby girl in the back seat, then get out of her car and scream at the parent who let the kids lay there. apparantly no differnece was made. she drove away seeing the kids continue t0 play in the road, on their bellies.
we're truely a product of our environment. what items are sold out at wal mart? sliced turkey, coke, diet coke, ddp...milk, bread, canned soup. kitty litter. sliced cheese. it's like the world is ending, but really our environment is confining us with its cold hands. dangerous hands.
some people screw it. they slam into a curb while driving from one city to the next, late at night to try and fix what the weather can't hold back. some people swear with tears in their eyes they're to must drive and smoke because they need to think. screw it. some people cook 8 cinnamon rolls in a tiny oven when there are only 2 people to please. my thought was: easy on the icing, and bring it to your neighbors while the rolls are still warm. they'll be just as surprised, love you for it, and you'll be surprised how simple it was to make a few people, confined and trying to stay warm, really, really happy.