So- they'd cancel school because they felt conditions were too dangerous to deploy the buses to pick kids up. And what did we (I?) do?Drive to the school and use that North parking lot to skid, slip, slide, and do "snow donuts". That lot was free of light standards and relatively flat...A perfect place to act like a fool.But we did learn skills there.We learned the snow was unpredictable and places like that lot were where you wanted to experiment and make mistakes.Ron S. and I also learned a brand-new Corvette is no fun on the snow...Its near 50/50 (front/rear) weight balance meant it didn't want to hang its butt out in a slide, meaning it didn't like to slide at all.A new Pontiac Bonneville convertible was a MUCH better tool for such shenanigans!Got any snow stories?Let's hear 'em!
I'm at work.
It's 1:50 A.M. as I punch these keys. I've had a quiet night... one call to see how long it would take us to fly to, believe it or not, Princeton Indiana and transport the patient to Evansville.
Our ETA was too long and the caller declined the use of our services. Whether they chose to fly the patient with another service or load them into an ambulance to drive the few minutes down U.S. Highway 41, I don't know. But I just took a look at our weather-radar and there is a green/white/hot pink blob slowly creeping across the map with us directly in its sights. The snow is supposed to start shortly after Noon tomorrow and continue for 24 hours. The approach of the system will soon make it impossible for me to consider a flight to help a patient from hospitals West of us. My shift tomorrow night will probably be spent with the BK117 safely ensconced in the hangar while me and my crew try to find "It's A Wonderful Life" or "White Christmas" on TV somewhere.
My son is home from California. He is healthy. Having him under our roof is a comfort. I'll be working all but one night during his visit, so we need to make plans to best use that one night before he has to return to L.A..
It's my hope that this post also finds you well, and focusing on what is REALLY important...
Sharing time with friends and loved ones.
And know that I look forward to sharing time with you soon, too.
Happy Christ's Birthday.
They canceled school today. That surprised me.
They've already canceled school for tomorrow. That surprised me even more.
I don't want this to sound like the old joke we so often heard from our parents and Grands...
"I walked two miles to school in two feet of snow, uphill, and with a stiff breeze at my face... both directions!"
We had it pretty good and we know it. We didn't have to walk.
But there WERE days when the weather would be bad and we'd get up listening to reports on the radio or TV hoping to hear "Center Grove Schools, canceled". And on some of those days, even though the weather was pretty ugly, the buses still ran and we made it to school safely.
It snowed here two days ago. We woke to find about an inch or so covering the ground. The roads, where the sun could do its job, remained clear but wet. Shady spots DID get snowpacked and icy. Yesterday there was a prediction of freezing rain and administrators canceled school on the forecast. We watched anxiously for the rain to start and turn everything into ice sculptures during the day... and it didn't happen.
Taking the dogs out for their last "Good doggies go potty?" of the evening I could feel the freezing mist in the air. We woke this morning to see everything covered with a sheen of ice... including all the roads. The temps didn't, and won't, get above freezing today/tonight, so the ice is here to stay until that changes.
No school tomorrow means three days in a row at home for these kids and nightmares for those parents that have to scramble to find daycare for them as they go to work.
I think we might have missed school today due to ice, but I believe we'd have been in school the other two.
Kids don't play dodge ball in school anymore because they might get hit by the ball(!!!) and be injured.
Playground equipment has changed dramatically to keep kids from any risk of injury.
I'm sure you can think of other things that could be added to my "safe kids" list.
All this junk is driven by lawyers, or, I should say, to keep lawyers from having a chance to dip into deep pockets somewhere. And isn't it sad?
It's just another of the many reasons kids won't get the chance to be exposed to the same things we were as we grew up. They also won't have the chance to experience the thrill of being on that merry-go-round we had on our elementary playground.
Think about it...
What are we subtly teaching our kids?
Are we teaching them that risk, no matter how slight, is unacceptable?
And are we also teaching them that they have no responsibility on their own to avoid being hurt...
That IF they are injured it's time to start looking for someone to blame...
Someone to pay BIG BUCKS to insure something like that NEVER happens again?
I think that's exactly what's goin' on.
I think we've begun to see the result of that attitude EVERYWHERE in society around us.
And I think it's costing us a fortune, sometimes in ways we can't even imagine.
It's Friday.
Tell us what you think.
(And Echo/Shifty, you can gloat here now about being in Florida, surrounded by orange trees!)
Good for you.
When I first met her she spelled her name Elaine.
Sometime during the following year she decided it might be more sophisticated to spell her name Elayne.
I didn't care. She made me laugh.
Hard.
There was never any real romance there. Oh, we kissed a lot, but that's as far as it ever went.
We thought alike and had similar senses of humor. One of us would get started on some crazy topic and the other would add fuel to the fire. Soon we were both giggling and doubling over in spasms.
At the end of the evening I'd give her a goodnight kiss and head for home. For the next few hours my cheekbones would remind me of what fun we had... they'd ache from smiling so much.
I haven't felt like that in a long, LONG time.
Elaine/Elayne, where are you?
December.
Can you believe it?
Seems like yesterday a contingent of us was enjoying life in Eufaula, Alabama. Now it's December and I'm actually contemplating Eufaula and beloved friends again in Spring. Anyone else up for that?
I want you to stop, take a breath, and study my next words carefully.
I just added the names Cheryl Morris and Stan Thompson to our Memorial.
One of 'em a memory that makes me smile...
Both of 'em gone way too soon.
Are ya enjoying life?
Are ya sucking the last drop of nectar out of all the sweet moments coming your way?
I know... it's impossible to do it all the time. Life throws us curveballs we have to deal with...
Stresses that make us wish for some future date when they'll no longer be a factor in our lives. But more and more I'm realizing I should be taking control of things I truly can, so I have reserves built up and can more easily handle those things that are gonna stress me.
One of our contemporaries talks about being in "Resort Prison". I feel bad every time I think about it... being tied down and unable to get away from something that must make every day like living a bad dream. I know there are lots of folks in today's world that are fearful of the economy and what's just around the corner and are therefore staying in jobs they hate, just so that regular paycheck continues to come in. I know we can't fully perceive another person's life until we've "walked a mile in their shoes".
But I work in a job that is a constant reminder, and I want to insure you never forget it too-
Life is short.
Cancer, cardiac problems, drunk drivers, and other boogies are out there waiting to ambush us.
To the extent you can when you wake in the morning, vow to make it the "BEST" day you possibly can. Then try to make it a day that ends with a smile.
The holidays are coming. Try to make every day a holiday from now on.
And please excuse me...
End of sermon.
