Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Hey Toto, I Don't Think We're In Alabama Anymore!!


This is not your typical Alabama situation. 

We were taken unawares.  Expecting a dusting, we ended up with over two inches.  Roads iced over.  If I'd lived more than two miles from work, I'd never have made it home.  Many of my coworkers did not.  They ended up stranded in their cars, or thankfully several were able to stop once they realized there weren't gonna make it at homes of friends and coworkers, and in a couple of cases, with strangers (who were friends of friends of friends, sort of).



This is on my way home from work (at about the 1/2 mile mark of my adventure.  Another half mile down the road this SUV in front of me spun around and slid into a driveway.  Fortunately he slid right into the driveway (backwards) as if he'd purposed parked there, and after I an another car passed by he was able to resume his journey.

And thankfully there was NO traffic on the other side of the road ... hadn't been any, no tracks at all in the snow.  (No, I did not take a pic of that I was too busy driving, I am stopped when taking this pic - and yes, I did leave that much room between me and that vehicle because it's on a hill and I'm over-cautious that way, which is also what kept me from hitting him when he spun!)


This is my driveway as I was coming home. 


And just for some perspective, Hwy 280 is about 12 miles from me ... and my daughter had to manuever this roadway for about 1/2 mile to get from her business to the turnoff to go home.


My daughter left work at 11:40 am.  At 2:00pm she had gone less than three miles and was finally able to get to a church (in spite of this highway being a main thoroughfare, the road she was on, 3 miles away is very rural).  She was pushed up a hill by four guys who were helping each car get the added traction / momentum they needed to get up and over.  She pulled in at a church and stayed with some very nice ladies who were setting up to cook soup and prepare as a warming shelter for about two hours til a family member who drives a service truck was able to get to her and take her home.

We have seen sooooooooo many random acts of kindness by complete strangers in this mess.  The guys that helped my daughter on a rural road.  Drivers who were immobilized on the interstate helping each other keep safe and warm (letting strangers in your car to warm when theirs has run out of gas) ... in neighborhood areas folks were going out of their homes to give folks hot coffee, blankets, offers to let them come into their homes and get warm.

Now, I've had enough snow to last another 21 (or more) years.  
(Last time we had measurable snow was 1993.)

I received my order from fabric.com Monday, so I think I'm going to get back to work on this WIP this afternoon!

4 comments:

  1. we are in n. west ga , and it's been rough but not as bad as Atlanta

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  2. I have really enjoyed reading all the stories about people being nice to each other. It's so wonderful to hear in this age of paranoia about every little thing! I'm glad you and your family were able to get home okay. Stay warm!

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  3. Love the walking dead pic! Too funny. Sounds like it was pretty scary actually... hope things have improved by now:)

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  4. Being a southern girl myself, I feel for you getting caught like that. Cities just don't have the equipment or manpower to make the roads passable, so anything that falls just sits on the road. People who live in cities who have snow all the time just don't understand that. A few inches just sitting on the road with no brine, salt, or snow tires is dangerous indeed. I'm glad you made it home safe and warm. Here in the Memphis area, we have had the brutally cold temps, but not a snowflake in sight. I surely would love a day at home! Beautiful quilt too, by the way!

    Thank you so much for linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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