Secondhand Sunday

Sundays are my Secondhand day. I'm basically too lazy to think of anything new to say so I re-post a "vintage" entry. And this one makes me put this hot weather in perspective. Maybe it's not so bad...

No, it still sucks.

If you aren't in the mood for repeats, please feel free to change the channel.


"WE'RE FAMOUS!"

Original Post Date, December 9, 2010


I turned on the news this morning and heard the weather guy from the national show, Good Morning America, talking about the 10-12 inches of snow that Cleveland got pounded with during the rush hour drive home last night.


It had snowed pretty steadily all day but by 2:00, it was snowing so hard that I couldn’t even see the building that sits 500 feet behind mine. Since I had been in early for a 7AM meeting and was ready to go home at noon anyway, I decided to head out by 4:00, foolishly thinking that I could beat some of the traffic. I peeked my head into the office across the hall and told the remaining secretaries to finish up what they were doing and head out as well.

As I made my way through the hospital, I glanced out the windows at the snow covering the trees and blanketing the courtyard like a Christmas card. It was so beautiful that I was kicking myself for not having my ever present camera in my purse because I wanted to take pictures to share with you guys. No worries. I figured that I would be home before dark and I could take some then.

The minute I walked outside, the charming winter wonderland became an annoying winter storm as I walked to my parking garage. The wind whipped sideways, up and down, making the rapidly falling snow feel like pellets against your face. As I walked out of the pathway that leads to my garage, I saw cars in both directions just sitting in the road and still others backed up inside the parking garage. It took me 50 minutes to drive down 3 levels to the street and once I got there, I wasn't going anywhere anyway. The traffic was gridlocked in both directions

I guess I wasn’t the only one who had the bright idea to leave early.

It took me another 35 minutes to get up the hill through Little Italy. The city usually does a great job of plowing the hill but, understandably, in this weather it was a mess. I prayed that my little car would make it up okay but I was encouraged to see a truck behind me because I thought he could just push me if I got stuck. I recited this all the way:

I think I can


I think I can


I think I can


I think I can

And I did!

The roads weren’t much better at the top of the hill and I was fortunate enough to end up behind some loser in a mid-sized car who didn’t remember the primary rules of what to do when your car slides on ice or snow.

Take your foot off the brake and turn into it. That's Cleveland Driving 101, buddy.

Somehow, I managed to drive the 5 miles to my house in just over two hours. Luckily, I had a full tank of gas because people were just abandoning their cars in the middle of the road when they ran out. One of my clinic employees called me at 6:00 to say that they weren’t letting any staff leave the hospital because ambulances couldn’t get through the streets. She didn’t get home until 10:00 last night so I guess I didn’t fare too badly. Only it was dark by the time I got home so these were the only pics I took for you.





I stole these from one of the local news websites.








Today, it’s just another winter day in Cleveland. The roads are clear, the sun is shining and the only evidence that last night ever happened is all the huge snow piles.