Blizzard

Anytime is a horrible time to get stuck in a place like this, way off the beaten path on a gravel road to almost nowhere. Today, though, there was a blizzard approaching, and it was supposed to be a real humdinger, with deep snow predicted as well as strong winds. He knew this as he left this morning, so he took a lot of precautions, just in case something like this happened. He realized now that he had hurried himself and as the saying goes, his precautionary haste seemed now to be a waste.

Of course, the cell phone did not receive a signal way out here

That was a given. The flashlight, which he did not need just yet, was burned out. The canned goods he had thrown in the trunk needed a can opener. He had become so used to the pop-top cans that were becoming so popular, that he had forgotten that some cans still need and opener. He had purposely chosen the older cans from his pantry, because it was mainly stuff he did not really care for, such as Spam, which of course is why it had not been eaten. He figured that if there indeed was an emergency where he needed to use his emergency stash, the stuff would never taste better than in just such a situation.

He had grabbed blankets from the back of the closet, finding now that they were full of holes and fell apart in a cloud of dust when he shook them out. The water he had grabbed was fine, but he wouldn’t need that with all of the snow coming. The matches were good, that was a relief, plus he had a lighter. He also had his warm clothes and a sleeping blanket as well as his tools in his truck tool box. He would be OK. It was just going to be a little uncomfortable for a while.

One thing about motionless cars was that they were difficult to keep warm when the temperature got below about 35 degrees. Most car heaters could not keep up with the penetrating cold when the car was stationary. What heat that could be generated at idle just went right through the single pane glass and the metal skins. The heaters were great when the car was up to speed, with the engine running at a few thousand or so RPMs, with each stroke of the piston generating more heat. But when the car was sitting at idle, not much heat was expended. Also, running out of fuel was a concern. Even at idle, the needle on the gas gauge just seemed to plummet. If there was significant snow, the exhaust pipe would have to be dug out every half hour or so or carbon monoxide would build up in the interior of the car as well as the blood of anyone inside the vehicle. It seemed to take a half hour just to thaw out once the door had been opened to get out. At some point, snow would ! prevent easy exits and the trek to the back of the car could be difficult. Of course, a fire could not be built in a truck. Lighting a fire inside of a truck or just about any vehicle is not an option except for those wanting to die, so he went to work preparing a lean-to shelter and gathering wood for a good sized fire.

Fortunately, the truck had slid into the ditch in such a way as to create a good wind screen against the prevailing wind. From what he remembered, the weather reports forecast the wind coming from that same direction. He built up his lean-to on the leeward side of the truck, covering the larger pieces of wood with smaller pieces and finally boughs of evergreens. He packed rocks along the opposite side of the truck to help block any wind coming through from underneath. Snow would eventually build up against the rocks and block all wind from coming through.

All in all, things could be worse

He wished he had a flashlight so he could write at night, but dummy him, he did not check the batteries. With LED bulbs, he had just taken for granted the light would work. He could see his emergency wind-up lantern sitting there in the hall way, mocking him. Oh well, he could use the down time. It was Saturday and he would miss the big game. Come Monday, Jennie would realize he was missing and this road to his ranch was the first place she would look. If the storm let up soon enough, he could be out of here Tuesday, a little bit hungry maybe, and a little stiff, but otherwise OK. He could consider himself to be running a bad luck streak, but he was a glass half-full kind of person and was thankful that things were not worse. He would be warm enough, and safe enough, and he would be back home soon enough. His friends would have a good laugh and when the freshness wore off, he would have a good war story to tell. Most importantly, he would learn from his mistakes! so that next time…….. Well, dang it! Next time he wouldn’t try to drink coffee, change the CD and drive on a rough, uneven, twisty and slippery road all at the same time.