Super Storm 2011

You’ve probably heard that Texas has been hit with some very abnormal weather – the worse in 15 or 20 years. We’re not talking bad snows or even ice, but a couple of inches of rain/snow followed by days of below freezing weather has turned everything into a sheet of ice here. And with no way to remove it, it just sits. Of course, Texas has to pride itself even in that by giving the whole ridiculous weather pattern a name. To follow on the heels of the Super Bowl in Arlington on Sunday, it has been dubbed “Super Storm 2011”.

So, on Tuesday I stayed home from work. But not home in general. For my housemate Haley and her mother (who is visiting) decided a trip to Wal-mart and a movie might be necessary. We skipped the movie after driving the ½ mile to Wal-mart, which quite thrilled Haley.

“It says something that we’re out driving on roads like this in freezing temperatures just to go to Wal-Mart,” she claimed as we pulled into the parking lot.

“Yeah,” I agreed from the backseat, “but I’m not sure what.”

“I think,” Mrs. Myers said, “it says we’re not afraid of where we’re going when we die.”

I guess neither was one of the chaplains at work, for he thought he’d do the smart thing and walk to the bank instead of drive on Tuesday afternoon. Bundled up in all his winter hunting gear and putting his dog on a leash, he somehow managed to get there. But he couldn’t go inside for not only did he have a dog, but he also carries a gun (which, he told me, he didn’t dare leave home without although I asked him how he expected to draw it dressed in all that extra winter gear). So, he walked through the drive thru – and no doubt gave the few bankers inside something to laugh about.

I braved the weather Wednesday morning, not realizing that my office wasn’t just experiencing rolling blackouts but permanent ones. Managed to get the last of the billing done before I called it a day and went home to sit by the roaring fire and read a good book. This morning the roads were a little clearer, but I didn’t go until nearly 10. Tomorrow will probably be the same – or worse. For we might get some snow tonight and in the morning which will make things even more treacherous because then you won’t even be able to see the ice you might slip on.

Winter in Texas. This past weekend it was so warm I washed my car and spent all Sunday afternoon walking in the park with a friend. Now I need a pair of ice skates to get to my car. I guess someday I can tell my grandkids I survived “Super Storm 2011”, but I doubt they’ll care. By then even Jerry Jones and his great Cowboy Stadium for Super Bowl 2011 will be forgotten. And good riddance.