Bizzard of 2011 Coverage

Snow Drifts at Super 8 in Monmouth

Blizzard of '11
(2/2/11)

Remember in yesterday's blog, when I mentioned the word, "excited", when talking about the impending blizzard?  Well....



Those words were spoken in the heat (or cold) of the moment, in anticipation of an event I've never before witnessed.  In addition, it takes me back to my musings about the heat, which is a good topic to discuss at this time, taking our minds off of the cold.

During those dangerous heat waves, I am reminded via Facebook, that if I was working outside in that heat, that I would be thinking differently.  Well, as excited as I was about the blizzard, I found myself realizing that since I have to go out and about in it, that it's not all it is cracked up to be.

Case in point #1.  I don't own snow boots.  I don't own snow pants/coveralls/overalls, or whatever they are called.  I came equipped with extra clothes, but nothing wintery.  We're talking one pair of jeans, two pairs of Dockers, some polos, a pair of dress shoes, a pair of "sneakers," and of course gloves and a hat.  I used to have a bulk of winter clothing apparel, but when I was constantly moving every 6-12 months, I tossed it out since I never wore the stuff.

The back reads: "whitetrashwheelin.com"

Case in point #2.  Just like that previous statement about working in the summer heat....the same can be said of working in the blowing and drifting snow.  Add in the fact that I am not equipped with winter weather gear, and it's pretty deplorable.

So, that's where we begin!  The alarm was set for 4:00 a.m. this morning, despite falling asleep sometime after midnight.  I wasn't even remotely tired, due to the excitement surrounding the winter storm, and the constant Facebook updates from my snow-bound friends. 

Dear Super 8, plug in your darn alarm clocks!

For some reason, the last few hotels I have stayed at, the alarm clocks are not plugged in.  I don't understand this!  Anyway, I made the mistake of not testing the alarm clock before hitting the sack.  Everything seemed to be set up correctly, and it was....however....

At 4:30 a.m. I woke up.  Uh oh!  I wanted to be out of my room by 5:00.  The alarm was indeed, on.  It was just faintly playing the radio.  I thought it was set to the buzzer, but it was not.  Hurriedly, I took a shower and packed everything up to get to the radio station.

Our station vehicle won't be going anywhere!

I ran out to the parking lot to start my car and get it warmed up.  Judging by the drift surrounding my vehicle, she would need to be warmed up!  Upon getting it started, I raced to the front door of the motel.  I encountered (no joke here) waist-high snow drifts.  With momentum carrying me a short way into the drift, I became stuck for a moment.  The first thing that came to mind, was Chris Farley wearing that small coat.  I squirmed my way out of the drift, only to look up at the hotel lobby window to see about five guys laughing about my excursion through a 3-foot snow drift. 

My co-worker, Greg Ford, thought he could get out of the drifts in his Buick.  He was wrong.  We tried to make a go of it in my 4WD Explorer, but a snow plow (while I was backing up) plowed be under.  Normally, I am not one of those road rage kind of guys, but at 4:30 a.m. and no coffee in my system, I shook my fist at the snow plow driver like an elderly lady.  I feel bad now, because he was very friendly after coming up and offering to pull me out with his log chain. 

Radio Station back parking lot

When I read people's statements and hear comments about various things, I try to bring them back down with positive comments, but I let the moment get to me here.  Early morning, lots of snow, no caffeine.  The thing is, looking back, that snow plow driver was just doing his job, plowing out the parking lot.  It's a common gripe I hear from people, that #&$* snow plow driver plowed me in, etc.  Well...what other option does he have?  He's clearing the road, not your personal driveway.  Get pissed off at Mother Nature for dumping a foot and a half of snow in front of your house, not the guy trying to help make things easier for you!  So, with that said, many apologies to Mr. Plow for my fist shaking incident in the wee hours!

Once we were pulled out of the Super 8 parking lot, it wasn't long before my second moment of being stranded in the snow occurred.  Trying to get out of the County Market parking lot, again I was stuck.  Several times doing the backwards/forward shift didn't work.  A few minutes of shoveling proved worthless.  Finally, a little more shoveling and Greg Ford pushing the rear of the Explorer was able to get us unstuck.

V.I.P. parking at the radio station

It only took 50 minutes to travel between 6-8 blocks to the radio station.  That's when the next problem came to.  The main roads were all clear...but there wasn't anyplace to park.  After driving around downtown a couple times, I saw an opening.  It was the sidewalk in front of the station on the square.  Surely, I broke more than a couple city ordinances, but there was no other choice.  Rock star parking!

It was a busy day at the office, and surely the list of "openings" was much shorter than the list of "cancellations" today.  I even brought up the idea that we air Openings instead of Closings on the radio today. 

After reading that the Illinois State Police in Macomb were sending troopers out in snowmobiles and Humvees, I thought it was probably wise to just stay an extra night at the Super 8. 

My house is for sale.  An amazing back deck with TV!  Call, Nick!

I love motels, I don't know why.  It's like a vacation, even when I'm working 75% of the time.  As a bonus, I'm not messing up my house, which is being shown on Saturday.  Keep your fingers crossed, and hopefully they want to buy!!!