February 1st, 2008. Today it was icy. Funny how often days can be defined by weather conditions. It was fun stopping and taking pictures of things that had new meaning because of the ice. Guess I'd never really paid attention before.
Proceeding with caution is generally a good idea but was a particularly good idea on this day. I grew up in California and never experienced an ice storm in my childhood. The first ice storm I remember is in Harburg, Germany, on Buxtehuder Strasse, in the early months of my mission. I still remember the sparkling trees and the size of the power lines. Of course, we took public transportation and rented an apartment so other realities beside the beauty of it all never crossed my mind. There is a lot of beauty associated with an ice storm and that's probably the important thing to remember.
The next ice storm I remember was in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It must have been the fall of 1978. As far as weird weather goes, Tulsa is right up there with Berlin and the Susquehanna Valley. I remember working the 3p-11p shift at the hospital that day. I went to work in shirt sleeves. the temperature must have been in the mid-60's or better. Thankfully, I wore a long-sleeved lab coat at work because when I came out to the car after my shift, it was entombed in ice - literally! The ice must have been 1/4 inch thick. I could not get my key in the lock to unlock the doors. I had no ice scraper. I believe a co-worker had a lighter and unthawed my lock. After unlocking the door, the door would still not open because it was sealed shut with ice. I bumped my hip into the door, hoping to jar the ice loose so it would open. Instead of jarring the door open, it CRACKED the door! Jeanne and I had thought for years that when the Honda was repaired in Idaho after her wreck with Bill in 1976 that the doors were new, or at least reskinned. Apparently not! The bondo cracked right through with my hip-nudge in the ice-covered conditions. It was a bit frustrating. It took an hour and 1/2 to get the car ready to drive, which was probably about the silliest idea of all - to drive the car on ice covered roads. I'd never experienced anything like it. It certainly wasn't like snow. Steering and stopping were quite difficult which makes driving an unpleasant experience. Nevertheless - I LIVED - just another miracle in my life. I thought the above picture was pretty funny, to have a sign with icicles hanging from it warning that the approaching bridge "may" be icy.
This is the street where I work. It wasn't looking particularly "cordial" today.
There is a very real beauty about ice-covered things. Again - it's good and bad. Beautiful to look at - dangerous in excess. Fortunately the branches of this shrub are strong enough to support the ice coat, thus the beautiful effect. If the ice were a little thicker, the branches start to break and that's not a beautiful thing at all. I must say that ice is certainly good for the windshield replacement business (just in case you're looking for the good things about ice).
February 1st, 2008. Today it was icy. Funny how often days can be defined by weather conditions. It was fun stopping and taking pictures of things that had new meaning because of the ice. Guess I'd never really paid attention before.
Proceeding with caution is generally a good idea but was a particularly good idea on this day. I grew up in California and never experienced an ice storm in my childhood. The first ice storm I remember is in Harburg, Germany, on Buxtehuder Strasse, in the early months of my mission. I still remember the sparkling trees and the size of the power lines. Of course, we took public transportation and rented an apartment so other realities beside the beauty of it all never crossed my mind. There is a lot of beauty associated with an ice storm and that's probably the important thing to remember.
The next ice storm I remember was in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It must have been the fall of 1978. As far as weird weather goes, Tulsa is right up there with Berlin and the Susquehanna Valley. I remember working the 3p-11p shift at the hospital that day. I went to work in shirt sleeves. the temperature must have been in the mid-60's or better. Thankfully, I wore a long-sleeved lab coat at work because when I came out to the car after my shift, it was entombed in ice - literally! The ice must have been 1/4 inch thick. I could not get my key in the lock to unlock the doors. I had no ice scraper. I believe a co-worker had a lighter and unthawed my lock. After unlocking the door, the door would still not open because it was sealed shut with ice. I bumped my hip into the door, hoping to jar the ice loose so it would open. Instead of jarring the door open, it CRACKED the door! Jeanne and I had thought for years that when the Honda was repaired in Idaho after her wreck with Bill in 1976 that the doors were new, or at least reskinned. Apparently not! The bondo cracked right through with my hip-nudge in the ice-covered conditions. It was a bit frustrating. It took an hour and 1/2 to get the car ready to drive, which was probably about the silliest idea of all - to drive the car on ice covered roads. I'd never experienced anything like it. It certainly wasn't like snow. Steering and stopping were quite difficult which makes driving an unpleasant experience. Nevertheless - I LIVED - just another miracle in my life. I thought the above picture was pretty funny, to have a sign with icicles hanging from it warning that the approaching bridge "may" be icy.
This is the street where I work. It wasn't looking particularly "cordial" today.
There is a very real beauty about ice-covered things. Again - it's good and bad. Beautiful to look at - dangerous in excess. Fortunately the branches of this shrub are strong enough to support the ice coat, thus the beautiful effect. If the ice were a little thicker, the branches start to break and that's not a beautiful thing at all. I must say that ice is certainly good for the windshield replacement business (just in case you're looking for the good things about ice).
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