Happy Saturday everyone! I’m so excited that we are getting some snow. I couldn’t hardly sleep last night. Sad huh, well it’s such an event here I can’t help but get excited about it. I might go out later today with my camera and get some pictures. Or make an Alabama sled out of some card board and slide down the hill.
Update on the winter storm for Central AL 8:45am central time.
The winter storm warning has been extended until 8:00pm central time. Accumulations of 3-6 inches are expected but I don’t think we’ll get that
much, but I can hope! With the rain from last night and early, this morning expected to freeze as the temperatures drop to or below freezing. So
watch out for the ice especially on bridges and over passes or you’ll be singing “Slip Sliding Away.” It’s just started snowing big flakes and the wind is blowing about 10 mph. Oh yea the snow is here! It snowed so hard I had to clean the satellites off!
The last big snow we had was the "Storm of the Century" in 1993, which dumped 4 feet of snow in and around the Birmingham, AL area! I bet some of you remember that storm it was a doozy! It actually made the record books!
Seeing the snow here reminds me of the snow storm in March of ’93 and all the things that happened on that trip so I decide to share some of it with you all. Hope it doesn’t bore you too bad.
I’d fought the storm from just south of Nashville, TN to Birmingham, AL. What normally took me 3.50 hours took over 16 hours! I made it through Birmingham to the Green Springs exit and that’s where the trouble started. I was headed home after being gone for a few weeks and all I wanted was to go home so I got off the big road there because several trucks were spun out along with hundreds of cars going up the hill that we call "The Rock. I figured I'd take the back way around the traffic. Well that plan didn't work of course, cause everyone was spun out on the bridge that went over the interstate including a Birmingham Police officer who was unfortunate enough to be behind me and got boxed in because of the cars in behind him that got stuck when every one stopped. The police car was stuck behind me all night because he didn't pay attention when I was stopping and was about 3 inches from the trailer bumper, and I guess they didn’t have anyone to come and get him. I offered to let him sit in the truck but he declined.
I fianlly resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going any further, called the boss and told him where I was, fixed some supper watched a little TV and went to bed. I felt sorry for those people down there on the interstate because they didn’t have anything and here I was in my warm truck, in my PJ’s with a full tummy and watching TV.
When I got up the next morning, I got out and looked around. It looked like nothing had changed on I-65. There was no traffic moving in either direction. I asked the police officer what the situation was south of us, and if the road was still closed. He told me the interstate was closed all the way to the 205 exit. Well I got to thinking that since the interstate was closed and I was positioned right at the northbound exit ramp, I could go down the ramp and go south.
The trouble with that idea was I’d be headed the wrong way on the interstate and I wasn’t sure that was going to be OK with the police officer behind me. I called the boss to see what he thought about my idea, and he said to do what ever I thought I could do. Well after that overwhelming vote of confidence, I decided to mention my idea to the police officer. I told the police officer what I wanted to do, he asked me if I thought I could make it and I said yes, thinking in the back of my mind that I had really lost it this time. I’ve done some nutty things in my time but this took the cake. He got on the radio and checked to make sure the roads were still closed, and they were He said” If you think you can make it then more power to you, if you get stuck you know you’ll get a ticket. I said I knew that. I’m sure he was just thinking if I wasn’t in front of him then he could maybe get out and go home too.
Well I took my trusty hammer, busted the ice away from the steers and drives, got in the truck and because of the grade I put it in sixth gear and just let her start rolling eased out on the clutch and she took off, and I was moving! Wow, I was so excited, finally headed home again, even though I knew there was no power there, I was just happy to be headed that way. Some of the other drivers stuck on the southbound side yelled over the radio and said, “You go girl” which I did. It was a slick rouge ride and seemed to take forever, but I made it to the 205 exit, got on U.S 31, crossed back over to the southbound side, and hammered down for the house.
I made it to the yard in about an hour from the 205 exit. I pulled in to the yard and parked the truck, go all my paperwork together and went into the office. The boss was sitting at his desk when I walked in. He just gave me “the look” and started shaking his head. I said “What?” and waited for him to tell me why I got the “look.” I figured I was going to be fired or something from the expression on his face, which really had me worried. He said that he really didn’t think I was going to do what I did. Then he told me he saw me on the TV headed south and then was when he knew I was serious when I had called him and asked him about my idea and if we were still covered on the insurance when the road was closed. He was still giving me “the look” when he said all serious like, “You’re the only nut I know that would pull a stunt like that.” He tried hard to maintain that serious look but busted out laughing!
Heck, I never saw the news helicopter and it wouldn’t have stopped me any way. Home was calling me, and well you all know what that feels like.
Be safe out there and don't eat no yeller snow!
Happy Trails.NW
Tags: Trucking Snow Storm Alabama Snowball
