Tuesday Slice of Life : December 12, 2016.
First, big wet, sloppy flakes fell.
Then, the wind began to howl, driving the flakes sideways, changing them to little pellets of ice. The wind blew so ferociously that when my furnace shut off, the cold that had been creeping in around the doors and windows rushed across the room causing me to shiver. Our first storm of the winter raged.
That was Thursday.
The next morning, one of my friends was trying to negotiate her icy street on foot with a suitcase — more specifically, with a roll-aboard. [I googled and read much about which term is correct—”roller board” or “roll-aboard.” It’s “roll-aboard.” Trust me.] I know you are wondering why she was on her icy street with her roll-aboard, right? Well, you see, she was returning from a mini-vacation in Florida. [If I were her, I would’ve increased it to a maxi-vacation.] After major airport delays, she’d finally landed PDX, and her brother had braved the icy roads to pick her up [nice guy]. But when he got near her place, he had let her out at the top of the hill [smart guy], figuring she could walk with her roll-aboard to her house easier than he could navigate the icy hill with his car.
That was when my friend went live on Facebook.
Words of wisdom, caution, and sympathy flowed. And they continued even after she was safely in her house. [Some FB threads have a life of their own.] With some amusement, I read each post.
That was when I learned about walking on ice.
Did you know that you can walk on ice with two throw rugs? [I still can’t believe I’ve lived in ice-country most of my life and never heard of this one.] That’s right! You just need two throw rugs. [Maybe I could do this instead of using spiked golf shoes — that’s how my husband walks on ice.] It’s all right here, in the details explaining how my friend’s sister could rescue her.
And that, folks, is how you walk on ice.
Photo: View through my dining room window 12/9/16
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Your title drew me in. Our exercise instructor told us to walk penguin style, toes out on the ice. I personally prefer the stay home until it melts method. But there are always those times when we must venture out.
I prefer staying home, too. I will remember the penguin walk, in case I don’t have rugs.
The way I walk on ice is to stay home and wait til it melts…an advantage of being retired. I have never of the rug technique so I will have to keep two handy – just in case.
Yes! Staying home is the best way.
I live in Portland, too and did not know this about throw rugs. As we gear up for Icemageddon 2, I will be sure to have some handy. Do you think towels would also work?
Interesting you mentioned towels. I originally posed that possibility in my draft. I think they would. And it would be more practical to have on hand. News this morn said we might get snow without ice with this week’s storm. Here’s hoping!
I love the information age … (mostly) … and your writing created this vision of walking with two rugs on ice …. which I found sort of amusing .. so, thank you.
Kevin
Thank you, Kevin. I debated tagging it as folk humor. I think I will based on your comment and Laura’s comment.
I did not know that! I will add two throw rugs to my winter emergency car kit! Have you read the lovely little book, Twelve Kinds of Ice, by Ellen Bryan Obed? It’s really a nice read.
Just make sure you don’t have to get out of the car to get to your emergency kit… 🙂 Thanks, Mary, for the book mention. It’s now in my shopping cart. Loved the few pages I could see in the review.
Even though most of our snow is melted, I had a patch of ice to get through today, Alice. What fun to imagine, but great advice for a long walk. I just tip-toed! Happy winter!
When I told my son about using rugs, he laughed and said he’d probably fall picking up the rug to move it forward. I should mention he walked on the recent ice using a shovel for traction. May your winter also be happy, Linda.
I love the folk humor in this piece. How did I grow up in Kansas and never hear of the two throw rugs?
Thank you, Laura. I think I will add the tag “folk humor” to this piece.
And so winter begins but it is still technically late autumn. Walking on ice with rugs-Who knew that is a strategy?
Ah, yes, winter isn’t suppose to arrive for a few more days, but I think autumn has already departed.