My school was out yesterday and I stayed in....all day. I never even got out of my jammies. It was nice. Late yesterday afternoon we got a call that said school would begin at 9 this morning and buses would run at 8. Teachers needed to be in house by 8:30. I thought that it was odd that we were starting so early....all the county schools surrounding the Alex City system were either closed or starting at 10. But hey...I live in Randolph County and don't know what the roads in Alex City were like....No problem I thought....that meant I had some extra time and could leave later than normal. I got up at 5 and piddled around, got dressed, and headed out at 7. Normally I leave about 5:45....at least this morning it would be daylight. The road looked fine in front of my house...but looks can be deceiving. Less than a mile from my house was the first patch of ice. I was fine with it. It was on an uphill section of the road but my car felt sure footed so I plodded on. Plodded is a good word since I was only driving 25 in a 35 mile zone. I came upon four other patches that were not as kind as that one had been....you could see signs of cars sliding on the road. I slowed down a bit more. When I finally made it into Roanoke proper there was a lot of ice....and McDonalds was closed. That should have sent up red flags...but it was not until I put my brakes on to stop at the red light that I began to slide and felt a little sick at my stomach. I decided before I went much further to call the Randolph Co. Sheriffs department and check the roads and the bridge over the Tallapoosa river in Wadley. I explained to the deputy who I was and what I was doing and she immediately responded that ALL Randolph county roads were travel at your own risk AND the bridge was closed. By now I had slid through downtown Roanoke, was in tears, and terrified. Remember...I am a girl from SOUTH FLORIDA! Ice + Karen = hazzard. In the parking lot of Piggly Wiggly (yep...we really do have a grocery store named that) I decided to turn back. The drive back was even scarier, if that is a word. I called my boss and left a message on his answering machine that I was not going to make it today, called Mary and asked her to call Janice (our secretary who gets our subs), called Frank and told him I was headed home. I went less than 10 miles and it took me 30 minutes. The east bound section of Hwy 22 was icier than the west. I guess more people had been coming than going. I made it back to the house, sat down and emailed my boss, worked up some lesson plans, and called Mary again. I sent the emails to Trina (across the hall friend) and Mary to make sure at least one of them got them....and settled in for another day at home. I then, of course, got to feeling like a whimp because driving on ice is an issue for me....AND because this is the beginning of the second semester and I missed the FIRST DAY....just like I did the beginning of first semester when I fell and hurt myself. Do you think this is a sign? So, here I sit today....all nice and warm....think I will find another book to read. I enjoyed the one I read yesterday. I think I could get used to retirement. Maybe I will try it out in a few years. What do you think? If you are where it is icy...please drive carefully and be safe if you have to get out. If you are where it is warm....I could almost hate you. I will try work again tomorrow...maybe it will warm up enough here to melt this wicked stuff. Happy Tuesday to All!
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