No weather induced day off for me

I find it very disappointing when the news reports tell of wind and freezing rain and to watch your news for school closures and delays and then ... you have to go to school anyway.  It's reminiscent from my childhood days I'm sure, but it's just as potent today in university.  I don't mind school at all, but I love me a weather induced day off.

I'm reminded of the time I lived in Washington state and there was a storm which produced hurricane force winds.  It was so very exciting.  The night it rolled in I was picking up my little D from after school activities.  Saying it was dark is an understatement and I do believe all the traffic was in front of us.  I say that because there was no one, zero, zip, zilch, behind us.  All I could see is a wall of black and the few building lights on the sides of the freeway.  A very eerie feeling since the norm was to be packed in like lemmings in a science experiment.  I don't have the greatest night vision so I tend to follow the lights of other cars.  Not the best strategy, but here I am to tell about it.

Well this storm blew some kind of power junction box off to one side of the road.  We saw a flash of blue in the thick black.  I was driving slow and by that time most of the folk had disappeared off the road.  I thought I must be missing something if all the cars are gone.  Sure enough the radio says something like "get your rear home missy, or you'll be wind bait."

I took my exit and when I pulled into the base check-in point there was a huge tree down that I had to drive around.  Fortunately there were no other cars so I was able to skip through lanes with no trouble.  We made it home, the wind was kicking, and it was the first time I'd ever felt the need to tape my windows in case they shattered.  The evening was filled with news of highway signs getting ripped of their poles like candy wrappers and, you know, general mayhem.  

The next morning we took a drive around base.  My eyes were double their normal size and and my jaw was stuck in dropped position like a sergeant was yelling "drop and give me twenty!"  Some people were smart enough to tie down their little metal sheds at the sides of their houses.  Some had the misfortune of picking out the pieces from several houses down the way.  I saw a trampoline, size large, folded up like crumpled paper and again in someone else's yard.  Many many trees were broken, a few on top of houses.  We were one of the lucky few who didn't have anything outside.

For now I must return to normal life because school was not cancelled.  Not today anyway.  I'm crossing my fingers.