Just Say No to Snow
With the cooler nights we’ve experienced lately, my mind wandered back to the days I spent in the construction industry. Being a true southern country boy, I had always dreamed of seeing the seasons change with amazing colors of foliage as nature prepares for yet another winter.
Recently, a friend of mine and I met for dinner and our conversation eventually led to this awesome annual display. I immediately began to reminisce about my newfound distaste for snow. While take several college level classes to promote my growth, I had managed an industrial construction company in Charleston, South Carolina. I soon found myself in a position to take a job with a very well established engineering firm based in New Hampshire. Those Yankee’s have a way of coaxing us southern guys to come work up to their neck of the woods in the form of exceptional pay. Eventually, I succumbed to their generous offer and off I went.
My first project landed me in Wisconsin, in mid-November, for a short project that would prove to be a learning experience no self-respecting southern man should ever have to endure. I had hired a company from Birmingham to perform a very technical aspect of this project and met their representative at the airport for the last leg of the flight to Chicago. The trip was uneventful and when we arrived at O’Hare we found our way to the baggage claim and rental car agency. We were assigned identical cars, same make, model, and color, and off we headed to the sleepy town of Random Lake in Wisconsin.
After a few days on the project, I was pleased with the progress and decided it was time to spend some of the expense money that my company required I squander on entertaining clients and sub-contactors. I invited several people to a local watering hole and eatery for a night of celebration. In those days I was a three-beer man – I would drink one, spill one, and throw one up. As the night progressed, I managed to go above and beyond my usual limit and wound up a bit inebriated, to say the least.
The next morning, I felt the effects of the night of revelry so I had breakfast and coffee to help get over the night of merriment. As I headed out the hotel lobby, I noticed it had snowed quite a bit overnight. Everything was covered, including my rental car and the parking lot. Being from Bastrop, I had never encountered anything of this magnitude. Here, a simple dusting of snow and everything would be shut down for days. I summoned assistance by asking the desk clerk when the snow plow would have the parking area cleaned off so we could get to work. She explained that there wouldn’t be a snowplow but there was a snow shovel located just outside the main entrance that I was welcome to use. I made my way back to the hotel room and donned my thermals and everything else I had in my suitcase for cold weather wear and made my way to the parking lot for my date with the snow shovel.
Now, I don’t know how many of you have ever had experience shoveling snow but it is not as easy as it looks. After working for some time moving the snow from the side and back of the rental car, I was satisfied that I had enough snow out of the way to start the engine so the car would warm up while I finished the job. Fumbling for the keys, I proceeded to open the door and much to my dismay, I couldn’t get the key to work. I was wondering how to thaw the lock that was evidently frozen. After several attempts I was getting nowhere. At that point, reality set in… this wasn’t my car. I had shoveled out my friend’s identical vehicle! Needless to say, he was very pleased so I just decided to ride with him to work in lieu of battling the snow shovel again.
Snow is awfully pretty and something people in this area rarely see but let this be a warning to anyone traveling in snow country. Remember where you parked YOUR car!
© Keith Skinner - 2005 - All Rights Reserved - Originally Published in Louisiana Road Trips Magazine