The phone rang as I was getting ready for work.
"It's going to sleet," Hubs informed me. "You'd better hurry."
Ten minutes later, he called back.
"It's falling," he said, and from his tone you'd have thought a nuclear missile was hurtling toward the Hog State and I was belligerently refusing to head underground.
Note: Despite my bird flu phobia, we do NOT have a bunker, although I have fantasized about creating such a place and hoarding. ahem
"O-kaaay," I replied, in a tone that implied he was bothering me.
Tell me they've found a diseased bird at an Arkansas poultry plant, and I will spring into action. A little sleet ... ummm ... not so much.
A few minutes later, I made two quick stops -- drugstore and party store -- on my way into work. Yes, there was sleet. Big freaking deal. And bear in mind, I'm from central Texas, where any hint of wintry precipitation is cause for immediate hysteria.
So I'm not making fun. Well, much. Because my people exhibit the same lemming behavior: Must go home and hunker down RIGHT NOW!
By the time I arrived downtown, an evacuation was in process. The street was so clogged, in fact, that it took me 10 minutes to get into the parking lot. And then I had to slither between bumpers in my effort to walk to the building.
"What the hell?" I asked as I entered the newsroom. "Is there a blizzard in the forecast?"
No, folks, we had 20 minutes of sleet. Some of the bridges were glazed with patches of ice, but the other roadways were fine. Temperatures remained above freezing this afternoon.
Even so, state and city offices closed in rapid succession. Schools emptied. People mobbed the grocery stores. Accidents were reported all over the city. Because we here in these parts don't understand that when things get slippery, you slow down rather than speeding home with a month's worth of dry goods.
Tomorrow, our high is expected to be around 58 degrees.
And all I could tonight was how people of the northern climes would howl over our panicked reaction to a few minutes of sleet.
I mean, look at this. And this.
How embarrassing.
18 comments:
yeah it's kind of like in San Diego where people would be shittin' kittens when it rained for like 15 minutes! Call out the boats!! it's a FLOOD!!!
LOL! Yeah, sleet is kind of a national disaster.. sort of.
Ok, that is embarassing. It's the same though here in Kentucky. I grew up in Iowa and can remember going to school with 2 or 3 feet of snow on the ground.
Hahaha! Yeah. Good for you for not becoming part of the hysteria! My family moved to Austin, TX from Connecticut when I was about five, and that winter it snowed maybe a quarter inch. The city completely shut down. I remember the neighborhood kids trying desperately to scrape together enough snow to make a snowman, plastic bags over their sneakers.
apparently every state is like this except for those in the north. i'm in ga and sometimes we close school when there is a forecast of possible snow. crazy.
I live in Atlanta, sister. I get this post.
You're right!
I'm howling from Wisconsin right now.
(Can you hear me?)
;)
Heh - they should have been here during our ice storm, when you couldn't even walk and we lost power for 2 1/2 days.
Excuse the second comment in a row Cathy, but I just had to let you know how much of a Moron I am! I read this post, and made the comment about the ice storm. Then, I was at my blog and saw these visits from your blog to my post about My Ice World. I thought "Huh?" Then I came back here and saw the link to my post! First of all, thanks for linking to me. Second, now you have me admitting that I'm an unobservant dork LOL
Babe. I get you, I do.
It dropped into the 40s for about a week here in the subtropics.
THE 40S! More than 10 degrees above freezing.
People had landscaping, pipes, fountains, whatever, wrapped in insulating blankets and tape.
It was chilly. It's wet here and it feels worse than whatever temp it is. I grant that.
But 40s...not that bad.
You'd think the arctic age was upon us.
I had to start dropping Jeff into conversation, "Yeah, you know? It's 25 below 0 in Minnesota."
People could not fathom it.
I used to live in the DC area and, without fail, the toilet paper, bread and milk would fly off the store shelves at the first sight of a flurry.
Now I'm in New England, and it takes an actual storm for the store shelves to be emptied, but still, do people think they'll be stranded for weeks?!?
Hahaha! But it's all in what you're used to, right? If you don't normally drive in sleet, I suppose it could be hard... What I'm sick of here in N.E. is the slobbering with joy the forecasters all do over any potential storm: getting everyone all hyped up and then... nothin'.
Dude.
Here everyone RUNS TO THE GROCERY STORE because they have to get all the ingredients for french toast. wtf?
I used to call my mom and we'd LAUGH AND LAUGH everytime there's snow here because that's the ONLY thing they report on the news. THE ONLY THING.
Murders cease to be important when it snows. And they preempt good morning america, which REALLY rots my socks.
lol
Cathy, this is HILARIOUS! And how funny that your husband feels the need to call with you with the 'doomsday voice'. For 20 minutes of ice pellets. Just wait - I've got new pictures from this weekend at the cottage (will post today). Please show your hubster and tell him that this is NORMAL for us :)
Have a good Monday,
Heidi
Here in Dall-ass Tex-ass, once the Cowboys football season is over (usually end of December) the ONLY thing the TV stations can do to justify all those staff people, the photo journalists, the people in college that couldnt read a three word sentence without having to look at the Chicago Manual of Style Hooked on phonics version, was to have them be part of the "Storm Team"
These morons would have you believe that we are all like the wicked witch of the west from Oz, and any form of water will make us melt.
So they send them out to the far reaches, dam near Austin north to the Red river, from Paris Texas to Sherman and Dennison, all telling us that "it MIGHT" snow, and oh my god, it may get slippery.
Slippery in Tex-ass is rain. They drive at one speed, faster than conditions allow, and yes, they crash allot.
But eventually it gets sunny, the body shops are making a killing, the tow truck drivers are as busy as a one armed paper hanger and the photojournalists are resting for the spring storm season, when OH MY GOD, it might get windy!
With the windchill, it's -44C. And we had a blizzard last night, still had to drive to the hospital this morning.
What the?? Did you stop to buy bread and milk? 'Cause that's a state requirement here when the needle drops below 40 and there's *any* precip.
You have a bird flu phobia? Awesome! =)
I'm afraid sleet isn't in my vocabulary.
;)
Post a Comment