suddenly lost control

Winter.  I seldom if ever complain about the season.  I like the cold.  I find it to be a refreshing change of pace from the sticky humidity of summer.  Plus it seems natural to me to have the seasons change.  I can not imagine living in a place where the temperature is almost a constant and there is no snow.  Yes, my lips may get chapped and my fingers numbed from time to time, but overall I like the winter months.  Now having said the positives, I will admit that there is a negative.  Driving on snow covered roads at night is not a fun time.

Last night we had expected to see snow coming down as we left the theater.  As we exited the underground parking structure that was not the case, so we decided to stop and eat something at a favorite restaurant of ours.  Then as we were waiting for the check to arrive we could see the flakes filling the sky.  Sigh.  We had lingered too long.  At first there was little to no trouble making our way home.  Oh, there were the arrogant in their trucks speeding by, but we were in no hurry to reach our destination.  All that waited for us at home was bed and maybe a movie.  Then maybe three miles from home it happened.  Rounding a curve my tire slipped off of the snow covered paved road onto the ice covered gravel.  The immediate change in traction caused my car to lurch violently and soon I was swerving forward instead of driving.  It was not a pleasant ride, but thankfully it did not last long as I spun around and ended up facing the other direction in the ditch.

I was fine.  Yes, adrenaline was pumping through my body, but I was unharmed.  If anything I was angry.  In my twenty plus years of driving, this was the second time that I had ever lost control of my car on snow.  The first time had occurred while I was in an altered state and cured me of ever driving that way again.  Now a more mature driver in a clear state of mind, I had somehow repeated something that I did not want to repeat.  Unlike that other time in the past, I did not have to run to a friends house for help.  She had been behind me in her car and saw the whole thing happen.  Sadly even with her help there was no way that we could free the car from its newly formed snow bank prison.

Even after returning with a shovel and trying to give the tires something to grip, the car was not going anywhere.  With frozen snow firmly lodged under the front axle and a rear tire off the ground, the car wheels did nothing but spin.  A tow truck was needed and called.  A mere thirty seconds under the power of the winch and one hundred five dollars later, I was free to drive home.  It was not how I wanted the night to end.