A Week From (Frozen) Hell
I’ve lived in Wellfleet for close to 60 years and I’ve never experienced a winter as bad as this one. We’ve had arctic cold, but it never lasted more than 3 or 4 days, not weeks of it. We have had snowy winters when it snowed and snowed and snowed, but it wasn’t this cold. Ice is generally not a serous problem as it is now.
Woody had called a snow plow driver after we had more than a foot of snow. The plow got stuck in the long driveway up to the house and left a huge ridge of ice where it got stuck. All week, Woody has been trying to chip away at the ice on the drive. But there is so much of it and the temperature has gone to up freezing only once, when there was a tiny bit of melting. At least the sun did melt the swords that were hanging from the roof. If one of those two-three foot long icicles hit you on the head, I think you’d be dead.
Wednesday Scott came over. He cleans our pubic rooms for two hours every two weeks. He is a great guy and a friend. When we’re out of town, he feeds the cats. He got up the drive fine but when he went to leave, he got stuck. Woody came home and tried for almost three hours to dig him out, often lying on the ice and snow . He has a very sore back now. He couldn’t budge the car. It is blocking the drive so our car can’t get out and neither can I. We called AAA and they kept giving us a time they were coming but came arrived a full day later.
The tow truck driver dworked with Scott and Woody on the car for three hours. His boss kept harassing him to give up and move on to the next job. We would have been totally fucked if he’d done so, as I had no way of getting out of the house with Scott’s car blocking the drive and our car. It was trapped. Woody could walk down the icy drive to the street where his truck was parked, but I couldn’t.
The tow truck driver was an angel and would not give up. Woody gave him the biggest tip he has ever given anyone in his life. We have more snow coming this weekend and once again extreme cold. Not something I’m looking forward to. We’ll watch the Super bowl together. Neither of us has enjoyed previous Super Bowl parties as most attendees are seldom real fans and don’t pay much attention to the game except to ask questions I am usually the one who has to answer them. “What is a nickel back?” etc etc . Food we shouldn’t eat. Lots of noise and too much drinking.
Sometimes, especially if Tony Romo is a commentator, we watch football with the sound off.
I finished the National entries to the Jose Guveia WOMR Annual Poetry contest. It took me well over a week but I finished yesterday while all the wintery drama was going on. I’m free to get back to my own writing now and expect to do so today. Looking forward to poetry again, my own this time.