Snow Stories

I read tonight that my friends back in Kansas are dealing with a lot of snow. 40-minute work commutes now take two and three times as long. School districts are canceling classes, and undoubtedly, basketball games. It's a way of life for coaches and athletic directors to have to reschedule games in that part of the state, and it was always tough to stay up with all the make-up dates and pass them along to listeners at the radio station.

It reminds me of covering a league basketball tournament in Frankfort, KS. It's an annual tournament that plays in mid-January, starting one Saturday and ending the next. All 13 teams played, and just about everyone played that last Saturday. games started at 10 am, so I drove the hour up there in a Ford Contour in just about an hour. But snow fell while I was in the gym the whole day, so when I drove home at 9:00 that night, there was enough on the ground to double my travel time in a four-cylinder, front-wheel drive car. Fun.

But that drive wasn't as much fun as either of the snow drives I made when I lived in Lubbock, TX in my mid-twenties. The one I remember most was in December of 1997, when I worked at the NBC affiliate and had a whopping two days off, since we didn't do a morning show on Christmas day. The boss' daughter, a coworker (with a bit of arm twisting), talked me into driving the 5+ hours home on the 24th. I got home shortly after noon, and even talked to dad before I left, managing to withhold the fact that my bags were packed and I was ready to go.

The weather was fine and the roads were clear as I stopped only once (I was single) for gas and pop in Carlsbad, NM. I surprised my parents' with a joyous overnight stay, and I would do it again.

But I left at noon on Christmas day, and the snow had begun to fall. The same asphalt that was problem-free the evening before was free of traffic but also very slippery. This made for a great time, driving at 35 MPH (with a Diamond Rio Greatest Hits tape playing), knowing that first thing in the morning was 2 AM to start a 3 AM shift at the station, and that I'd lose an hour on the time change.

It snowed the entire 300+ mile way back. Every mile. I had never seen so much snow in my life. Remember I hadn't moved to Kansas yet, so I had no idea what this much snow looked like.

Eventually, I made to Guadalupe Pass, through the mountains of the same name. Driving through the mountains, I eventually caught up to and passed a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. Keep in mind I can't do more than 35 MPH. He pulled me over a little bit further down the line and chewed me pretty good. I probably deserved it, too. I let him get up the highway a little bit, but I eventually caught him again, at which point he decided he didn't want any part of the trouble I was courting, and turned around to go the other way. He was the smart one, since there wasn't much other than a metal railing between me and a drop into a snowy abyss. I never felt out of control except for once, when I spun out on flat ground east of El Paso. But in reminiscing, I wonder how I made it.

Nine and a half hours later, exhausted, I returned safely to my apartment, called my folks, and went to bed. 2 AM wasn't too far away, and another morning show needed a producer.

I did the same thing a few years later, but stopped for the night with a buddy in Hobbs. I was working for the same man but in a different job, who said to ring the alarm if I was in that spot again. I called him late that second night and he took care of things.

Meanwhile, in Alabama, 63 was today's high temperature, and the highs won't get under 60 until Christmas Eve, and even then it's supposed to be 58, with low 50s on Christmas Day.