This news goes back a couple weeks, but I thought I ought to bring everyone up to speed on the happenings here.
First, my hopeful prediction on February 3 that we might be nearing the end of winter weather turned out to be grimly mistaken. In the several days leading up to 2/11, we had warnings that a severe winter storm was afoot. Nevertheless, the morning of that day wasn’t too bad. I started to see snow and a bit of sleet coming down on the way home for lunch. Still, I was somewhat surprised to be caught at home after lunch, when I learned that 3ABN was closing due to badly deteriorating road conditions.
Sleet and freezing rain fell all afternoon and into the night. On top of a couple inches of snow, we had a 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer of ice. The ice covered my wireless internet antenna, knocking out my internet access, which left me without a convenient source of news and information for the next several days. (Not to mention no chatting with friends!)
I remained stuck at home Tuesday morning. The mound of snow on the windshield of my Jeep was encased in a hard shell of ice, and presented quite a challenge when I tried to clear it off. I tried to get to work, but Hernando and I couldn’t get the Jeep unstuck. We finally managed to back it out of the space where it was parked, but then it became caught in a thick mixture of slush and mud. We worked for maybe 30 minutes or more, and with the aid of a snow shovel loaned to us by the Troys, we were finally able to free it. But by then Hernando had given up on going to work. It was nearly lunchtime, so I decided to just wait and try again after lunch. I did make it in to 3ABN in the afternoon. Only about half the employees were there. Greg and Jill were running the Call Center by themselves.
Ice storm nature pics:
Carving out the snow under the ice on my Jeep’s hood and windshield:
With cold temperatures, the snow lasted nearly a week. On Friday, 2/15, I got stuck in the slush twice: once at the T’ville post office, and once on the road that connects Main Street to the curve on 149; but was able to get myself out in both cases. The snow was mostly melted by the next Monday, 2/18, but there were still mounds of snow where it was plowed.
As explained in previous posts, the last week of January I had been taped for the 3ABN Today “Behind the Scenes” program, to air on Valentine’s Day, February 14. I was on the set with Jim Gilley, Mollie Steenson, and John Lomacang. My topic was the viewer survey we were preparing to release. Mollie was talking about camp meeting, and John about a series, “Where Are All His Miracles?”, soon to be taped at the Thompsonville church. But 3ABN overbooked its guests, and Lonnie Melashenko took that date on a live program instead. Because my taping included topics that were dated, the producers decided to reshoot it. We were scheduled to do it again on February 21.
However, on February 21, another ice storm rolled in, and the taping was canceled. Kenton, Adam, and I worked until about 4:00, or a little later, and then went home. It was sleeting, and we knew the roads would soon turn slick. By this time I had developed a good technique for removing ice from my vehicle’s windshields, but it was starting to get a bit tedious. We all came in a little late on Friday morning, and found again that many employees were missing. But the main roads were not too bad this time.
A really short video of the February 21 storm:
This storm knocked out my internet connection again, but this time I had two things going for me: I had learned how to connect via by cell phone (sloooooow … 14.4 kbps). And, lastly, after one cold, tiring, and unproductive experiment, I found a fast way to de-ice my antenna. (I knew that water cannon was good for something.) But, for next time, I think I’m going to invest in the aerosol de-icing spray.
Saturday was warm enough to melt off some of the ice and snow, but we got a couple inches more Sunday morning, which began melting later that day. As of Monday, 2/25, most of it had melted, but a little still lingers.
Apparently my “Behind the Scenes” segment will still be taped, but I have not been told the new taping date yet. I know some of you may be tired of hearing about it already, but it’s my first significant appearance, so I guess I’m just excited. (I’m not sure if I should be; I’m not the TV type.)
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