White Knuckling It

Regardless of the travel warnings, the first winter storm of the year always catches motorists off guard. On a trip to Denver last week vehicles were stuck in snow banks, overturned in ditches, and jack-knifed in the middle of the road. In real-time one small car going in the opposite direction lost traction and fishtailed into my lane of traffic. The Fed-Ex delivery truck in front of me clipped his rear quarter-panel sending him through the air and over an embankment. As cars were stopping to help, the situation had all the makings of an impromptu demolition derby, so I just dodged the debris and continued on my way. Going over Monarch Pass the visibility was so bad that even though I was snuggled up to the bumper of a semi-truck, there were times I couldn’t see him or his hazard lights. Once out of the storm I loosened my grip on the steering wheel and got the circulation back into my fingers. There’s no need to tell you that I talked at length with God…