this afternoon, as the blizzard subsided, the fun inside my home began. we were snowed in. all of us. at the same time. all day long. on a wednesday. my happiest moment was sitting outside, (butt sinking) in a huge snowbank, on the side of the road, eating fresh snow with my kid, and waving at the brave souls driving down barely-plowed 47th street.
it was a day, i suppose, we’ll remember for some time to come, though inside of doors, it was as unremarkable as any other day. because we were together, i tend to believe, i accomplished little compared to what i do on other unemployed days. tensions rose and fell just as frequently as laughter. there was much relaxation and missed calls as my daughter and i had a late brunch, snuggled on the couch watching judge mathis. unlike other weekdays, as soon as i rose (so late at 10) (12?), i pulled the blinds wide open to take a good look at my outside world and this thing mother nature had dropped on us last night.
thunder in the night, lightning, and a wind unlike any chicago other. this was some strange, global warming winter storm. some called it THUNDERSNOW!!! (others called it the snowpocalypse, a snownado, snowmageddom, and so on….)
last night, the wind blew so hard, it knocked people to the ground. from about 3pm tuesday until 1pm today, the snow accumulated so quickly (so aggressively), cars began to collide and get stuck immediately. inches of snow fell every hour and the wind pelted the prickly powder across people’s faces and bodies with such force, people ran and hobbled and drifted for cover. newscasters would not STOP talking about the impending storm and the coming snow dangers. as offices and other establishments began to close early, teachers prepared to quickly send children home. all after school activities were canceled. out on the road however, by 4pm, shit had already hit the fan. around the time i picked up mine from school and began crawling across the south side on side streets (to avoid sitting in the mayhem on the freeway), city buses were sprawling across major arterial roadways (that means LAKE SHORE DRIVE). people were trapped in their cars trying to preserve heat, gas, battery and cell juice.
one unlucky man mysteriously lost his way blowing about a little too closely to the shore. a hat was discovered on the beach near the area where divers found his body after he apparently fell to his death in the frigid, crashing waves. he drowned perhaps oblivious to the hateful wind, blowing snow, lightning, and thunder just above the surface. what a fate.
regardless. there goes groundhog’s day. the blizzard ate the groundhog. and in my household, i’m the last woman standing…
good night. and hello again, february…
Nonfiction Woman 