Reason #2 Why I Live in Misery: Drivers Here Can't Drive in Snow

Ever since the first dusting of our first winter here, I have noticed that MO drivers are petrified of ice and snow. Cold, wet conditions causes them to drive irrationally slow on roads that can be more accurately described as damp-at-worst. The result is that it takes me twice as long to get places as soon as the first snowflakes fall or the first patch of black ice develops.

You may just think that I am overreacting to drivers in town that are careful on pre-plowed side streets, but I drive all over the middle of Misery for my job (and to reach a decent city once in a while). So, I have plenty of experience with Misery drivers. They just can't drive in the snow.

What's even more peculiar here about some drivers is that they won't even attempt to drive at the slightest inkling of inclement weather. I'm only from Ohio. It's not like we get tons more snow than Misery. Sure, Cleveland does, but I grew up nowhere near Lake Erie. The rest of the state gets moderately more snow than this place, but not much. A foot of snow won't stop me from going to the store, visiting a friend, or attending a Band of Horses show in STL.

Come on people! Pump your breaks. Downshift once in a while. It's not that hard.

Funerals, Flights, and Films*, Part One

Our long and eventful weekend of funerals, flights, and films began Thursday morning with a flight to Detroit Rock City. While traveling to major cities with real ethnic food and culture usually gets us excited, this trip was for a not-so-joyous reason. As mentioned in previous posts, R's grandmother passed earlier in the week and we were doing what family does which is pay our respects no matter the distance.

That evening with some family, we were able to enjoy some of the tastiest of that ethnic food at Priya's. Everyone ordered their dish Thali style which includes naan, various side dishes, and rice served in metal bowls and tray. Since no one ever orders vegetables in this group, R and I volunteered to order the palak paneer and okra fry. We passed the veggie, lamb, and chicken dishes around in order to enjoy an assortment of flavors. The food was excellent and made me long for better Indian food to come to COMO, like we had in Columbus. The mango lassi was among the best I've had.

The following day found us spending our time at a wake. It's one thing to attend someone's wake/viewing and it's another thing being a part of the family. When you're part of the family, you spend the day at the funeral home, awkwardly navigating through conversations with people you see once or twice a year. For much of the day, I was on nephew watch as my brother-in-law visited with family.

The most intriguing part of the funeral home was this very odd lounge in the basement. Just past the two-story waterfall and goldfish pool, was what can only be described as a sort of green room. Now, when I write "green room" I don't mean the space where performers await their turn on stage. I'm talking about a room with lawn furniture, green carpeting between brick walkways, and vine-covered trellises painted on the walls. Personally, I would not find this very comforting in a time of loss.

We were able to take a break from the green room and wake with some family across the street at Kirby's Coney Island. I won't go into great detail except to say that it is never a good idea to eat two Coney dogs in one sitting. Although, R's uncle ate three and was bugging a three-year-old for his hot dog.

The following morning we were right back at the funeral home for the actual funeral. It was a nice ceremony. It was short, sweet, and to the point, unusual for a Catholic anything. We quickly said our good-byes and made a break for the airport and a noon take-off.

The flight was delayed about twenty minutes when we arrived at the airport. It seems that four inches of snow only slows down some cities instead of completely shutting them down...like some places I know. So, we had time to breath and to consider what our return to COMO had in store for us...

To be continued.

*Title Credit: My partner, R, wanted me to be sure to give her credit for this post title.

Six Hours for Thirty Minutes

I had two tickets for last night's Band of Horses show in St. Louis, but no one wanted brave the snow to see them.

Then, an eleventh-hour reply to emailed pleas gave me the permission I needed to take on Old Man Winter and make the trek to see Band of Horses. My friend TJ came through and together we headed to St. Louis.

The roads weren't actually that bad for most of the trip, but as we closed in on St. Louis, our progress slowed. It took us two hours to hit the city's outskirts which isn't far off the pace on a clear day. However, the snow was beginning to pile up and we found ourselves behind a line of snowplows that caused us to add another hour to our trip.

Somehow we found the venue, The Gargoyle, hidden in the basement of a student center on Washington University's campus. It was thirty minutes into Band of Horses' set, but we had arrived!

BoH were really solid live. Front man Ben Bridwell's voice sounded almost human without the heavily engineered effects of the band's two Sub Pop releases, but it was still powerful enough to hold its own among the guitars, bass, and drums. The band overall was tight but loose enough to cause the prerequisite head-bobbing one expects.

TJ and I had to laugh that although we had missed half of the band's set, we still got to hear the "hit", aka "The Funeral". But that wasn't even the highlight of the set. The band played a Credence Clearwater Revival b-side called "Effigy". This has to be one of my all-time favorite tracks, especially the version recorded by Uncle Tupelo for the No Alternative compilation. It was a pleasant surprise.

After the encore, we had to make our way back to highways which had only accumulated snow while we were at the Gargoyle. A drive that usually takes me just under two hours, took us over three. Between the drifts, fishtails, and iced over windshield, we were lucky to get out that quickly. It was so bad at one point that we turned onto an exit to clear the windshield and knock the ice off wipers that ended up placing us on a whole other highway.

We eventually made our way back to I-70 and back in COMO. It took us three hours to get there and three hours to get back. All that for thirty minutes of rock and roll, but it was worth it.

Feeling Minnesota or Miserable?

I don't understand the weather in this state of Misery. It has snowed once again, but the temperatures are expected to reach 61 by next Friday. In one week's time we'll go directly from blizzard conditions to spring. How is this possible? Is this normal for Misery? What will we get next year?

I can't deny that I appreciated the snow daze, but I'm a little tired of the snow. There were things I wanted to go out and do today, but now I feel like I need to wait for the roads to be cleared. On top of theat, I need to dig out the driveway and my car. Hopefully there are some good basketball games on today.

I'm ready for spring. I'm ready for 60-70 degree weather, sunshine. I want my students to be able to go outside for recess. The really is a winter in Misery.

Shoveling

Snow Daze Redux

Snow has returned to Central Misery. Once again I find myself up before 6:00, drinking coffee on a free day. A "get-out-of-jail pass" if you will. I probably will waste it on blogs, MySpace, and Pitchfork. Of course I could clean the house.

This has been the strangest winter I can remember. Central MO is supposed to have pretty tame winters. Last winter was pretty easy. It rarely snowed and we had some downright beautiful days. Tomorrow's Valentine's Day. A year ago on V-day the room parent for my classroom planned outdoor activities for our holiday party.

3-6" of a wintry mix. Sleet, snow, below-freezing wind chill. This is our daze in misery.

Miserable Wintry Mix

So, I sit here not much differently than I did 20 or so years ago. I'm wondering if the nasty weather that the TV is calling for is really going to happen. Is it really going to cause us to miss yet another day of school? I did predict a while back that we had one more in us this winter. We'll see. I feel pathetic waiting for school to be called off when there is so much I need to accomplish at work. Besides, I already took today for my birthday, and next Monday's a holiday...I guess. Anyways, here's to snow days. Hopefully I'll get one more this winter and do something fun like wash the sheets or clean out the fridge.

More Miserable Snow Daze

No, it hasn't snowed, but the ice surrounding the schools in this town make it impossible for teachers and students to make it to their "trailers." I guess I'll have to keep myself busy again. I'll write lesson plans, blog, make mixed cd's, update MySpace, grade some papers, do some laundry, organize a fondue party, blog some more, drive my partner to and from work, walk the dog, clean the house some more, clear some ice, shower, shave, blog about it, read Pitchfork, blog again, etc.

I've just relized that my blog is either about music or days off from work. What does that say about me?