Cold-Clipped

We had a very cold, windy, snow storm here in Minnesota today. It looked kind of like this picture. Nothing is colder than blowing snow. Today was a hunker down and watch football Sunday.

However, we didn't just hunker down as we attended church this morning with my mother and afterward had brunch at Cracker Barrel. It was a wodnerful time as we were toasty warm enjoying the only good restaurant bacon in the world, french toast, and hash brown casarole.

We had to take I-35 to get home. Snow blew with an angry howl as legions of white snow snakes speedily slithered over the highway. There were plenty of people on the highway. Driving under the speed limit was not only the smart thing to do, but teh only sane thing to do.

I was driving the minivan (without the Peyton Manning fire decal) with half a dozen of us talking about Christmas when a dreadful and disturbing sound from behind us got all of our attention. I looked in my rearview mirror and things couldn't have been closer than they appeared because the out-of-control SUV filled my entire rear view mirror. The unpredictably spinning SUV was so close as it passed behind us that everyone in the van besides me thought that the SUV clipped my rear bumper.

Off into the ditch went to the SUV. We kept on for about a tenth of a mile before pulling off. In one minute, yes, one minute, there was a state trooper on sight and a guy with a huge truck with a chain pulling this crazy SUV out of the ditch.

We checked the rear bumper and found no indication that we were hit. We assessed that the state trooper and the dude with the truck and chain had the situation under control, so we drove on, slowly.

We missed getting into a potentially deadly situation by a measure of inches. My whole life was in that van today. Were I to lose my wife, children, mother and sister then I lose most of me.

I am so grateful for being missed. I am grateful no one was injured as well.

Sobering.