Christmas Eve in OKC

All I could think about was 12 o'clock. That was the time when I was going to get out of work, make a last minute, mad dash to Target and rush home to get ready for the Christmas Party later that evening. Except...things didn't go as planned. Not. At. All.

When I left work, the wind had picked up. I had a hard time walking to my car let alone driving my car. The snow was coming down hard and my already blurred vision was even blurrier. I made it about two blocks down the street before all the cars around me stopped...as if frozen. And they were...sorta. They were stuck in snow that was accumulating on the roads at a fast pace. Not to mention, the morning's sleet left a layer of sheer ice underneath the snow. People were either stuck or sliding in their mid-size cars, SUV's, and trucks...so I knew the Fit-mobile wouldn't stand a chance.

I pulled into a nearby neighborhood, called Matt, and implored him to come pick me up. But as I watched the main road, from the neighborhood, I knew there was no way he'd make it 10 miles up the street to me...or that I'd make it 10 miles down the street to him. So, I waited...I'm not sure what I was waiting for...the snow to stop? Scottie to beam me up? I called Matt back and told him to turn around and go home. It was too dangerous. Afterall, we spent last winter in the tropics...so he only had the previous year of experience driving in icy conditions. That wasn't enough experience! I'd either wait out the storm or brave it and drive really slowly. After a while, I decided I had to keep moving. My gas was half past half, I had no coat, and waiting it out didn't seem like a good option.

I began moving...slowly but surely. Phew...made it one block down the road to the next light. The car infront of me was stuck. And as he tried to get unstuck...he kept slipping and sliding...just inches away from my front end. I maneuvered my way to make a left turn, drove one more block, and parked my car at the mall. It was warm there atleast...and me and my car would be safe.

Luckily my buddy Shines was getting off work...and offered to slide by and pick me up. An hour later, I get a call from him...asking me to walk to the corner of the mall parking lot and wait for him at the bank. Although I had no coat...I was willing to make the trek through the snow, so it would be easier for him to get me. But as soon as I stepped outside, I realized that the snow was coming down harder. Within 5 seconds, my glasses were covered in snow, and I couldn't see my own hand in front of me, much less the bank on the corner! I called Shines back, and he picked me up at the mall front instead. I had never been so happy to see him...although I couldn't see him until I scraped off the snow from my glasses! "Nice blizzard appropriate outfit you have on there," he said. Even in the middle of a natural disaster...his sarcasm was still on point.

We slowly drove back to his house to retrieve his wife, so we could rescue the rest of their family, who were stranded on highways and byways...what is usually a 15 minute drive took approximately 2 hours. It didn't help that mid-way....the windshield wiper decided it was done for the day. We tried to use a make shift wiper for Shines to use, but it didn't prove to be successful. Driving with caution with your head out of your window while simultaneously wiping your windshield is not as easy as it sounds. We had some near misses and I had a few mild heart attacks...but we made it!...alive and well.

It was about 4 o'clock by then...we collected Merly and were off to go rescue the rest of the family. To make an already long story...a bit shorter...As we were on our rescue mission we got stuck 3 times. Each time, Merly gave the car some gas, and me and Shines pushed the car with our brute strength. It took about 15-20 minutes but we managed to get unstuck every time. This was saying a lot!...since there was so many abandoned vehicles everywhere...on the sides of the street and even in the middle of intersections! We kept saying how it felt like the end of the world...seeing people walk through the blizzard aimlessly and cars abandoned. All I could think of was...OMG...this is the last day of earth and I've been stuck with Shines for the past 7 hours?!? We finally got to my apartment at 8 pm!!...so much for being happy about getting off of work early!! We were drenched with sweat and snow and exhausted. And that, folks...is how we spent Christmas Eve in OKC.