I am really annoyed for yesterday the weather was so wonderful that we went to the Denver Botanical Gardens, me in shorts and all.
Then came today and guess what snow! So off I went at 6 am to drive my grandson Shadrach to Cherokee Trail High school, 22 miles away.
That's actually why I am in Denver , Colorado for he usually commutes to school with my daughter Michele who teaches at the nearby Coyote Hill Elementary school, but from she went on maternity leave, the task has been mine and it will be until the end of the semester in early June.
The road was slippery and wet, visibility was terrible and I had to drive, always cogniscant of the fact that the roads are full of neophytes who would not know how to correct a skid if it hit them in the face.
In the beginning I had a "sideman," Shadrach, to keep the frost off my windshield but by midway he had fallen asleep and I had to stick a pack of chewing gum into his mouth to wake him up when we got to our destination!
On the return trip I decided not to travel on the freeway since I had my radio on the traffic report and they were reporting lots of spills. So I took the leisurely route back via Chambers Blvd, Colbeck Street and Monacco Avenue. I had never driven a VW Jetta before coming here, but it handles quite well. As I suspected , the traffic was light once avoided the freeway, and as I have now mastered the technique of catching all the green lights, it was not at all difficult or stressful.
As I drove along occasionally admiring the fresh snow on the trees and lawns, I thanked my lucky stars that I was not like so many of the unfortunate persons I saw on the way, huddled up in the bus stops. It made me recall that horrible period of my life when shortly after getting married, we moved to Toronto, drawn by the images of how much greener the grass was there than in Jamaica. However, after about two years of leaving out in the cold dark mornings and returning in the cold dark afternoons after school and work, we decided that a third winter would not catch us there, as the grass was no greener than in hurricane prone Jamaica.
So as the third winter approached, we packed our MG Midget with a tent, stove etc etc and headed south. After about three months we got to Panama and after shipping our car home, still headed south, ending up in Venezuela. When our money ran out, we headed home to Jamaica, the home of predictable weather, never to return to the doldrums of northern living until now, May 2011.
Well, now that I am home, I will not be leaving the house again until it is time to pick up Shadrach later.
Yes I will have to give up my daily bicycle ride to and around City Park, but I will live!
I'm glad you're driving a front-wheel drive car like the Jetta. It handles much better in the snow than rear-wheel drive. My VW Scirocco was great in the snow while my Sierra and BMW were both downright dangerous on ice.
ReplyDeletethank god Michele cant afford a BMW!
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