Whatever You Do Don't Step on the Brake!

I am an Arizona Girl through and through. I love the Arizona heat. What is so bad about Arizona weather? When it is hot a person steps out of their air conditioned house, gets in their air conditioned car, and drives to the air conditioned mall. I can always get cooler, but once my toes get cold there is no turning back. The only way I can get my feet warm is to take a hot, hot, hot shower and jump into a toasty, warm bed. I despise the cold. I believe God is okay with people whining, but only about one thing, so when the temperature gets below eighty I whine.

My aversion for cold leads me to ask this question: Why would anyone want to play in the snow? If one lives in Arizona, one has to drive at least two and one half hours to get to the snow, and then this means driving in the snow. I have only driven in the snow two times, because I purposely avoid cold weather. I was caught in a snowstorm in Texas driving to a family Christmas. Believe when I woke up and saw the snow outside the hotel window I thought about heading for home, but Caren said there was no turning back.

My first snow driving adventure happened in Flagstaff, Arizona. I went there with a dear friend, Jeri, and her kids. I think we went to see the Grand Canyon in the winter and to play in the snow. This was pre-accident, so I was game for just about anything. It was a nice day the drive to Flagstaff was easy with no complications. The drive to the Canyon was the same, but on the way back from the Canyon to the motel it started to snow. Then it started to snow harder and I started to panic. (My van was only equipped for me to drive, so there was no changing places.) Jeri, being the mother of teenage boys that drove, was very calm. I on the other hand was a basket case. I clutched the steering wheel until my knuckles were as white as the new fallen snow and I squeaked, "What am I going to do?"

Jeri replied very calmly, "First, you are going to stop gripping the steering wheel so hard. Ease up a bit. Then you are going to slow down."

"Ooooooo, but what about the people behind us? They are going to start honking and then I am going to get nervous," I whined like a kid wanting a new toy.

"The other drivers can go around us. We don't care about them. Slow and steady," she cooed like she was talking to a new born babe. But then she added with a little bit of an edge on her voice, "But whatever you do, don't step on the brake."

I was lucky there wasn't a lot of traffic in front of me. It was all behind me HONKING! As I drove, the words, "Whatever you do, don't step on the brake", kept going through my head. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do when I got into town and came upon a red light, and I was too frightened and focused to ask. I prayed my way through two stop lights. I slowly pulled into the motel parking lot hoping I would coast to a stop. I coasted into a parking space easing closer and closer to the sidewalk when Jeri's eyes got as big as a fifty cent piece and she shouted, "Step on the brake!"

Paco's Perspective

I am glad Caren drives to Montana. Whatever you do, don't stop giving me treats.

The Flip Side

I don't think I like car rides.