Recording the Event

I did not take pictures of the Blizzard of 2011.  OK, fine.  (walks to the window with a phone.)  Here is one.  Just to prove I was here.  From my bedroom window, you can see the snow drift going almost to the top of my four-foot fence.  The drifts were justs as high in front of my garage and my front door.

Yesterday, my office was closing early, so I called my dentist to see if my appointment was still on.  It was.  I arrived early and they took me early.  When I walked out the door, the blizzard was in full swing.  It took 45 minutes to drive the three miles home.

I live in a cul de sac, so there are three snow plows required to get us out.  The big village truck goes down the length of the street.  The little village truck does the circle.  And we contract with a guy to do the driveway.  The village trucks came at regular intervals.  The driveway guy came at 2:30 a.m.  There have been six or eight inches since then.

I woke up at about 5:15, confirmed that my office was still closed, and went back to sleep.  Turned on the WGN and the Facebook at about 7am to hear about all of the people that had been stranded overnight.  My friend Matt left his office in the city at 8pm and went to northwest station.  He got home at 2:30.  Tammy's car died and her heat went out.

I called the rescue at 9am or so.  Apparently, even if I got off my own street, I couldn't get on to theirs.  I tried to shovel, anyway.  And decided that I need a snowblower.  So I called every hardware store in a 20 mile radius - and every Target - and no one has any left.

11:30ish the cabin fever really hit.  I was going out.  I knew Target was open, anyway.  I got my car out just fine, but the garage didn't shut properly, which gave us a big scare when I arrived back home.  I think it's ok, though.

Target was awesome.  And creepy.  I saw exactly two staffers and two other customers.  I nearly ran into a guy turning a corner and for two seconds, I could have sworn that he was a zombie and I was going to die.

I had to take a detour on the way home, as the plows were doing their thing, so it was a bit of a tour of North Glenview.  Except for a few cars that were still stranded on the streets, it didn't look too bad.  But the best part?

McDonald's was open.  I love my McDonald's.

So.  Two feet of snow.  Serious snow drifts up against my house and the fence.  But assuming the plows finish up and the salt trucks get around tonight, we should be in good shape for tomorrow.   And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is why I still live in Cook County.