'The stupidest thing I've ever done'
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Did you ever say to yourself, “This is the stupidest thing I have ever done?”
Come on, you know you have and a lot more than one time.
I remember heading to the Grand Theatre in London with Marlene one evening quite a few years ago. It was already snowing hard but we were much younger and still almost invincible back then. We left early, right from work, so we could go for supper first. As we ate looking out the window, the weather seemed to get worse but we enjoyed our dinner and went on to the theatre. Can’t remember the performance but do remember, vividly, the drive home.
Marlene was driving some little car. By the time we headed for home it was a full-blown blizzard, snowing violently, blowing furiously and at times hurling freezing rain at us. It took forever to get back and when we got to The News parking lot to pick up my truck we had to chip a half-inch of ice off the windshield so I could drive home. The truck never warmed up. It was like driving a freezer. I couldn’t see a thing most of the time and the roads were treacherous. It was pretty much the same for Marlene heading to Langton, except she was in a toaster oven.
The only good thing was no one else was stupid enough to be on the road. It was an experience and both of us thought often during that adventure, “This is the stupidest thing I have ever done.”
Looking back we know we should have stayed home or at least stayed in London overnight but those thoughts never crossed our minds. We had tickets, it was a night out and we had to get home.
This all came back to me this past Monday. I was thinking on my way in to the Seniors Centre that morning I should maybe not have ventured out but since I was already halfway I forged on. After lunch Nancy made a run to Coyle’s and when she came back informed me I could not drive home. She said there were serious whiteouts and the roads were much too dangerous. She invited me to stay at her house for the night. Considering the directionality of the wind and knowing I was driving in a mostly east/west direction I thought I would leave early and give it a try, promising if it was too bad I would turn back.
I think there is something about home that brings out the daring, the grit, the resolve and the stupidity in us. We just have to get home. We will do just about anything to get home. We are compelled to try.
Needless to say it was not a pleasant drive but compared to that trip home from London, and many others over the years, it was like a stroll in the park. But once home I battened down the hatches, put rolled blankets along the base of the doors, prepared for possible loss of hydro, lit the fireplace, checked on a few friends and burrowed in for the duration. I never ventured out again for a couple days. But I was home and that was all that mattered.
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