John often claims to know everything, and I might have to give him credit at least this one time. Okay, so from my previous blog post you will remember that I decided our family could live without supplies if we are iced in, etc. etc. Then this afternoon, John wanted to go out for an early dinner, so we headed out to Roadhouse. Since Kelsey couldn't find the doggie diapers on her last wallyworld run (**cough** I think this had something to do with the fact that she didn't actually look for them **cough**), we decided we would brave the elements and try again after dinner (imagine having a non-indoor-trained dog who is elderly and urinates when she sleeps and you will quickly see why this particular "supply" was absolutely necessary in the 0-degree temperatures). John then drives us out to the brand-new Walmart, which I've only seen twice and never remember is even there. I am telling you, we were 2 of perhaps 40 people, total, in that store. And as we shopped, the silence was wonderful. No babies screaming, toddlers being beaten to within an inch of their lives, kids running in front of the cart so that the urge to mow them down almost overcomes a normally-rational, sane person. It was heaven, and I believe that I heard the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's "The Messiah" as we went down every single empty aisle. Honestly, I am not sure you can top, while staying in Oklahoma, the joy of leisurely wandering through a completely empty Super Walmart.
I guess I'll stop this post now because our incredibly demanding cat, Woody, has jumped on my lap and is now attempting to separate me from the keyboard. And I am NOT kidding. He has turned sideways and has his legs pushing against my stomach while his back pushes against the desktop/keyboard, and it's taking me forever to type this one stupid closing line!!! I am evidently petting the cat RIGHT NOW!
~kdc
So around Christmas 2009 we had an actual blizzard here in Oklahoma. Yes, an actual, real, live blizzard. It was the greatest thing ever! And now we've just heard that another storm like that one is on the way, due to arrive here tomorrow afternoon and evening. So it follows that everyone around here has run mad. I tried to go to Walmart yesterday, but only circled the lot one time before deciding there was nothing in there worth the trouble and I left. My ballpark guess was that there were approximately 42,783 people shopping there at the time, and that's about 42,700 people too many for me (Kelsey tells me that she was there around the same time and that my number is a gross exaggeration, but I will let her persist in her delusions). All I could think was, doesn't anyone work anymore!? For the love of God, a person should be able to shop at Walmart between the hours of 8 and 5 without having to fight their way through the crowds. But today it finally dawned on me...everyone is laying in for the siege and stocking up on supplies. Needless to say, we are going to be without said supplies. We have bread, bologna, peanut butter and jelly, and various frozen (completely unhealthy) foods, so I figure we will be fine. And no, I am not trying to win any "mother of the year" awards. Which is a really, really good thing because I doubt I would even make the top 1000. It's just not my thing.
ANYWAY! The entire town is acting as if the sky is falling (ha! I guess it is in a way) and this would be one of those times when I think the northern states have to be laughing their asses off, seeing how we react to snow and ice. We will probably fare a little better this time because of what happened about a month ago...people will hopefully be a little better prepared. But one thing that won't change? People in Oklahoma still have no clue how to drive on ice and/or snow. They apparently believe that reducing speed is not called for, nor is avoiding breaking suddenly. And even better, those 70s and 80s Camaros and Firebirds will still be on the road. And I mean literally on the road. They won't be moving and their owners still won't understand that THESE CARS WERE NEVER MADE FOR DRIVING ON SNOW OR ICE!!! One would think said owners would either find a ride or call in sick after getting stuck every single time any cold precipitation touches the streets. Ah, but where would the fun be in that? We would have one less group of people to laugh at and so they should probably just carry on.
Of course, this is all really easy for me to say because I work from home and I have two teenagers and a husband who venture out into the cold and wet for whatever we need. Ah, it is good to be Queen.
~kdc
