Slip Slidin' Away

I love the snow. Sledding or making a snowman are among my favorite things to do in winter. I do not, however, enjoy shoveling snow nor driving when snow piles up on the road. At these times, I am not so much a fan of the snow.

Yesterday, Biz and I faced a dilemma. We normally carpool down to Provo once a month to perform at Comedy Sportz, and we were scheduled for both of last night's shows. But it was snowing pretty much all day and snowing quite a bit. Some friends I saw in the afternoon told me horror stories about their experiences driving on I-15 earlier in the day. I think it was even snowing in space.

For much of the day, it wasn't looking like we might get down to Provo at all. We considered calling the top brass and asking if they could find someone else to fill our spots. But, in the afternoon, the weather cleared up. We decided we would go after all. Just in case the weather got bad again, Jeff offered to drive us in Bunny (Biz and Jeff's new car), which we agreed would do better in the snow than my box of bolts.

For the trip down to Provo, the coast was totally clear, and we made great time. We had a fun evening with our Comedy Sportz colleagues, taking part in two enjoyable Improv shows. We were at the club until a little after midnight, after which we packed things up and headed back.

For most of the trip home, the roads were once again clear. As we came into the middle of the Salt Lake valley, however, we drove into a new storm. Jeff slowed down to about 50 MPH, as circumstances seemed to permit, but, before we knew it, we were spinning like the Tilt-a-Whirl at Lagoon. (That's really the only thing I can compare it to.)

In what felt like an hour later, but was in actuality only about 10 or 15 seconds, we came to a stop - which, thankfully, was not due to our having collided with the concrete divider, which I feared may happen twice - in the middle of the freeway after two consecutive 360-degree turns.

In the middle of this rather scary moment, I remember uttering a quick prayer for our safety. This was one of those times that an answer was given right away. Jeff did something very important in that moment that is crucial when you're behind the wheel of a car: He didn't panic. It was also a good thing that this took place at about 1:00 a.m. on a somewhat empty road. About any other time, and we probably would have collided with one or more cars.

Every so often, something happens that reminds you that you're being looked out for.