I have always heard stories of cities shutting down because of bad weather. Bad weather being relative to the area. I've live in places where schools were shut down because of the threat of snow, and having just moved from South Dakota, I was not impressed.
Obviously, though, they had to take into account the areas ability to clear the roads, and, I hope, the bus drivers' and others' ability to drive in ice and snow, so while South Dakota would have scoffed, it was probably best for Virginia.
Louisiana, however, takes the cake! Today we are in a winter storm warning status. When we woke up this morning there was some sleet, and a little ice on the sidewalks. The road were wet. Brendan was scheduled for his first behind the wheel driving class at 8:00 am. At 7:30 the instructor called to see if we still wanted him to drive today. Since it wasn't too bad. The roads were not icy, and visibility was good we decided to let him go ahead and drive.
While Brendan was in his 2 hour driving class, Michael and I went to breakfast. The couple behind us was talking about how they went to church, but services were canceled due to weather. The waitresses were talking to regulars about staying home if you don't need to go out, and one person mentioned that interstate 220 was closed. No way! We had to have heard that wrong. Maybe there was an accident, and a lane was closed. Surely they had not closed an interstate when the only thing going on so far was sleet that had already changed to rain.
After eating breakfast we made a quick trip to Lowes to pick up some materials for a project I am working on, and then decided to run home for a few minutes before driving back to pick up Brendan. Near Lowes is the entrance to the 220. That is when we saw it. A sign, “Road Closed”. Really, road closed. We just about fell off of our seats. Good thing we had on our seat belts. This road is a 17 to 18 mile bypass around Shreveport. It is pretty much a straight shot—well, a giant curve shot that seems straight because the curve is so wide. It actually seems more dangerous to have that road closed since now you have more stops and traffic on wet roads to get from Haughton to Bossier to Shreveport.
After we picked up Brendan we went to the Dollar Tree to pick up some newspapers. They were supposed to be open, but the key holder wasn't there, yet. Why? Because 220 was closed, and she had to find a way through city streets to work. After we finally got in, the shelves where food goes were almost empty. Really empty.
I understand wanting to be prepared. I understand wanting to stay home in cold, bad weather, but really. It is not that bad. No need to panic people. Can I just say, I am sooo happy to not be working in grocery right now?!
At this rate, I am expecting a school closing announcement for tomorrow by dinner time tonight!
BTW: Brendan, did great. He was worn out after 2 straight hours of driving, and had no desire to drive home, but he felt good about it, and the instructor only gave us a couple things for him to work on between now and his next class.
