Snow Memories (very long)

It's snowing here again and snow always prompts a mix of memories--good and bad...and strange. I'd like to share one of the the strange ones.

I was a 17 yr-old high school senior and running errands on a Saturday morning with my GF (now my wife). A snowstorm had rolled in and the world looked beautiful. After our errands we stopped by my parent's house for an early lunch. We ate with my mom. My dad was no where to be seen, but we soon heard him. He was trying to ignore the pain of a kidney stone. I asked him if he wanted to go to the hospital, but he said no. He'd had a similar pain a few weeks earlier that went away by itself as he sat in an emergency room, so this time he was staying home.

Since I wasn't needed, I drove my GF home. It took longer than usual because of the snow, but we enjoyed the views . On my way home after dropping her off, I saw something odd. I thought I was imagining things. But as I got closer I could see I was right--there was a woman in a French Maid outfit (w/a little jean jacket) walking through the snow in heels with a little boy next to her. I started to drive past them because I knew my GF would not want me giving her a ride. But there was about 12 inches of snow on the ground and more was falling. I stopped.

I backed up a little and got out to offer them a ride. I tried to show the woman my driver's license (so she'd know who I was), but she couldn't have cared less. She was freezing in those clothes and jumped in the car before I could suggest she get in the backseat. The boy squeezed in next to her and the three of us were packed in pretty tight in the front seat (it was a bench seat). The way she was dressed made me a little uncomfortable (I was 17). She told me she was a college senior and worked at a local restaurant. She had picked up her little brother from a friend's house on her way home from work and then drove her car into a ditch.

She gave me directions to their parent's house. It was about 10 miles--she never would have made it in those heels. As I drove into their driveway I tried to figure out what the right thing would be to do next. If she'd been wearing pants I think I would have carried her to the porch. But under the circumstances I decided that would be taking chivalry too far. I stayed behind the wheel and let her walk--it was a short walk. LOL!

I forgot to tell my GF/wife this story for about 10 years. But that's because something serious happened next. When I got home my dad was still in pain and I asked again if he wanted to go to the hospital. He said no, he would be fine. Close to 9:00 that night (when there was nearly 20 inches of snow) my dad asked me if I was more comfortable in my car or his. I asked, "more comfortable for what?" He wanted me to drive him to the hospital. So I shoveled a path to my car, cleared it off, helped both of my parents into the car, and off we went.

I attempted the direct route, but there was one steep hill I could not get past. My car had rear-wheel drive and kept sliding before I cold get to the top. There were deep ditches on both sides of the road so I couldn't afford to take chances. We took the long way instead. When we got to a straight stretch of road I sped up a little. My mom was in the backseat and scared. She softly suggested that I slow down a little. Before I could answer, my dad said, "Leave the boy alone!" I had to choke back the laughter. If you knew my dad, the drill sergeant, you would know why that was funny. For him to be the one defending instead of criticizing--Hysterical!!! But also an indication of how much pain he was in.

Soon he and I had a big disagreement. A road he wanted to take was closed. He had an idea for another route, but I knew a shortcut. I had been bused to a middle school in that area and the after-school activity bus took a lot of different routes to get us home. The drill sergeant made it clear he did NOT want to take my shortcut. I disobeyed him. The entire drive was tense because of the snow and his pain. But those next few minutes were beyond tense, with him yelling and me starting to doubt my memory.

Soon we discovered I was right, thank God! The shortcut took us directly to the hospital. It was at the top of a hill, but my car took us straight up without a single slip or spin. The relief was tremendous. I had debated with my dad before (and secretly done things my way instead of his), but that was the first time I openly disobeyed him. He needed to be in charge and he didn't want to admit anyone knew something he didn't. But that night he ended up appreciating it. He thanked me for driving him and said he was glad I took the shortcut. I can't properly explain how huge that was.

So you can understand how the story of driving my dad to the hospital made me forget to tell my GF about the French Maid when we talked the next day. And for the next 10 years!!! Right? LOL!!!

Edit: This was really two stories, completely unrelated, that happened on the same day. Maybe I should have titled this post "A Surreal Day".