December 20, 2008 - 

I was tucked nicely into bed, watching a movie on my lap top, when the phone rang.  "Who's calling so late?"  It was Dad.  "Naomi Hull is stuck at the SeaTac airport, and her Dad is wondering if you can go and pick her up?"  I made my way over to the window and pulled the blinds apart to see outside.  Snow was falling down in great sheets, layering the streets in thick white.  It's amazing how something so soft and delicate can be so lethal.  I watched as a car spun and slid, its engine roared angrily but the tires were unable to grip.  Hmm, this could be a bit of an adventure.  "Sure.  I'm on my way."  I wrapped myself up in 2 pairs of pants, warm socks, hiking boots, and 2 jackets. "That should do it."  I grabbed a flashlight, sleeping bag, and granola bars - just in case. Then, armed and ready, I headed out.

I knew the streets downtown were bad, but I kind of assumed that the freeway would be plowed and salted.  Boy, was I wrong!  Jack Frost, had really out-done himself this time. Layers of ice and snow everywhere.  My little car bounced and skidded in and out of various lanes - let's face it - I might've even been traveling on the hard shoulder.  It's hard to navigate when lines are buried under inches of snow.

All the other cars seemed to have chains - and I kicked myself for being so observant.  I wondered if 'all weather' meant 'handles beautifully in snow and ice,' because those were the kind of tires I was dealing with.  I stuck my hands at 10 and 2, just like the driving manual said. This was definitely a two-handed situation.  Radio off, say a prayer, and focus.

It took over an hour to get to the airport (normally a 15-20 minute drive).  I figured slow and steady was my best bet.  And it went pretty well too.

Some Yo-yo, in a bit of a rush, flew past me at who knows what speed - kicking snow up in his wake.  10 minutes later I passed him.  He'd landed himself on top of that cement barrier between the two bits of freeway. Smart.  Don't worry, there was plenty of snow to soften the impact, and his car didn't appear to be damaged.  Just horrifically stuck.

I saw quite a few vehicles that were just parked - abandoned, on the side of the road.  Who knows what happened there.  It was kind of haunting.

As I neared the airport, things started to really jam up.  Traffic slowed to a crawl.  And, for me, crawling also meant a lot of spinning-out and stalling.  We were bumper to bumper - literally - some pick-up truck skidded right into the back of me - but it wasn't too violent an attack - just a gentle nudge really - I didn't even bother to get out and survey the damage (I still haven't looked, come to think of it).  Cars were jack-knifed left, right, and center (probably the reason for our slow progression).  One guy, in a catering van, was frantically digging out his back wheels.  "Nice.  If that guy's stuck - what on Earth is in store for me?"

But, I managed to keep moving, inching along with everyone else until I was stopped outside Arrivals.

Problem #1 - Naomi didn't have a cell phone.

Problem #2 - I had no idea what airline she'd flown with.

Problem #3 - Some overhead announcer kept barking out reminders that parking was strictly prohibited and any violators would be penalized.

Ha!  Nothing more than a scare tactic.  There were cars parked everywhere, and no law enforcement in site.

I rang my Dad.  "O.K. Dad, I'm here, but I have no idea how to find Naomi."  He gave me Pat Hull (Naomi's Dad's) cell number, and Pat said that she'd flown in on Alaska Airlines, and that she'd be waiting in that general vicinity.

Problem #4 - Apparently cars weren't actually parked - just moving slowly, and there was no   way in or out of my lane.  Just cars jammed everywhere, trying to move, and honking.

Problem #5 - I was pretty sure that I had long since passed Alaska Airlines, and there was no way I could make my way back around to it, with traffic and weather conditions as they were. This was one stop only.

It seemed I only had one option.  I jumped out of the car - leaving it running - and ran down the causeway in search of Alaska Airlines.  The airport was packed - Naomi later explained that it had been standing room only, all the seats and floor space were taken by previously abandoned flights.  I scanned the crowd trying to pick out something familiar.  I hadn't seen Naomi in a while - for all I knew she was sporting red hair.  All the people melted into a blur.  How was I supposed to...

"Bonnie Corbett!" And there she was, moving toward me, loaded down with bags, and looking weary.

"Come on Noames - let's get you out of here."

December 21, 2008 - 

The next day was Sunday.  Church had been cancelled due to the inclement weather, so we both slept in.

Problem #6 - I had no food.

I'd saved Naomi from her nightmarish travels, only to bring her to my home, and have her slowly starve to death.  I rolled out of bed, and started to search the house.  I started with the fridge and cupboards, because I figured they were my best bet.  Okay - eggs, olives - not exactly appetizing.  Pasta and a slough of spices.  Ah!  What luck!  I'd opened the freezer and found half a loaf of frozen bread.  I whipped up some cinnamon toast for the Noamster and myself, and - although it was a bit freezer burnt - we sat on the floor, with the cookie sheet on a tea towel between us, and dined like kings - or queens rather.

That evening we went to a friend's family's house for dinner.  The friend - Ann Marie.  The family - the McDonald's. The dinner - delicious.  We ate roast beef and yorkshire pudding, and after all our troubles, it was the most tasty meal of my life.  

But I'm getting a head of myself.  The freeway had been scraped clear, but the side roads to the house were still packed with snow.  Gorgeous, breathtaking, block-your-way-type snow.  

Problem #7 - We got stuck.

"All right Naomi - see if you can push it."  She gleefully complied, but didn't have much luck.  I put the car in neutral and we both tried to push.  Our feet skidded out from under us, and our heads were dizzy with laughter, as we rocked the car, and tried to give it the extra heave necessary to free it from the quicksand-like snow.  Nothing.  Okay. Okay.  I'd done this millions of times with Rob Higgin up a logging road somewhere - mind you, we always had plenty of hands to dig and push in those days.  But, Naomi and I were not disheartened, we giggled as we dug - and I broke down 1/2 a tree to jam under the back wheel.  I got back in the driver's seat, and Naomi pushed with all her 5'2'' might, and... Hooray!  We'd achieved traction.  We drove as far, as we could, and then hiked the rest of the way in.  

The McDonalds provided us with a tasty dinner and excellent company - we watched "The Nativity", helped dig their van out from under a fallen tree (no harm to van thankfully), and then hunkered down for the night in their basement. 

The next day we hiked back out to the car.

Problem #8 - Stuck again!

We tried all the tricks from the previous night, in faster succession, but without any luck. Dumb snow.  Ann Marie eventually showed up with her siblings - they were trekking to the store (with their sled) to buy presents.  We all tried pushing - still no luck.  Huh, I had felt sure that would work.  Now what?  Thankfully, a nice fella in a rather big black truck showed up.  He tossed us a rope and Ann Marie's brother, Matt, tied it to the car, I got behind the wheel, and everyone else got behind the car to give it a push (except for Ann Marie, who was snapping pictures).  And we were off again.  We said our good-byes and headed back to my house.

Problem #9 - No power.

We pulled into the dark abyss of a parking lot, and turned off the car.  Blackness.  I made Naomi hold my hand, as we felt our way to the stairwell, and up the 5 flights of stairs.

Problem #10 - I have to be out of my apartment.

That's right, all of my belongings needed to be hauled down to the car - and no power, meant no elevators (at this point in time, I need to point out, that the power was out when I moved in as well, and I had to tote all my stuff up to the 5th floor - this would be easier - at least I had Naomi to help, and we were going down instead of up).  We found a little flash light, and took turns holding it as we laughed and stumbled up and down in the dark.  

Hooray for Naomi, is all I can say.  Without her - it would've been a horrific day of box lugging; with her - well, I just really had a lot of fun.