White Sox Homw Opener Snowed Out

Word has come down that due to predicted snow, cold, and high winds the home opener at US Celluar has been moved to Tuesday. I wonder how many of the players will join in the fun these Mariners are having ...

The joys of spring in the Midwest.

It's Kinda cold out there

At 6 AM this morning the thermometer read -17 at work. That has to be one of the coldest readings in a LONG time here in Northern Indiana.

So much for Global Warming :)

Lessons from an Ice Storm

Friday morning I left Wal Mart (see previous post) and attempted to head for my mom’s with her groceries. That’s when the “fun” began. A little backdrop here. I left my house at approx. 6:50 AM. The last thing I heard on the news was that it was pretty bad out there and anyone who needed to go out should be extremely careful. OK, duely noted, and away I went. In the time I spent at Wal Mart, and waiting to get into Wal Mart (see previous post) a state of emergency was called, and with good reason. In fact the entire Indiana Toll Road was closed for about 3 hours.
As I approached the “hill” or “pit” on old 20 (locals know what I am talking about.) I was flagged down and told to not go that way as about 20 car had piled up at the bottom due to the ice. “Ok, no problem I’ll just swing through the neighborhood, back past Wal Mart and go around on level terrain.” I forgot the hill (not near as big as the one on 20, but big enough) at the back of the neighbor hood. As I crested the hill in question I saw two cars stuck at the bottom. I couldn’t stop and wound up near the bottom of the hill. After several attempts at both ends of the hill, and about a half hour, I realized I wasn’t going anywhere until some of that ice melted.
Man that burned me up. I had about 75 5htings that I needed to get done before going to our family Christmas weekend and sitting someplace not being able to go was NOT one of them. Fortunately I got stuck almost right in front of some friends’ home. They took pity on me and took me in. God used those two hours to sow me/ remind me a few things:

1. All my plans really don’t mean much. I am subject to circumstances I cannot control
2. God kept me from harm and property damage in a pretty cruddy weather situation
3. Relationships are WAY more important than “to dos”
4. I don’t prioritize very well
5. God will use bad situations to create positive outcomes (we just have to look)

These are the things that I need to resolve to look at in 2009… Am I where God wants me, doing what He wants me to do, and is my life pointing others His way. The rest is just details.

Weather in Northern Indiana...

It is true. If you do not like the weather here, just wait 15 minutes and you'll get something new.

At 6 PM Tuesday evening it was 50 degrees with a light breeze. Great weather for January. As of 5 AM Wednesday morning the temperature is ZERO with a -25 wind chill. Yep thats a 50 degree change in 11 hours, YIKES.

Blizzard of '78 -- 30 years later

It was hard for me to imagine that it had actually been 30 years when I heard it yesterday. In January and February 1978, a series of three storms hit the United States Midwest or the Northeast. These storms were some of the most severe winter events to occur in recent history, and collectively are known as the Blizzard of 1978.

I live in Indiana but I found this report from Ohio that sheds further light if you are interested. It is another or those things that I will always remember where I was when it happened or I heard about it (that will make a great post in the near future!). I remember that we had to shovel our way to the garage so we could got to the freezer. This left mountainous drifts that I could jump off of the roof of the house and the TV tower into. I remember that people who had snowmobiles were heroes. They went door to door to check on people and then made lists and got necessities from the stores. They did not ask for and usually would not even take money. They felt that it was what being a part of the neighborhood and community included. Where has that gone? Anyway,here are a few photos I found on the web that kind of show what happened...

Yes, those are State Highways and Interstates

Your car is ready sir...

I'm pretty sure most families have a few photos around like these as well.