We're getting a good winter storm here today. I love it. Bad weather is the only salvation in a gray winter. It's afterwards, when nothing is happening, and the cold, still air moves in with the haze, and gritty slush from filthy roads ends up all over in your shoes and on your car, and in your kitchen rugs: those are the doldrums of winter.
Tom and I were in Chapel Hill on December 4, 2002 when an ice storm hit. I remember the day because it was the day I'd scheduled my senior recital. I was five months pregnant with Isaac. We were living in a little cinder-block apartment. My parents and grandma had flown in on Dec. 3. We were at Party City picking up things we needed for the reception when big fat snow flakes started to fall. We left Durham to head back to Chapel Hill not long after it started to snow. It still took us a couple hours to make it back to CH, it should have taken 15 minutes. We knew we'd have to postpone the recital. The power went out sometime during the night. It was unbelievably quiet. No humming fridge, no furnace blowing and no cars on the road. We could hear tree branches snapping under the weight of the ice as it fell. We awoke to the most incredible scene of ice and snow. Each and every branch was perfectly outlined in ice. I'd never seen anything like it. It was stunning. A tree had fallen down where we usually parked our car, which was thankfully safe in the shop. Roads were impassible from fallen trees, branches and power lines. Luckily, they'd fitted up our apartment with a gas range a few months before. We were able to heat water and food until power was restored about 12 hours later. Many other families were without power for a week or more. We were on the UNC Hospital grid which was of course top priority. Traffic lights in the entire area were out for days. We drove around for a couple hours trying to find a restaurant with power, we finally found a Boston Market where we stood in line forever. The food was hot and it tasted wonderful.
It warmed up soon enough, and we had a frosty recital in Person Recital Hall two days later. It all worked out well enough.
4 comments:
That's a nice memory.
The infamous ice storm! I remember waking to cracking branches, wondering what was happening. We were without power for 5 days but luckily had just moved to an apartment with a fireplace. I was 5 months pregnant with Peter. Funny how we hardly knew each other then!
As for your snow, consider me jealous! It's been -11 with wind chill here the last couple of days but there's not a flake to be found. And it doesn't look like we'll get any before Christmas. :(
I remember that storm... I was 8 months pregnant with Aubrey!! We didn't have power for 3 days and Peter was studying for finals by flashlight. We just had an ice storm here a couple weeks ago that reminded me of that time, although we only went without power for 12 hours and we had a wood stove to heat the house with and cook on.
Hope you guys had a great Christmas!
I have special memories associated with your recital. It was the day after we got back in to town after my little sister passed away. I went to your recital alone (as I love to go to concerts alone). Your music was so beautiful. The intensity matched the intensity of my emotions at the time. That's a memory that will stick with me for a long time, I believe.
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