At the time, I was driving my first car, a little light blue 1982 Toyota Corolla - 5 speed. Somehow I slipped and slid up the incine and made it to Highland Avenue. I don't recall if I had somewhere to go or if I just wanted out, but I remember driving to the high school parking lot with an agenda. I was going to teach myself how to drive in the snow. I have no recollection of how long I was there or even what I did but I remember getting up some speed, hitting my brakes and just getting the feel of what I needed to do to steer out of a skid and I did good! I was proud of myself. I thought I might end up doing a doughnut or two but I didn't. (I did that unintentionally one time on a main road while Jamie was in the same car with me - I still don't know what happened that time - only remembering that I was coming to an intersection, I pushed in the clutch to gear down and the next thing I knew Jamie and I had spun 360 degrees on wet pavement!)
My mom had always gotten out in the snow and went where she needed to go and I guess I wanted to be like her. She reminded me the other day of the time she tried to gun her Monte Carlo through a snow drift that we could barely see over. That was back in 1978 or 79. That didn't turn out so well - haha and Daddy had to come and pull us out with chains. Well, someone did. I'm not sure if he came looking for us or if someone else had driven upon our predicament - we certainly didn't have cell phones back in the 70s! I remember another time my mom was driving down US 27 in the snow and all of the sudden she lost control. We crossed over into oncoming traffic (near where Willie Frances Graham lives) and I could see the whites of the driver's eyeballs). All of the sudden Mom swerved out of their way, overcorrected onto our side into the shoulder and then somehow straightened the car back up. Jesus definitely had the wheel that day. Come to think of it, Jamie was in the back seat on that day too. She said something like... "Nannie! You...you...you just ran off into the snow cream!"
For 25 years, I've been getting out in the snow when I need to and sometimes just because I want to. This is the first time though, since driving the Corolla, that I have a "tiny car" that won't always go when I want it to. For instance, the other day when I was stuck in the driveway! When I could finally get out, I took both girls with me. I told them they need to learn to drive in the snow. Emily told me she still remembers the time her Dad tried to get our car in Nannie and Papa's driveway and couldn't and I said, "Let me try it" and succeeded :-) Hopefully I've made an impression on her like my mom did for me. I gave them pointers on how you need to be aware of the road ahead of you so you can avoid using your brakes if it all possible. It's better to get off the gas and let the car slow on its own when you are driving on a snow covered road. I explained how the lower gears allow you to have better traction when climbing a snow covered hill and Emily asked "oh, is that what the 1 and 2 are for?" And I told them I can't really explain what you do, you just have to learn it. With that information, I encouraged them that when the roads were safer, they should take their vehicles to an open area that is snow covered and get the feel of steering through a skid. It's definitely a skill they will need for years to come. We don't all live on main highways - sometimes just getting out of your subdivision requires snow driving skills. And sometimes, whether its by choice or necessity, we find ourselves driving little bitty cars that are great on gas mileage 11.5 months out of the year but not the best in getting us through the snow for maybe 2 weeks at the most!
I still enjoy the challenge of snow driving. I can sit inside the house a lot longer now than I could at age 18 but even at 44 a person will eventually go stir crazy! I'm the one who looks all around to see if any cars are coming up behind me or coming toward me and still do a brake check just for the practice when its been snowing. So far, I've remained safe and Jesus has taken the wheel when needed. I pray that He will continue to look over me when I'm driving, especially considering I drive about 26,000 miles each year!
Stay safe y'all!
