Its snowing in my hood!

[Homicidalheathen]

The difference between cold and frigid. Cold is a woman who takes your money, has sex with you......then never calls back.

Frigid is a woman who takes your money, Never has sex with you.....and may call you back. Ha!

Cold is one thing. Cold...I can deal with....but snow.....YUCK.

May I also point out there is a difference between cold and frigid.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[n0Mad]

I hand delivered the following letter this morning and the lady I talked to was very nice:

***************

December 2, 2005

Dear Resident,

In my 12 years of driving I have never been in an accident, never stuck in a ditch, and certainly never hit a mailbox. I am a good driver. With a February birthday I learned how to drive on snow and ice. It’s tricky, but I’m a good driver. The last two winters I lived in Steamboat Springs, Colorado where we’d often get 24 inches of snow in 24 hours and with a tiny, 4-cylinder, rear wheel drive, super light weight truck with bald tires, it did not like those conditions but I managed two winters without incident. I am a good driver. So what went wrong last night?

I was driving north on Grandview around 10:45 pm and as I approached Stonnington I applied my brakes to stop at the stop sign there and I started sliding. So, I pressed on the brakes harder and my truck begrudgingly slid to a stop just a few feet past where I wanted to be, but not quite into the intersection. “Okay,” I thought. “It’s really, really icy out.” So, when I was coming up to my right hand turn onto Cedaredge, I slowed down way in advance and took that turn extremely cautiously. (Is it good English to use two adverbs in a row?) But, physics it would seem had it out for me.

The first half of my turn was successful, but then my truck decided, “No, I like facing this way. I don’t want to finish the arc.” I cut the wheel harder but my truck kept sliding towards your mailbox. I pressed on the brakes harder and I kept sliding. Had I been in any of my old cars I could’ve stomped the brakes, cut the wheel, initiated a controlled skid, tapped the gas, and fishtailed right through the problem and been on my merry way. (Did I mention I’m a good driver?) But with anti-lock brakes all I could do was mash them down as far as they would go, continue to cut the wheel to the right, and hope for the best. The best never came. You’re mailbox certainly did though.

10 feet away, 5 feet, 3 feet …

Out in Colorado I could be coming down the mountain on an 18-degree decline, with bald tires on pure ice, and still have stopped by now. Why aren’t I stopping now?

2 feet, 1 foot away, six inches …

“I wonder if this is what it feels like to fly too close to a black hole?”

5 inches, 4 inches, 3 inches …

“Maybe my truck thinks the mailbox is an attractive redheaded woman, because that’s the only thing that has this type of pull on me. Well, that and cheesecake.”

2 inches, 1 inch …

“Yeah, I don’t think my truck is going to stop.”

BAM!!!

And then my truck finished it’s turn and went on down the road like nothing happened. I don’t even have a dent, scratch, or even a mark on my fender as evidence. Unfortunately though your mailbox post is snapped in half and bent. I haven’t even seen what I did to the actual box itself. I didn’t have time to write a note last night as I work 11pm-8am, so I decided to write a note this morning and deliver it to you. Please let me know how much it costs to replace your mailbox and I will gladly repay you. I do apologize but as you can tell from my above description, there was absolutely nothing I could do to prevent it.

Sincerely,

Scott Drebus

[Msterbeau]

You get the considerate citizen of the day award Scott... =)

Personally... I doubt if not having ABS would have made much of a difference. If the car wouldn't turn with ABS activated... attempting a "controlled lockup" would probably have produced the same results. It sounds like there wasn't enough traction for pretty much anything but going for the ride you described.

I HATE ice like that. Especially when I'm trying to have fun controlling slides with the handbrake... I've bent a couple wheels/suspension bits in such situations. :whistling

[Rayne]

Why do you think I drive around in 1st and 2nd gears in the snow like this? I went out to the grocery store very early this morning ..... 1st gear, 20 mph all the way. One of the very, very few times you'll actually see me use my gears in my automatic transmission is snow and ice.

And Scott .... that was great!

[n0Mad]

And Scott .... that was great!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Isn't this the wrong thread for that comment? I chastised Rayne once ... it was gr- Now there I go and do it.

[Rayne]

Isn't this the wrong thread for that comment?  I chastised Rayne once ... it was gr-  Now there I go and do it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Smartass! *giggle* ... but it's all good.

[The_Dark]

GAh! We got 6 inches of snow last night with more coming today... and oh JOY!!! the winds are picking up!!!!