Gratitude

One Autumn Freak of a Snow Storm

(Thought-Random)

         October 29th, that was a Saturday in the
morning.  And we were on our way to White Plains in New York -  Bryan and Bing, Anika and I. We were to meet up with friends at a favorite Dim Sum place for lunch and then hoped to get back home to New Fairfield in Connecticut before the forecast snow storm arrived.  In Autumn?, I asked.  Yes!, I was told - in Autumn! A very emphatic affirmation. Halfway toward the place,  pretty snowflakes began to gently crowd our windshield and we enjoyed it - Anika and I! We were given a 4-inch snow alert come that evening, by the way.

        So we enjoyed fabulous company as well as some sumptuous Chinese food. The group, in fact, was such an interesting one I'd like to share some facts about them with you.  If you went clockwise with that  picture up there, take the lady- that's Ruby and she's half Filipino and half Chinese.  The guy next to her is her husband, Bryan, who is half Filipino and half Austrian, and the little girl on his lap is their daughter, Anika.  The next one would be me and beside me is Roubing who is Chinese and is married to Alan, an American.  That's him on her other side and the young boy with them is Max, their son. Now next is Suhua, a Chinese lady, married to Jeff who sits beside her,  also an American ...with Anthony next to him.  He, Anthony, is half Indonesian and half Dutch,  but he grew up in Belgium.  He is married to the lady beside him, that is Katherine - and she is German. The two little girls with them, Betty and Helda, are theirs, together with a baby boy, Tiel, close by sleeping in his crib. With the diversity of both languages spoken and of professional backgrounds which included being in academics - language, business and technology- and being in pharma - administrative and tech management, the conversation could have gone on and on and on and on....

        But enough of the people.  The fun part was in the going home.  And by then, the storm had come on for some time now. So each family went its way through a blanket of beautiful whiteness on the green of trees and bushes and lawns, (not to forget the oranges and the reds and the browns and the yellows, too, of the trees)..... on the roofs of homes and of birdhouses and on mailboxes....along the pathways - wide, crooked,  narrow.

         After a couple of minutes drive, however,  the joy and pleasure of watching snowflakes get wafted through the air slowly, slowly, shifted to an uncertain feeling of concern on watching the snowfall get heavier faster and the snow-carpeted roads get higher, demanding slower wheel maneuvering.   At the same time,  the skies have darkened considerably as other commuters had joined us with their lights on. This is normal, this is normal, we kept on telling ourselves. Anika's non-stop singing of her nursery and kindergarten songs even helped  cheer the atmosphere that was beginning to feel threatening.

        Then suddenly, Bryan goes,  Ooops!, we're having a break-down!  The serpentine belt apparently had snapped and the engine began to heat up! Being out on the highway,  all we could do was slow down, get to the side, get that engine cool off a little and then go and slow down again when it heated up.   And we inched on this way patiently, patiently, slowly, slowly, over and over again as we made our way in to the next town for help.  It turned out to be Mount Kisco. At a Valvoline Shop, we had the problem fixed while we waited over cups of coffee and some blueberry cheese cake at the nearby diner.  We were only halfway home yet.

        Were we  relieved when later  we were told our car was now okay.  So off we went with thoughts of our warm home waiting for us.  The falling snow now looked a little brighter and lighter than it did an hour ago.  Anika was happier too as Bing had bought her a couple of cup cakes from that

Mount Kisco diner to continue eating in the car. On we went, thus, a couple of more miles when  'Oh, no, Bryan - not another break down'?, Bing and I spoke  simultaneously when he gave a big 'Tsk'!  Oh yes, it was.  Apparently the fan belt gave way again!  And we were just nearing the juncture between the last city of New York and the first one of Connecticut but we weren't quite there yet!

At least, we were out of the highway now. So we went back to inch by inch, stopping and going, when the engine heated, and when once again it cooled down a little bit.

        Dear God, snow was furiously falling now.  And night had spread its own darkness.  We began to notice that tree branches  kept  on falling on the streets. I remembered the snow storm of the last holidays but it didn't look this bad.  The snow must be heavier now with leaves still on the trees, I thought. Some of the falling branches- even whole trunks of trees - were landing on the electric wires even!  We had to go around, move away, from these fallen limbs, not to mention having to continue to stop and go.  Bing had earlier called Triple A but was put on hold hours ago. Bryan called up the rest of the crowd earlier and they, too, were stuck in their own respective paths, but at least their engines were good.

        Anyway, we made it, kind of, two blocks past the town line of New Fairfield. Not too far away from home now. Then we came to a somewhat inclined part of the road, a big fallen branch blocking half of it. Our car tried to climb the steep thing but again and again it did to no avail. So we parked to the side and sat there for a while deciding what to do as we watched other cars come down, skidding, sliding like almost towards where we were, when Bryan told us to wait right in the car while he walked home to get the other car and then come  back to get us. We were going to leave the joker of a car right where it was.

        Bing was quite uncomfortable for the three of us left there thinking of the possibility of one of those cars coming down crash into us and take us down with them.  So she bravely went up to the house at which front we were stranded in to ask if we could wait inside with them instead .  With God's blessing, the nice couple there, Ben and Linda, not only sweetly offered the warmth of their home but  also offered to bring us home in their van.  But not before Anika had some fantastic moments with their pet dog, Bear.. We were just going out of the house when power went off.  Uh-oh!  As we found out later, this was true for the whole of Connecticut and some parts of the East Coast up to Massachussettes. We picked up Bryan walking on the way and finally reached home, thank heaven, even as we had to wade through the long driveway to the door in a seemingly 24-inch snow river! I thought we were to expect only 4 inches of it! Again it was such fun for Anika as she clinged to me with ringing laughter during which to me was an ordeal.

        Home was cold and dark but we made do for the night as we dumped all the firewood we had into the fireplace and huddled together in front of the bright dancing fire. But the next day was as helpless as could be.  We've had snow storms before but the power would be on! All stores were now closed. All! But well, we had an emergency shelter at the City High School.  There was breakfast, lunch, dinner and it was bright and warm in there.  The gym pool and bathrooms were available.  Even the auditorium was open for the night's rest. And the whole town was there- government officials, school heads, the next-door neighbors, etc, and us! Such a unique and an interesting kind of experience!  Classes for the kids were suspended for the week, but for the adults,  one day was all the free day from work we had.  At this point, Bryan was talking about having had enough of snow!  'You guys ready to move out?, he asked Bing and me.'' How about China?.... North Korea?....Spain?'... he goes on.  'I thought you were running away from snow?', I counter. 'Then let's go back to California!'  Was he kidding?

        Several of the town folk had  generators but not us. The city was promising power back to us in a week so we tried checking in hotels nearby but suddenly all rooms were taken. Bing kept on looking for one, however  till she did find some free rooms at the Johnson-Howard suites but in Newburg.... an hour's drive from our place!  So what the heck!  Finally, there was some temporary haven from it all. A hotel room was phenomenal for Anika.  The swimming pool, the morning breakfast, the carpeted corridors, looking for the door number and having the privilege to  insert that key to open  it These, among others, were certainly a hundred percent fun for her. On top of these was the fun of having to join Bing and me at the university where she romped around the campus and flirted with my students. That's Camille and Shawn with her who showered her with the attention she sought for.  But going to work hours on the road back and forth everyday and coming home to a place not home? Notwithstanding the seemingly luxurious aspect of it, this was actually stressful and  dismal for me  And we had to stay put till power back home returned.

           The few calls and texts of concern from family and friends helped brightened our situation for which our appreciation overflowed. Most of my ESL students were so sweet on the phone as well.  It simply made me relish a  most pleasant  feeling... one  you'd savor when you receive warmth from where you least expect it....a feeling warm as rejuvenating sunshine that comes after the dreary cold of a past night.

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