Story Four: Winter Ice Storm

Some of my favorite memories as a child were going to visit my grandparents down in Shell Knob, Missouri. They had a big house on a huge plot of land (okay, it all seemed huge as a kid) within walking distance of Table Rock Lake. We would spend weeks down there in the summer, chasing rabbits, picking wild blackberries, trying to catch minnows in the lake. The lake house was also a wonderful destination for Christmas. We spent several memorable Christmases at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The kids all slept sprawled out on mattresses in the basement next to the old wood stove which kept heat in the house. The adults piled in upstairs, filling the bedrooms and the living room. Food was plentiful and laughter abundant. Grandma and Grandpa always let us kids have the run of the place, except for Grandma's "lost room". A large storage space, Grandma kept us out of it by telling us we would get lost and be stuck there forever if we ventured in. Gullible kids, we kept out!

One of the Christmases that stands out most in my mind during this time, other than the one where Grandpa almost smoked us out forgetting to open the flu, was the Christmas we drove through an ice storm to get to Grandma and Grandpa's. It was Christmas Eve and we were on our way, making the four hour trip from Clinton to Shell Knob. We had two cars; a station wagon and my Grandpa William's white Buick. Both cars were piled high with suitcases, pillows, sleeping bags, snacks and black trash bags filled with Christmas gifts and wrapping supplies. The weather didn't start to get bad until we reached Southern Missouri. We were on highway 39, a winding, hilly, two-lane stretch of road with no real shoulder to pull off on. In hindsight, I have no idea why we drove through an ice storm. I can only say that it was over twenty years ago, and maybe the meteorologists weren't quite as dead-on as they are now--ha, ha! Regardless, night had fallen, ice was falling, and it was slick going.

My dad and sister were driving ahead of my mom, Grandpa William and I. I was snuggled up next to a trash bag full of gifts, thinking about my Annie book I would be opening in the morning, when I suddenly felt that tingling sensation that comes from spinning on a merry-go-round. Before I knew it, we were stuck. My mom pushed on the gas, the tires squealed, but to no avail. Looking out the front window, I couldn't even see the tail lights that were my dad and my sister. Not only were we stuck, we were stranded! Being Christmas Eve, and the fact that ice was dropping from the sky, there wasn't a lot of traffic on the road. In fact, we were the only traffic on the road.

I can't remember how long we sat there, pondering what to do. This was the pre-cell phone era. But I know that the darkness was eventually lifted by a pair of headlights coming up behind us. A young police officer from the Billings police department slid up to my Mom's window and asked if he could help. Before long, our car was out of the ditch and pointed back in the right direction. In the morning, everything was coated in crystal. I remember thinking that the ice covered trees sparkling in the sun were some of the most beautiful pieces of art I had ever seen. After opening our gifts, we piled back into the car with two plates filled full of Christmas dinner and headed over to the police station in Billings to thank the young officer who rescued the stranded travelers that icy Christmas Eve.

Sara