When it comes to good timing, the ice storm had it down perfectly.

Still, it was a sobering couple of days this past Saturday and Sunday.

The ice started forming on Saturday morning, New Yearís Day. Thatís what I mean about perfect timing. Who goes anywhere on New Yearís Day?

At first it was snow, huge flakes. But that changed to freezing rain by noon. I called Cindy at work at about 3 p.m., and she was ready to head out the door, thanks to some thoughtful co-workers at Casual Corner in La Crosse. She got home by 4 p.m. after a very cautious drive.

Ice built up slowly the rest of the day from sporadic spurts of sleet. It hit harder at about 9:30 p.m. I started to say to Cindy, ìThis weather is really gettingî ñ then boom, a crack of thunder sounded.

ìWhat did you say?î Cindy shouted from upstairs.

ìGod just finished the sentence for me,î I replied. Thunder on New Yearís Day? Very strange.

By Sunday morning it was ugly. Half an inch of ice covered everything. Our dog Riley jumped off the porch and fell down.

My daughter Malika and I took a walk down the road. She was anxious to return to college in St. Peter, Minnesota. But we realized that would not happen soon. Hillside Road was a river of ice, impossible to drive on. We could barely stand up on it. Malika fell down near the crest of the road and slid about 20 feet, the three dogs barking and sliding with her.

It was pretty, as all ice storms are. Sights like the picture that accompanies this column were everywhere. Mother Nature was wearing her good jewelry.

No cars went by the house at all on Sunday. It was like we had stepped back in time about 70 years. I half-expected to see the Heiller family hike up from the valley.

In the early afternoon, I called Eldor Wunnecka to see if a sander was coming. The township truck had tipped over, he informed me. When a sanding truck tips over, you know itís slippery.

Malika paced the floor as the day progressed. The timing of the storm wasnít perfect for everyone. I would have felt the same way if it had hit a day later when we were putting the newspaper to bed.

But it could have been worse, Mom reminded me during a phone call that day. Power lines had weathered the ice. No one had lost electricity, not a lot of stuff had broken.

Mother Nature was toying with us, in a sense. Testing our patience. Reminding us what real power is.

And to put it in perspective, we need only look to the tragedy of the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean on December 26 to realize what a real force of nature looks like. We had better not complain too loudly about a little ice.

It gave us a chance to worry and wonder, to play music and listen to the Vikings, to work on a jigsaw puzzle and read a book. Thatís not a bad consequence to anything.

At 6 p.m. the Brownsville Township sander roared by. I was standing alongside the road by then, because I had heard it coming. My grin must have blinded the driver. I was relieved! Gregory Guillien turned the truck around just south of our house, then pulled over to see who the idiot was by the side of that road.

It was a bad storm, Greg said, second worst he had ever seen. Taking four times the sand to make the roads safe, and the ice was going to be with us all winter. Snow falls on it, itís going to be slippery. Drivers of sanding trucks know those kinds of things.

I gave him a heartfelt thank you. The road was open. We were back in touch with civilization. At least until next time, which can wait a year or two.

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Caledonia Argus
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