Friday, March 10, 2017

Celebrate the Small Things

Hello and Happy Friday! Do you feel like celebrating something today? Doesn't have to be big. If so, click on over to our host, Lexa Cain, with co-hosts: L.G. Keltner and Tonya Drecker, and join the fun. It's a great way to keep your blog refreshed each week. 

This week I'm celebrating something big - I survived the super-crazy windstorm of 3/8/17!! Here in Rochester, NY, we had strong winds all day on Wednesday topping off with an 80 mph gust measured at the airport. 

Image: Loralee Longdue, Greece NY

At first, I didn't think too much of the wind. I was at home alone, working on my stuff, working out on the elliptical machine. And then the phone rang--just a recorded message from the school that busses may be running late due to the high winds. Okay, no biggie. 

Then my older daughter called from her school. The power had been out for two hours. She wasn't sure about waiting for the bus. Could I come get her? 

Image: Christopher Playford, Greece NY

Her school is only a ten minute drive from the house, so I blithely said, "Sure, see you in a few minutes." Famous last words.

At the first major intersection, the road was cordoned off by two police cars and sawhorses. Every sawhorse was on its side. I could see a  major power line pole leaning at a 45 degree angle down the road. 

Image: Pete Fazio, Greece NY

First I tried to drive around the problem through a bunch of connected parking lots for stores. No dice. More police cars. Then I went went west. Several traffic signals were out of power. In this case, you are supposed to treat the intersection like a 4-way stop. Many people forgot and were whizzing through these intersections at 40 plus mph. I might have been one of those people--once. Or twice. Okay, okay--it was more like 4 or 5 times. But I was trying to get to my kid. 

Image: Glenn Johnson, Greece, NY

Less than 10 minutes later, I was blocked once more by a police barricade. Fiddlesticks! So I turned around again and saw a truck-sized tree limb lying in the street EXACTLY WHERE I HAD BEEN DRIVING 30 SECONDS AGO! The wind was so loud, I didn't even hear it fall. That freaked me out. 

Image: Lee Lejnleks, Webster, NY

At this point, I figured the highway would be a safer route and headed back east, winding my way around town. When I finally got to my daughter's school, she was nearly in tears because she was the very last soul left to be picked up (not only her middle school, but the high school that shares the same building). I felt bad, but I got us home without being crushed by a tree, having power lines drop on the car, or smashing into another vehicle at an intersection. Whew!

Image: Karl Mueller, downed high-voltage power line, Spencerport, NY

Even better, my younger daughter was safe at home and so glad to see us. So I rushed to the bathroom with a full bladder only to be blockaded by a police car my hungry, overfed cat. Move it, Dovely!

And how did my husband fare in all the chaos? That lucky so-and-so is currently in Boca Raton at a math conference. Grrrr.

Ever lose a tree in your yard or gain a trampoline to high winds? Want more pictures of the damage? Go here for WHAM 13 slideshow.

(Note: I am still answering back comments from last week's blog. I will get to them all as soon as I can. Both kids are off school with the roads in such bad condition.)


  1. What a storm. Kinda like Miami in hurricane season. Glad you're O.K.

  2. Glad you are safe! Too bad about your daughter being left and scared.

    I remember a blizzard when I lived in Ellicottville NY in the early 90s. It was bitter cold and drifts were ten feet or higher, but afterwards the skiing was great. Our last windstorm was named Matthew and we did lose two trees, but on the island the estimate was that there was 800,000 cubic yards of debris. They are still hauling it away, six months later.

  3. We had some bad winds here in Michigan too. They closed the Mackinac Bridge for a while because of it.

  4. WOW sorry to hear about all this but glad you are safe! Look at those pics OMG!

  5. What an experience! I'm so glad you're all right!

  6. So glad you weren't in the path any of those trees! That had to have been one powerful windstorm.

  7. Wow! What a miracle you weren't crushed. That is some strong winds to knock over so many trees and power lines. Glad your family is safe.

  8. Holy cow that looks really dangerous. I've only heard of power lines and trees coming down in hurricanes or ice storms. We've had major dust storms here, but even though you can't go out (coz you can't breathe) not much other than signs come down. There aren't any trees to fall. Glad you're all safe!

  9. Yowza! Thank goodness you and your kids all got home safe and sound. I can imagine how scary that was for you. Yes, I've experienced high winds like that. Tornadoes touched down much too close to our house in 1998. Plus, after having numerous prolonged droughts, when the rains finally come, even a little bit of wind is enough to topple hundred-foot trees, smashing roofs, cars, and sometimes people.

  10. What an experience! Yeah, nothing stops a Mama from getting her kid. Good at you!

  11. Wow, that was a wild ride!! The weather this winter has been absolutely crazy. Let's all pray for a calmer spring. I would have stepped on the cat getting to the Jon :)

  12. What a terrifying experience. Glad everyone is safe. We have up to 20 or more mph winds from time to time, but nothing as bad as yours. Your description is very vivid. Mother Nature can be devastating.

  13. My goodness, what a scary adventure! So glad you're okay. Happy weekend.

  14. Thank goodness you and your family were okay! We just had a windstorm here a week ago and a large tree fell on part of my co-author's house. It fell about an hour after she left for work. Trees can be very scary in the wind. The pictures you shared definitely show that! Yikes.

  15. Yikes. Wind freaks me out. We had a couple good gusting days a while back, and trees fell all over the place. On cars. Those winds are dangerous. Stay safe!

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  17. What an adventure in your own "back yard"! Glad everyone is safe. Poor trees! These storms are a good reminder that nature is still the boss, so better not mess with the world and the environment! :-)

  18. Oh my! So glad you made it through okay. What an experience.

  19. Wow! What an experience to go through ~ so dangerous! I was a teacher who went through many power outages and early storm dismissals ~ or late dismissals because of tornado danger. Kids were always frantic to get to their parents and parents to their children. I understand how your daughter felt, not to mention that you were a lot more than ten minutes coming. She must have been worried about something having happened to you.

  20. Oh my. What an experience. So glad that you are okay.

