Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:31 — 6.4MB) | Embed
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, I once had a competition with a middle school teacher to see who could recite the alphabet backward the fastest, and I believe if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share a lesson I learned from the Oklahoma blizzard of 2009.
Today’s Fun Fact of the Day is: The record low temperature for Oklahoma is -31º F and it was recorded in Nowata, OK on February 10, 2011. A week later the same town recorded a high temperature of 79º F.
Friday Forum
I want you to be a part of the Friday Forum! Friday Forum is your opportunity to Share what YOU’VE learned, so that other listeners and I can learn from YOU. It can be a message as short as 30 seconds or several minutes long. It really doesn’t matter just as long as it’s something that will benefit others. You can participate in Friday Forum by visiting our Feedback Page or calling our voice feedback line at 304-837-2278.
What I Learned Yesterday:
If you were to come over to my studio today and look out the window, you would see a beautiful white winter landscape. Yesterday we were hit with a winter storm and, according to the local weather man, my town got hit the hardest with 4.5” of snow. Friday is projected to be another snow day and it looks like it will bring even larger amounts than yesterday’s storm brought.
Naturally, the kids are happy. They get to miss school tomorrow, and exchange that time for building snowmen, laying down the perfect snow angel, playing video games, and guzzling cups of hot chocolate. Ah, to be a kid again.
Our winters are really fairly mild here in the Sooner state. We get 2 or 3 decent snow falls each season that will keep the kids out of school for a few days. The worst days are when we get ice instead of snow.
Back in 2009 we were projected to keep a whopper of a storm. Not only was it projected to be a whopper, it was projected to hit on Christmas Eve. Back then my commute was about 30 miles each way and it took between 35 and 40 minutes. A bad day might be 45 or 50 minutes. A really bad day would take an hour.
Getting to work that day was no problem. The storm hadn’t yet arrived so it was a pretty easy commute. Many people were off work that day so traffic was pretty light. However, as mid-day arrived, the storm came with it. Christmas Eve was a day that we were usually dismissed from work early, but no one ever knew for sure what time they’d pull the trigger. As the storm came in and the snow started accumulating, we were all getting antsy to get the word to go home.
By the time word reached my area that we were free to leave, the storm was already in full swing. It had come in harder and faster than anyone had expected, and the area near the airport, near where I worked, was getting the brunt of it.
It was the first year that I had driven my new car in the snow. Keep in mind that when I say “new” car, I mean my new-to-me car. It’s a 1984 Toyota Celica GT. At that time it had just under 30,00 original miles and it looked like it just came off the showroom floor. I hated getting it out on a day that was projected to bring snow, but I thought I could handle it.
My previous vehicle was a 1995 Ford Ranger. I drove it for over 10 years and never had any problems driving it in icy or snowy weather, despite it being a rear wheel drive vehicle. So I figured I’d have the same experience with my car.
As I left the building and ventured across the parking lot, I felt like I’d opened up a portal to another dimension that was located above the 49th parallel. I was officially in a blizzard. A blizzard is defined as having sustained winds of over 35 mph with large amounts of snow or blowing snow, visibility of less than ¼ mile, and sustained for at least 3 hours.
I got into my car and headed for the nearest parking lot exit. It was located at the top of a small incline, and, despite my best efforts, I could not get my car to the top. I eventually put the car in reverse and decided to try a different exit. Fortunately, that exit was at the bottom of an incline and I got out just fine.
Once out on the road I instantly realized that I was going to be faced with the most challenging drive that I had ever faced. Visibility was almost zero. At times I couldn’t see tell if I was in the right lane, and I there was no way to be certain that I could stop in time to avoid a wreck. I kept the car in 4th gear, tried not to make any sudden moves, and did my best to keep an eye out for trouble.
I eventually made my way to the first interchange as I-44 separates from State Highway 74. As I made the change, the driver in the white 4×4 pickup truck behind me decided he had a vehicle more capable than mine and sped by me on the outside. About half a mile later he tried to pass another car, but he lost control. I watched 3 cars in front of me get tangled up, smashing into each other and the concrete dividing wall.
I hit my brakes firmly, but tried to avoid making too much of a drastic maneuver. I felt the rear end of my car coming around and turned the steering wheel accordingly. With the cars in front of my still bouncing around, I narrowly guided my car through the carnage and continued on my way.
I eventually reached my next checkpoint, the interchange from I-44 to the Broadway Extension. This was a spot that I was dreading the most. Broadway Extension is known for having some of the worst traffic on good days and merging into traffic can be a challenge.
I don’t recall having any difficulty merging, but it did prove to be the most challenging stretch of road. Less than a mile after I’d merged onto Broadway Extension, traffic came to a halt. That stretch of road is on an incline, and I could not get any grip on my tires. I tried my best to get the car moving again, but the snow was winning.
Not only was I not able to get my car moving, I was now blocking traffic. Great.
My rescue came only a minute later. In my rearview mirror I spotted a big white 4×4 pickup truck. It looked almost identical to the one that had nearly wrecked me earlier. He made a gesture to ask me if I needed help, and I motioned him to come up to my car. He eased up to my back bumper and gave my car a tap. My car bounced off of his bumper, and then settled up to it. He eased on the accelerator and got me moving again.
The rest of the trip home was pretty uneventful. It took me several hours to get home that day, and every muscle in my neck was in knots.
When I returned to work after the Christmas holiday, I realized that I was fortunate. Many employees never made it out of the parking lot. They spent Christmas stranded at the office. Their Christmas dinner was whatever looked good from the vending machines.
Here’s what I learned.
First, let’s look at the two 4×4 pickup trucks. They really were nearly identical. One of them was occupied by a driver that was overly confident and unconcerned with others. As a result, he hurt himself and others. I don’t know if any of those drivers sustained any physical injuries, but their cars were banged up and they ended up stranded on Christmas Eve. I’m sure their families loved that.
The other driver was patient, understanding, and helpful. Instead of using his vehicle to cause harm, he used it to bring good. Instead of stranding people from their families, he helped unite families.
Each of us have the same scenario in our lives. We all have tools, resources, talents, and opportunities around us. We can use those things to create harm or create good. We can leave the world better, or we can leave the world worse.
Next, I’d like to take a look at what that second driver did for me. I was doing just fine until I came to a stop. I had avoided pitfalls and kept myself out of trouble, but eventually I lost my momentum. I still had the ability to carry on and reach my destination, I just needed someone to help get me moving again.
He could have just as easily passed by me on the shoulder. There was plenty of room to do that in that stretch of road, and doing so would have helped him get home sooner. Instead, he was mindful of how he could help someone else. It only took a moment and a small amount of energy, but it made all the difference to me.
Let’s keep an eye out for those along our path that just need a bit of helping getting their momentum back.
Lastly, I want to consider the fact that even though I was stressed out, cold, hungry, and tired, I got to sleep in my own bed, eat with my family, and enjoy all my creature comforts. Several of my co-workers did not.
No matter how bad things may seem for us, I can assure you that someone else always has it worse. Focus on what you have, not on what you don’t have. A grateful heart is much, much better than a bitter one.
I’m Darrell Darnell and this has been stuff I learned yesterday.
Follow Golden Spiral Media on Twitter at GSMPodcasts and Facebook.com/GoldenSpiralMedia. To subscribe to Stuff I Learned yesterday, visit GoldenSpiralMedia.com/subscribe. If you’ve enjoyed this episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday, I would be grateful if you’d leave a review in iTunes.
[sc:stuff]