Arriving home and settling back into a routine – going to the office at 3:30 in the morning and then to the gym at 5:00, checking Emails and answering them, then Voicemails at the office, reviewing old files, checking on offers, etc., making sure I attended my Rotary Club meeting, getting to church and then – oh, did I forget? – snow! Did I say SNOW? Holy cow!
Since we returned from India, I believe we have had three snow storms, two of which were considered and termed “severe”. Well, that was until yesterday. We were warned this might be the STORM OF THE CENTURY! Rather than originating on the southeast coast and working its way up to New England, THIS storm began in Denver and slammed across the country, cutting a wide swath through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, the Carolinas, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and finally to Maine. Since I had an appointment in Boston with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration scheduled for Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. and since the storm was forecast to paralyze northern New England, I decided to drive to Boston Tuesday (yesterday) afternoon, spend the night at a hotel nearby the airport, so I could have plenty of time, driving in daylight, to the airport this morning.
Getting to the hotel should have taken about an hour and a quarter. Rather, I was on the road for about two and a half hours. I did not even bother to go out for dinner, but settled for a protein bar and went to bed early. Waking up, I checked out the window to see the plow trucks had been working throughout the night to keep the parking lots cleared. I showered, dressed, checked out and grabbed a continental breakfast before leaving for the airport. Heading north before heading south I realized this was going to be an adventure and a challenge.
In a half-mile, I realized that I was one of the fifty stalwarts (or total idiots) prepared to challenge Route 1, the Revere ROTARY, and the access ramps to Logan Airport. Falling in behind a fan of plow trucks, and seeing essentially the same level of snow after each truck passed over the slush, I wondered out loud to myself, “why did you leave Maine, where they really KNOW how to plow snow?” With an appointment scheduled for 9:00, I arrived at the parking garage well before 8:00. However, my stress level was way down.
Working my way through the maze of moving walkways and corridors and down escalators and entering the Arrival Hall at Terminal E, I had plenty of time to sit down, review my paperwork before meeting the agent(s) from Immigration. Although the sign on the door suggested “Ring the bell once, and then sit down”, I decided I would not alert the agents behind the security door of my early arrival, so I just sat and read a magazine. About ten minutes before my scheduled appointment, the door opened and an agent asked if i was there for an appointment. I said I was and he invited me into the office.
While there, Agent Guilbert reviewed my application, my passport, my driver’s license, and other documents he had on his computer screen. He then took a photo of me, and asked me to step up to a “print reader” for me to store my finger prints from both hands into the system. After a few more questions, and a training session as to how to use my new Global Entry status, I headed out the door, back to the garage to begin my journey home. By now, it was 36 degrees, and raining. Just what I wanted!
After traveling about four miles, I felt this might be easier than I had anticipated. Nothing could be further from the truth! Massachusetts was slushy, raining, but my windshield was clear. There were sections of the Massachusetts roadways that slowed to a near stop – again with the fanned out plow trucks – this time twelve of them. Who knew?
New Hampshire was another story. Rain changed to sleep. Temperature dropped from 36 to 20 and the gauntlet had been tossed down for me to pick up or to just cave in and stop at the closest motel and wait until tomorrow. Wait? Are you kidding? I am from Maine! Onward and upward! Tally ho! And all that rot! Not sure if I was truly prepared for careening down the highway at mach speed of fifteen miles an hour! With warning lights flashing, and wipers caking up with gobs of ice, I just needed to get far enough into New Hampshire so I could find a safe place to stop to clear my windshield. In the meanwhile, those who may have been familiar with the hymn, Immortal, Invisible were literally flying by me at 50-60 miles an hour, leaving a cloud of snow drifting behind them. They had also re-penned the lyrics to Immortal, Invincible. What, are they crazy? Are they out of their minds? And to top it all off, it appeared the Department of Transportation in New Hampshire had overslept or called in for a sick day. There were ruts of icy snow at least a foot deep. This was NOT the day to be on the road. Thankfully, the New Hampshire Liquor Store exit was only two miles further, and at least I could stop there and clear my windshield. I exited behind a pick-up truck that dropped its blade, and one truck followed me. Well, I guess the plow truck drivers had not slept in – they had all gathered at the parking lot of the liquor store – at least fifteen of them! Guess the drivers saw no reason to clear the roads! The driver of the truck that exited behind me expressed his concern and disgust, about the road Today was no exception. The rain had changed to sleet and then to slush and then to snow. I drove onto the Maine Turnpike, entered into the Information rest stop, cleaned off my windshield and then re-entered the turnpike. The air WAS different and the snow had stopped. The final leg of the trip was so much easier than the first two. After three hours, I made it home, put the car in the garage and enjoyed watching the new snow storm blanketing our deck and porch and was comforted to hear the automatic generator start, right on time, at 3:43. All’s right with the world!
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