Snowbound

The Blizzard of 2006 has already quashed a trip to Bullhead City to see Mom, and now Part II threatens our plan for the 10-day, soul-searching traverse of the Everglades. The weather is a currently simmering at 80 degrees in Flamingo, gateway to the notoriously muggy Glades. Just last week my dad’s wintertime hometown of Daytona Beach was pummeled by a few tornadoes not far from his favorite Chinese restaurant. The chickees (see picture below) stationed along the Wilderness Waterway promise us protection from gators and raccoons but will afford little defense against the elements. If Big Weather decides to join us, at least there’s an upshot: the rain should keep the Swamp Angels (mosquitos) at bay in time to pitch our tent and boil some tea.

It’ll be good for us to get out from under this weather and away from the blazing tempers of town folk who’ve been snowbound for over a week.
Christmas kindness has gone the way of 1980s parachute pants in the aftermath of this blizzard. Two wheel drive vehicles were trapped on unplowed streets. Trash pick-up came to a screeching halt. Countless dogs throughout the city have gone weeks without a W.A.L.K. Sultry south Florida beckons us despite my deep-rooted fears that we’ll be floating gator bait.

Last night I dreamed that the Engineer and I were driving atop a sky- scraper, one-half of the vehicle teetering off the building’s edge. We eventually cleared the rim, promptly realizing that unlike Harry Potter’s flying Ford Anglia, this car’s only specialty was a free fall, and so down-down-down we dropped into the muddy abyss.

I’m reminded of Bettina’s (Kathy Bates) credo from the fabulously life-affirming series, Six Feet Under. “I think if you’re afraid of something, that means you should probably do it.”

Okay, then. Here we go.