Ice Bites!

Today, winter hit. Now, honestly, we've had some cold temperatures and some bitter winds. We've even had several inches of snow. Having been raised in Chicago, where it seems to be a requirement that Drivers Ed. doesn't begin until there is at least 6inches of snow on the ground, a little snow or cold doesn't bother me all that much. Ok, in the interest of maintaining complete honesty and integrity, I must admit that the older I get, the less I love the cold. As a child, my brothers and I used to play outside all day building igloos in the snow, having snowball fights, and ice skating or playing hockey on the tennis courts at the park. Many an adolescent received their first kiss in the warming house during those cold winter skating session at that park! I can shovel the snow, dress warmer for the cold, duck and strain against the winds, but ice is a totally different animal, and it bites!
What bites even more is that every idiot with a drivers license and insurance, and evidently many who feel those two items are not a requirement of driving, get out on the road as soon as they start announcing "The streets are icy, so stay home if at all possible". You would think that anyone with an average intelligence would say "Hmmmmm. Lets not drive all the way to the other side of town to go to the casino tonight. Lets stay at home and watch a movie instead." You'd think wrong! Now of course, there are those who have to get out due to emergencies, work, etc. I know my job in the school district requires me to come in. They don't care how bad the roads are or how much our lives might be at risk by attempting the drive in. Even when they cancel school and there are no students or teachers or activities, we still have to come in. That tells me that we are expendable and certainly undervalued, but that is another posting altogether!
Anyway, back to the ice. Not only do the cowboys get out on the road, but instead of driving slowly and staying back from any other car around them, ice drivers pretend the are in the Indy 500. They draft, rub, pass,and spin out- pretty much everything you see on a Nascar track. The only thing is, when they have to brake or go into a slide, they take it to a new level seldom seen in a Nascar race. Similar to a race though, they more often than not take out a lot of innocent drivers in the mix! Kansas, being a No Fault state, allows these morons to cause accidents, and then YOUR insurance company has to pay for it. Nobody is interested in hearing "The girl was talking on her cell phone in the middle of an ice storm, while applying her contact lenses, tailgating, and driving way too fast for conditions." What they hear is "It was icy and there was no way to avoid this accident. No Fault." Two months later, your insurance premiums increase by 40% because you've had an accident. Something is wrong with this picture!
In closing, here is a message to all of you who have to drive when icy weather hits (and especially those of you who just can't resist, even though you don't need to be out there!) Please remember that:
1. Your life and the lives of others are at stake as soon as you turn the key in the ignition.
2. You may think you have things under control, but you don't. Nobody does where ice is concerned. You just do the best you can and pray!
3. Even if you are VERY SPECIAL and do manage some control of your car, there is no way you can control what the other cars around you are doing.
4. Be afraid! Be very afraid! So afraid, in fact, that you don't go near another car; you begin your stop long before you get to the intersection; and you don't TOUCH your cell phone until the ignition is off.
5. If they say the streets are bad, stay home-DO IT. That makes it all that much safer for those of us who need to get out.
Note: For all of you employers who require your employees to come into work for no reason what so ever, value them enough to say "Stay home, be safe, see ya tomorrow."
Ice bites!