My "McGyver Survivor" Snowstorm Story
All the harsh January weather has brought to mind my best personal story of ingenuity in the face of adversity. Some years ago, we lived in the Washington DC area, where they do freak out if snow is even forecast, let alone if it actually falls. It does fall a few times each winter. I was working as a nurse practitioner in a pediatric office that, on a good day with typical beltway traffic, was a 45-60 minute commute.
On the day of a heavy snowfall, all of the parents were calling to cancel their kids' appointments. Seeing as I was the one with the longest drive, everyone told me to head for home. I didn't need to be told twice. I had been on the road for about an hour, and had only made it about a third of the way home, when my windshield wipers stopped working. Oh, crap. I got out of the car to remove the built up snow, hoping the wipers were just out of position. Nope. Double crap.
My husband an Air Force pilot at the time, and was away on a trip. There were cars abandoned left and right all over the beltway and the reports on the radio were saying that the wait for roadside services were going to be up to 10 hours. Triple crap.
I looked around inside my car to see what useful items I might have. Being something of a clutter bug/pack rat, there were a few potentially useful items. I had a couple extra pairs of mittens, and an umbrella. I extended the umbrella handle, and was able to hook around the driver's side wiper blade. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
So, I rolled down my window, and with the umbrella handle I was able to push the wipers back and forth by hand for the remaining 2 hours it took me to get home. When the mitten on my left hand got soggy, I'd put on one of the spares. It was a long trip, but I made it home safely, feeling quite proud of myself for my tenacity. To this day, I usually have a lot of stuff in the back seat of my car. If my husband bugs me about it, I just smile to myself. Had I been a neatnik like he is, I would never have made it home that day.
I said to myself after the fact, "There's a reason that the old saying is 'Necessity is the mother of invention.' "