Icy winter weather creates a variety of unfortunate problems

FROM MY FRONT PORCH

Icy winter weather creates a variety of unfortunate problems

Sam Houston is the publisher of the Hood County News. He is also an actor, author, playwright, performer and entertainment producer/promoter.

We all know the weather last week caused upheaval in everyone’s life. I do not really dislike cold weather per se, but the part of winter I have always detested is when poor weather prevents travel. It makes me crazy to be in a situation where I am not sure if I can successfully drive someplace or can get back home without ending up stranded in a ditch. Traveling by plane is even more problematic. Flights get canceled and it is easy to end up in a far away airport for an extended period waiting for the weather to break.

Hyde Media prints not only our newspapers, but newspapers for a variety of different entities. We print and transport newspapers from as far as Gainesville, Bowie, Evant, and Comanche. With employees unable to make it to work, and the roads being impassable to deliver, we were unable to get newspapers out the door and have them arrive at their destination on schedule. Our newspaper's e-edition was posted online as were social media posts explaining the problems we were experiencing over the weather. As the weather broke at the end of the week, we worked through the weekend getting caught up and having papers delivered.

All these weather-related problems were almost too much for me. It was impossible to create a concrete plan of action for work because of the inability to know with certainty what the weather was going to do, and the status of roads that would allow staff to get to work.

When I got up on Tuesday morning I was determined to travel to the office and get something accomplished. I had parked my car out on the street to avoid issues with getting up my very downhill slanting driveway. Ice was defrosted and scrapped from my windshield and I took off. It was pleasing to find I was able to negotiate the roads with little difficulty. I made the 15-minute trip to the office, stopped my car and started to enter the building when I realized I had left my phone at home!

I will never be able to print the words I shouted out at my incompetence for not being sure I had everything I needed when I left the house. I had no choice but to drive back home as I knew employees would be reaching out to me by phone seeking instructions. I turned the car around, drove home and started back to work. By now the sleet once again began to fall and the roads had deteriorated by 50% from the time of my first trip just a few minutes earlier. It was treacherous but I made it.

I got back to work and stayed there until midafternoon. All the staff had been sent home or had never attempted to brave the roads. The weatherman indicated more sleet would fall starting after lunch, so I decided to head home out of fear I would never be able to get there once the weather took another turn for the worse.

Driving home it seemed like everything in town was closed and there was very little traffic. Staying slow and steady, my car turned onto my street and I was thankful I had made it back without any issue. I had brought my laptop from the office so I could work from home if I was unable to get out the next day. Once parked, I gathered up my materials and started down the driveway. I took no more than two steps on the slanted driveway when my feet flew out from underneath me, and I fell on my backside and began a rather steady slide down the driveway toward the house. The items I was carrying flew everywhere as I began a slow descent on my backside. It was not pleasant.

The humiliation of the fall was overwhelming, and nearly matched by the pain I felt in my hip and lower back. It was a strategic nightmare to get myself gathered to the point where I could stand on the ice, pick up my materials, and get in the house. The rest of the day my back reminded me of the travails of winter weather.

The bright spot of this silly weather situation was the way I saw people working together to overcome the problems the sleet and ice created. It seems everyone was accepting and understanding about the newspaper being late for delivery. Our staff was exceptional in helping every way they could to get us back on our normal production schedule. In the community, neighbors helped neighbors and we all made out the best we could.

My wife is still giggling about seeing me slide down the driveway on my backside while the items I was carrying flew all over the place. I am sure it created an image lots of our readers would enjoy seeing.

I hope you made it through the weather in good shape.

Would somebody please explain to me how they prefer the cold over the heat of summer?

Thought for the day: We should all take a lesson from the weather; it pays no attention to criticism.

Until next time I will keep ridin' the storm out.

sam@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 260