Mother Nature Obviously Took A Wrong Turn At Louisville

Did you know that they can land an airplane in a blizzard? 

Yeah, me neither. The runway was packed snow. The descent was surprisingly mild, probably because the snow flakes were the size of big fluffy pillows. I thought, “the drive to the freeway is going to be awful, but, I should be okay once I get to the interstate. They always plow the interstate first. 

I was carving fresh lines in the powder, the only problem was I was in a car. Sure enough, the roads to the freeway were awful. I’d never had the anti-skid technology kick in before. As an experienced winter driver, let me tell you, that anti-skid technology is NOT your friend in the snow. 

But, finally i managed to slip, slide and end up on the freeway onramp. Well, that was an adventure. Glad it’s ov. . .The freeway looked like the setting for an episode of “Monster Trucks And The Mudholes That Eat Them.” Except it was white instead of brown. 

What was the problem? In Salt Lake City they always plow the freeways first. The problem was I wasn’t in Salt Lake City. I wasn’t even in Utah. I was in Louisville, KY, for yet another product launch. Louisville is definitely not a snow city. Well, I mean now it was, of course. 

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But, not generally. I should have taken it as a sign when I went to get my rental car and this was what it looked like.

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?The car rental company really had a sense of humor. 

I’ve lived in Utah for a lot of years. When I taught my girls to drive, I made them drive in the snow. I like driving in the snow. But, nothing I’d ever driven in prepared me for Interstate 65 in Louisville. I daren’t stop for fear I’d never get moving again. When you have a car with anti-skid technology, the car’s computer works really hard to prevent the tires from spinning. One of the skills of driving in the snow is to be able to “power thru” snow. Basically, you intentionally spin your tires. The speedometer says 30 MPH, you hope to accomplish 10. The trick is to let off the gas before you hit solid traction. Anti-skid thinks that spinning your tires 20 MPH faster than your true speed is a bad thing and the harder you press the accelerator, the less power the computer sends you from the engine. 

If you are going to have a car with anti-skid technology, I would recommend practicing to get the hang of it. I would not recommend practicing on the freeway in a blizzard. 

I survived to my hotel. And that’s when I got one more reminder that I wasn’t in Utah any more. This letter was on the counter in my room. 

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It doesn’t normally get really cold in Louisville. The hotel was concerned with pipes freezing. Living in Utah, I can certainly appreciate that. But, I just couldn’t get comfortable with their solution. Number 3 says, “Please leave the water running in the sinks and bathtub. 

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Utah is a desert state. We are constantly worried about water. The snow we get in the winter has a direct impact on how much water we’ll have the following summer. It’s not uncommon for a resident of Utah to be able to tell you the current snow pack level. (We’re at 72% of normal as of mid February.) We do NOT leave the faucets running.

Ironically, while I was shivering in the cold and snow of Kentucky

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Utah was having record heat. Highs in the 50’s and even low 60’s. (We’re going to pay for those warm days next summer when we can’t water the lawn.) 

But, the travel was worth it right? I had braved the elements to get to Kentucky and our company site so that we could launch our product line on time. 

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No.

Monday was the “fight the elements” day. Monday night my client called me.

Rodney, we’ve decided to postpone the launch until next week.

Are you serious?

As a heart attack. So, are you going to extend your stay or fly home?

I lose a full day every time I make that trip. I think I’ll just extend my stay.

Oh really? Because I’ve heard Utah is lovely this time of year. 

Yeah, me too.

Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday at 7:00 AM Mountain Time. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and one grandchild. 
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