Did I Just Lose Time?

 17 January 2024

1104

R. Linda:

Not to dwell on the birthday, BUT, the day we were going to celebrate it with family and friends, the wife and the Mam wanted me out of the house so they could "decorate." Gees, you'd think I was a mere child of 10 or perhaps getting on up to one of those milestone birthdays (which is NEXT year). I did remind them of me turning a certain age and they said they knew, but would I go to the grocery store and get the food for the week?

It was a sunny blue-bird day and I got meself to the grocery store 45 minutes away. I had the list Mam gave me and was feeling pretty darn good I had gotten everything on it. I estimate it took me 40 minutes to complete the task. I had been at the back of the store and as I wheeled my cart to the checkout I noticed through the big windows at the front, that it was dark outside, like 6 o'clock dark. I stopped in my tracks and looked at my watch but I wasn't wearing it. Then I remembered me phone was in the car so I had no clue what time it really was!

Wow, everyone was coming at 5 and I must be very, very late! I got in line and started putting the food items on the conveyor belt and as I looked out the giant windows I realised there was swirling snow and gusting winds pummeling the windows. It almost looked like a developing tornado. 

But in the back of my mind and with a cold chill running up my spine, I was quite sure I had lost time. 

As I was being checked out I asked the woman bagging what time it was. I had no clue how long I had been in the store, nor when I blacked out and when I did, what I had been doing.

"It is six minutes after 3," she said looking at her watch. 

"No, can't be. Look how dark it is out there," I gestured toward the windows.

"Yes, we have snow squalls until 5," she informed me.

Suddenly every phone in the building set off an alarm, which was a surreal experience. Not having one I looked at the phone of the person next to me in line. There was an alert (a little late) informing everyone that there was dangerous weather occurring until 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. Well no shite Sherlock, I could see it happening outside at that very minute!

"But it is so dark," I muttered to myself totally in awe that day had become night in such a short time. Then I realised I had to drive a long distance in that, out there!

Well, I got to the automatic doors to go out to my car when the doors flew open and a gust of snow and wind hit me and my groceries full on. I had to put some muscle behind me and push to get out the door and into the cold swirling and very dark night.

I could just make out headlights trying to leave the parking spaces and somehow I found me own vehicle and went to open the backdoor when the cart started to meander off on its own in the wind and the dark. I caught it and wedged it between the door and backseat throwing the bagged groceries inside. 

I slammed the door shut and was going to put the cart in the cart retrieval but I couldn't see where that was. While I was standing at the end of my car the cart took off across the parking lot and slammed into the bummer of a truck parked across from me. I checked the bummer it looked ok but the cart was dented in on its front from the wind force. Having no time for this I saw the retrieval area and started for that but the wind got the best of the cart and it took off out of my hands hitting cars as it bumped its way into oblivion.

I was sure I was in a tornado now, thinking in the darkness and the whirling snow I would be carried off never to be seen again or celebrate another birthday. I somehow came upon me car and strained to open the front door. Once I got it to give, it flew open hitting the number pole I was parked next to. Oh crap! Did that dent the door? I was going to look when the door decided to start closing so I jumped out of the way not to get crushed. I couldn't see any dent in the dark, so I went to open the door again, but it wouldn't open!

Had I triggered the inertia alarm? I put my foot on the back door and yanked on the front door handle with all I had in me and nothing. I went around to the front passenger side and I got that to open, but it opened with a force that made me slip on the ice that was forming on the pavement. I literally crawled inside when the door decided to slam shut, nearly severing my foot from me ankle.

I caught a look at myself in the rearview mirror and me hair was sticking out at all angles, me nose hairs were frozen (such a strange sensation), and I was shaking with cold or maybe fright, I didn't know!

With the roaring wind and snow pummelling the car I climbed over the centre console and into the driver's seat. I started the ignition and the headlamps came on but I couldn't see a freaking thing. I turned it off and decided to sit it out.

Instead of the weather improving, it got worse and I could feel the whole car shaking. The glass bottles in the grocery bags were rattling and that wasn't the only thing rattled. My brain was not quite knowing what to do. Should I run back inside or stay put? Well, that decision was made for me when several empty shopping carts rammed into my vehicle. I thought it was going to be one hell of a dented, expensive repair, but what could I do? If I got out of the car to try to fend the carts off I could easily be run over by them and killed. Yup, the mind works in strange ways when one is in panic mode.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I saw a few cars slowly finding the exit so I started my car and somehow got into line. Now we're talking I said to myself. I could easily follow the red lights in front of me and being mindful of sudden stops make it home in one dented piece.

This worked well until we came to the stop sign. When it was my turn I could not see for the life of me if anyone was coming. I finally chanced it and made it to the line of red lights waiting for the traffic light to change where we would all be on my road home. I pulled up, and as soon as the light went to green everyone in front of me started off slowly, me and fifteen other brave souls making up the rear.

Now I live in a forest and I have maybe six miles of highway before entering the larger scope of the forest to get home. Do know there are no street lights in most of New Hampshire, and the forest has none. So my whole hope was gauged by those red lights in front of me. However, when we got up to the last road leading away from the forest road, those red lights all turned off leaving Moi as the lead car to what was now twenty cars behind me all creeping along at 5 MPH in swirling snow, heavy battering wind and yes, DARKNESS. 

It was darker than dark now, the roads were snow-covered so it was hard to see where the road ended and the ice-covered winding river that bordered the road began. I did the best I could for about two miles when I decided to get one of the cars or all of the cars behind me to pass me so I could follow them. I put my blinker on and slowly crept to what I hoped was the shoulder of the road and not the river. I stopped and looked in the rearview to see everyone behind me had put their blinker on and had pulled over!

I threw my hands in the air in perplexed despair as to what to do now. I had enough food to stay put for a week. I even had visions of the other drivers getting out of their vehicles and surrounding my car, demanding food if we weren't going any further. I know crazy, but that's what this bizarre situation was doing to my head.

"FECK!!!" I shouted to no one and put the damned car in gear and flipped on my left blinker easing slowly out with everyone else behind me doing the same. I tell ya! Slowly I inched, up the hills and down the dales with maybe five cars turning off, but the majority were on their way to my house. Or, so it seemed in my crazed mind.

The uphill was rough, me sliding and skidding here and there, they all doing the same, but the hope was if I went off the road they'd stop and pull me out . . . yeah who am I kidding, they would keep on going and leave me. Sigh.

Somehow I made it to the top of my driveway and as I pulled in, the freaking sun came out of nowhere like I had reached the Emerald City. There was no one behind me as I slip-slided my way down the long driveway, barely avoiding a header into the pond, and miraculously to the house. I had made it. 

I unloaded all the groceries, oblivious to any decorations or what time it really was now. I wanted only to crawl into a ball and take a nap. I had had it. Day DONE and DONE and DONE again. 

It wasn't until the next day I went and looked at my car. It had nary a dent, just some minor paint damage, so that was good. I have no clue what I lived through, but that was one time too many. 

Anyway, temps went up melting snow and ice sufficiently that the party took place and all the weirdness was shoved to the back of my mind. I haven't done the shopping since and it be a cold day in hell before I do. Happy Birthday to me from the Fate called WHITEOUT. Hopefully, she won't be back anytime soon.

Gabe

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