What does a pheasant and lemonade all have in common? Well, let me tell you…
Sunday night, after I arrived in Norfolk, Ne I heard a storm was to move in. It was something about Snow Thunder and zero visibility. I quickly ran to the nearest grocery store to buy Gatorade, 2 apples, a movie and popcorn. I figured if I was going to be stuck in a hotel, I might as well get some supplies.
Monday morning I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for the day. I made my way to Creighton, Ne to work with 50 Juniors and Seniors. Following that, I arrived at Niobrara, Ne to see their 8 Seniors. While meeting with Mary Snowdon (how appropriate is her last name), she informed me the storm was moving in quick, school was getting out at 2:30 and my scheduled time at 2 will have to be quick and effective. “No problem,“ I confidently said. The kids were wild, as you can imagine and the workshop was rushed, but we had fun and learned, so that’s all that matters, right? I was headed back to Norfolk to my hotel. I slipped and almost fell in the parking lot of the school, drifts were already 3 inches up the tires of my car. I finally get on the road, and 2 miles north of the high school I hit a pot hole and bump…bump…bump. “You have got to be kidding me,” I said out loud. This was my 3rd flat tire of the school year, and of course it had to happen the day a blizzard was rolling through North Nebraska. On top of that, I was on a narrow bridge. Finally crossing the other side, I pull over, put on my 4 ways and pull out my insurance information. American Family has emergency roadside assistance and they are wonderful. Except today, when they said I would have a 2 hour wait for someone to come out and fix my tire. Three, five, ten, fifteen farm trucks must have driven by, with each driver looking at me but no one stopping. Finally an old lady stopped asking if I needed help. What was I going to get from her? I said “No thanks, someone is coming” and sent her on her way.
Next to my surprise, a truck pulls up, window rolls down and 3 men ask if they can help me. I explained I had called, but the closest truck (from Yankton, SD) wouldn’t be here for another 2 hours. They said “You are in a dangerous part of the road, and that’s too long to be sitting in the cold. We will do it.” Two men jumped out of the truck while the third stayed in the driver’s seat. Nate, a young Santee Indian, probably my age, got into my trunk and started the process. Tom, 55-ish, wanted to know my name, why I was in the area, etc. He was very nice, until he suggested that I could pay him in ‘other means’ up the road at the hotel/casino. At this point I thought to myself, why don’t I have mace, should I get a concealed license, no, just get back in your car. So I did. I think the driver, soon to be introduced as Butch could sense I was uncomfortable. He came back and told Tom to leave me alone (jokingly) and introduced himself as the Santee Indian Chief on the reservation not 5 miles up the road. “But you can call me Butch, young lady,” he kindly said. In 15 minutes my tire was fixed, I was referred to J & R Tire 2 miles back into town. To my surprise, Jerry, perhaps the “J” of J & R, did not find a hole in my tire. It appeared that I hit it in some way that it just lost all air. So he aired up the tired, put it back on and I started on my wintery drive back to Norfolk.
As I’m driving, I hear the DJ on the radio say “Warning for all of Norfolk listening area and surrounding areas: Being that visibility is at zero (and he laughed, as if it was funny) the DOT has decided to take all plows off the roads and not to resume until 8am Tuesday morning. So if you are driving, don’t. And if you aren’t driving, don’t.” Well I had no choice Mr. DJ, I had to get back. So I found myself driving 10 mph most of the way home. A few times, there was a complete white out, I had no idea where I was driving.
Not 15 miles into my 65 back to the hotel, there appeared to be a covey of quail alongside the road. In the 2 seconds I noticed them two thoughts flashed in my brain (1) "its freezing, birds are supposed to fly south" and (2) "That stupid bird, get away from the......" And the next thing I know, THUMP, that stupid bird, did indeed fly into my car. I paused for .5 seconds and then just started laughing out loud. I mean, deep heart-felt laughing. I was in -20 degree weather, 40 mph wind, set back 2 hours with a flat tire, changed by some Indians, in a town with the population wavering around 50 (depending if Lucy Jo would have her baby or if Homer Pile would pass away) and I was in the middle of nowhere and I just killed a pheasant. What else could I do but laugh?!
The next day I got an email from the Counselor at Niobrara high, she said “Dee, our office assistant, saw you had a flat tire when leaving, perhaps we should have told you. Are you okay?” “I’m okay, no thanks to Dee,” I thought. $130 later, I had a brand new tire on my car.
Dear School year 2010-2011,
You sure have had your fun. With all the lemons I’ve received, I have no choice but to make lemonade. Thank you for the sweet reminder that no matter the situation, with a little sugar, lemonade can always brighten a day.
Love,
Daneen
That night at the hotel, the front lobby had coffee…….and lemonade. You better believe I had some. I giggled the entire way back to my room.
Sunday night, after I arrived in Norfolk, Ne I heard a storm was to move in. It was something about Snow Thunder and zero visibility. I quickly ran to the nearest grocery store to buy Gatorade, 2 apples, a movie and popcorn. I figured if I was going to be stuck in a hotel, I might as well get some supplies.
Monday morning I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for the day. I made my way to Creighton, Ne to work with 50 Juniors and Seniors. Following that, I arrived at Niobrara, Ne to see their 8 Seniors. While meeting with Mary Snowdon (how appropriate is her last name), she informed me the storm was moving in quick, school was getting out at 2:30 and my scheduled time at 2 will have to be quick and effective. “No problem,“ I confidently said. The kids were wild, as you can imagine and the workshop was rushed, but we had fun and learned, so that’s all that matters, right? I was headed back to Norfolk to my hotel. I slipped and almost fell in the parking lot of the school, drifts were already 3 inches up the tires of my car. I finally get on the road, and 2 miles north of the high school I hit a pot hole and bump…bump…bump. “You have got to be kidding me,” I said out loud. This was my 3rd flat tire of the school year, and of course it had to happen the day a blizzard was rolling through North Nebraska. On top of that, I was on a narrow bridge. Finally crossing the other side, I pull over, put on my 4 ways and pull out my insurance information. American Family has emergency roadside assistance and they are wonderful. Except today, when they said I would have a 2 hour wait for someone to come out and fix my tire. Three, five, ten, fifteen farm trucks must have driven by, with each driver looking at me but no one stopping. Finally an old lady stopped asking if I needed help. What was I going to get from her? I said “No thanks, someone is coming” and sent her on her way.
Next to my surprise, a truck pulls up, window rolls down and 3 men ask if they can help me. I explained I had called, but the closest truck (from Yankton, SD) wouldn’t be here for another 2 hours. They said “You are in a dangerous part of the road, and that’s too long to be sitting in the cold. We will do it.” Two men jumped out of the truck while the third stayed in the driver’s seat. Nate, a young Santee Indian, probably my age, got into my trunk and started the process. Tom, 55-ish, wanted to know my name, why I was in the area, etc. He was very nice, until he suggested that I could pay him in ‘other means’ up the road at the hotel/casino. At this point I thought to myself, why don’t I have mace, should I get a concealed license, no, just get back in your car. So I did. I think the driver, soon to be introduced as Butch could sense I was uncomfortable. He came back and told Tom to leave me alone (jokingly) and introduced himself as the Santee Indian Chief on the reservation not 5 miles up the road. “But you can call me Butch, young lady,” he kindly said. In 15 minutes my tire was fixed, I was referred to J & R Tire 2 miles back into town. To my surprise, Jerry, perhaps the “J” of J & R, did not find a hole in my tire. It appeared that I hit it in some way that it just lost all air. So he aired up the tired, put it back on and I started on my wintery drive back to Norfolk.
As I’m driving, I hear the DJ on the radio say “Warning for all of Norfolk listening area and surrounding areas: Being that visibility is at zero (and he laughed, as if it was funny) the DOT has decided to take all plows off the roads and not to resume until 8am Tuesday morning. So if you are driving, don’t. And if you aren’t driving, don’t.” Well I had no choice Mr. DJ, I had to get back. So I found myself driving 10 mph most of the way home. A few times, there was a complete white out, I had no idea where I was driving.
Not 15 miles into my 65 back to the hotel, there appeared to be a covey of quail alongside the road. In the 2 seconds I noticed them two thoughts flashed in my brain (1) "its freezing, birds are supposed to fly south" and (2) "That stupid bird, get away from the......" And the next thing I know, THUMP, that stupid bird, did indeed fly into my car. I paused for .5 seconds and then just started laughing out loud. I mean, deep heart-felt laughing. I was in -20 degree weather, 40 mph wind, set back 2 hours with a flat tire, changed by some Indians, in a town with the population wavering around 50 (depending if Lucy Jo would have her baby or if Homer Pile would pass away) and I was in the middle of nowhere and I just killed a pheasant. What else could I do but laugh?!
The next day I got an email from the Counselor at Niobrara high, she said “Dee, our office assistant, saw you had a flat tire when leaving, perhaps we should have told you. Are you okay?” “I’m okay, no thanks to Dee,” I thought. $130 later, I had a brand new tire on my car.
Dear School year 2010-2011,
You sure have had your fun. With all the lemons I’ve received, I have no choice but to make lemonade. Thank you for the sweet reminder that no matter the situation, with a little sugar, lemonade can always brighten a day.
Love,
Daneen
That night at the hotel, the front lobby had coffee…….and lemonade. You better believe I had some. I giggled the entire way back to my room.
