And not a snowplow to be seen...

Oh, I should have seen this one coming a mile away. Actually, I did. Ella’s daughter (they live down south) is a Weather Channel freak and knows Mommy has a friend in Montana. She sent me the forecast for Tuesday, with a headline that said that Montana was going to be walloped with cold and snow. This, after record breaking temps on Monday (we hit 60!!). Oh, but I had no idea…

The morning started out warm enough. There was a nice drizzle of rain before the sun came up. Shortly afterwards, that froze. And then the snow accumulated. And not a snowplow to be seen. By the time I drove to work in the mid-morning, it was a bit slick out, but nothing that Montanans haven’t seen before. The temperatures hovered a little above or a little below freezing, depending on what part of town you were in. The snow was sticking to everything, and stayed. Literally no breeze (thank God), so it was a nice, gentle, light snow. Very pretty. And not a snowplow to be seen.

And then it started. I had to start moving equipment. In particular, the delicate move of a harpsichord (Lurch’s instrument of choice) from a private residence, to the church where Messiah rehearsals were taking place. It was at this point that the snowflakes were literally the size of quarters. A windshield could be totally covered simply by stopping at a red light. And not a snowplow to be seen. Fortunately, that move went without incidence, in spite of slick, unshoveled sidewalks (I’m fairly certain a broken ankle is in my future). I ran home quickly to pick up some things, and then had to head back to pick up the equipment truck and move into the church. And not a snowplow to be seen.

I left my apartment at 5:30. That would give me plenty of time to drive downtown, pick up the truck, be at the church at 6:00, and have rehearsal set up for the 7:00 downbeat. Unfortunately, I hadn’t anticipated the clusterf**k downtown. The short version (too late)—it took me over 30 minutes to drive what should have taken less than 5 (even during rush hour). I saw no fewer than 5 multi-vehicle collisions in a 20 square-block area, including an 11-car chain-reaction collision at one of the busiest downtown intersections. During the 5:00 commute. I saw more emergency vehicles than during the great St. Patrick’s Day fiasco of ’75 (ok, I made that one up, but there were lots of flashing lights!). And not a snowplow to be seen. It took me over an hour to get to the equipment truck from the time I left my apartment. Then I had to figure out a route to the church that would avoid the entire downtown area. We ended up starting rehearsal about 5 minutes late. Thanks to some teamwork from the musicians helping out.

I blame the snow squarely on the Symphony. If this wasn’t the two busiest weeks of my year, it would still be sunny and warm out. Driving home tonight, I still didn’t see any snowplows, but you could see the snow sort of piled up on the curbs. Exposing the pure sheet of ice that was left to drive on. We don’t use salt up here on the roads—it’s primarily sand. Didn’t see much of that, either. The snow has almost quit. It’s done its damage. Anywhere from 10-20”, again, depending where you’re at in town. I haven’t heard, but I’m fairly certain that it’s far worse in other parts of the state. Those of you in Florida or Georgia—I hope you don’t get frostbite or anything like that…