Ways and Frays: Snow Day

Pamela Tracy here: I'm thinking almost everyone has seen A Christmas Story at least ten times already this season (I know I have). You know the scene where Richie's little brother is in his winter outdoor wear and looking like the Michelin tire man? Well, I'm originally from Nebraska and I had that Michelin outdoor wear. And, yes, I do have a funny story. Hehehehe. When I was about nine there was a huge blizzard in Omaha (No, I'm not going to tell you how long ago that was) and school was closed, most people didn't go to work, and businesses were pretty much empty. We were out of milk. Don't know why milk is the thing you can't run out of, but my mom was pretty upset. The snow had stopped. And me, and two of the neighbor boys (ages nine and eight) were sent walking to the store. If we'd stayed on the sidewalk like our mothers told us, there'd be no story today. But, see, we lived by a railroad track, a somewhat elevated railroad track. In our brillance we decided that since it was elevated it wouldn't be covered with snow and therefore somewhat easy to traverse. We were right! About thirty minutes into this cold, boring walk, we got an idea (Okay, it was me!) On each side of the track, the snow had piled up, all pristine white, smooth, and looking so inviting. We decided to jump from the track into the snow. Picture dead weight, going down, and landing standing up. That's what happened. The snow was up to our necks. We couldn't get out! For hours we would lean forward an inch, then to the sides, then back, each time making the prison we'd landed in a little bigger. We were cold, a little scared, and thinking, "Hey, Mom was right about staying on the sidewalk." When we finally got out, all three of us in our Michelin man attire ran (wobbled) straight home, without the milk, and all of us got in trouble.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.