Watch Out For Black Ice

Winter Time in Maryland. The old joke is, “Only in Maryland can you experience all four seasons in one day!”

For the first time in about two years, we were told to brace ourselves for the BIG one!! Little kids were excited. Parents were glad it was on the weekend (unless they had to work). Road crews were out in force. Landscapers and anyone with a snowblade mounted up and were happy, and then, in my mind, thankfully, there was no snow.

But what we did have on Saturday and Sunday morning was BLACK ICE. Something so dangerous that I have learned to walk like a duck or sideways whenever on asphalt. My husband has his fire scanner on (once a volunteer fireman, you will always have a scanner). Saturday, for the most part, people stayed home. It was nasty out with lots of wind and icy rain. We woke up to blue skies and heard of accidents because of black ice early Sunday morning. At 8 am, I drove out. The accidents seemed over, and our driveway appeared in good shape.

About 1/2 mile from my house, I saw a car pulled off the side of our road and a woman running to what I thought was a dog lying in the road. At first I thought she hit the dog but as I came to a stop, there was a woman laying in the road.

As I got out, I was relieved to hear the woman talking. In her sixties (like me), she was more worried about attending church. As I called 911 and tried to keep her from getting up, she had the other woman call her daughter and husband. We convinced her to lay still as that dreaded BLACK ICE surrounded her and she had blood all over the back of her head.

Thankfully, the ambulance arrived, and they made sure she had nothing broken and her neck was okay. They got her up, and by now, her husband had arrived. They ended up taking her to the hospital to be checked out. She was able to walk to the ambulance which I took for a very good sign.

Why am I writing about this? First, you never know when life is going to take a turn. She went for a Sunday morning walk to church and ended up at the hospital. I went to see my stepfather and saw first hand why my husband always tells me to be careful.

As I got older, I would always hear my mom say, ” Whatever you do, Stephanie, DONT FALL. She was so right. A few weeks ago, while rushing around, I fell down the stairs. Luckily, I landed on my rear, and I thumped, thumped, thumped down each step. I was sore but okay. And while I laugh about it, just like that, it could have been so much worse.

So friends, be careful out there this winter. Just because the skies are blue does not mean the sidewalk is not slippery. It is Winter, after all.