So Dallas was hit with what now feels like an annual ice storm for the ages effectively shutting down the entire metroplex.  School was canceled on Friday, the boys’ indoor soccer and basketball games were canceled on Saturday, today Mason’s ICE hockey game was canceled (irony), and the schools have shut down again already for tomorrow.  Since I own a large 4×4 bus I found it not important to stay at home and so I ventured out on Friday to a target store with no power for lights or refrigeration in the dairy or freezer areas, but enough to run the scanners and registers.  On Saturday Mason and I ventured to the Stars game that was much below 50% capacity, and today we ventured to the rink only to receive the cancelation notice as we were exiting the highway.  While I was out I made several observations that I now feel obliged to share with you listed in no particular order.

• There are more effective ways to remove ice from your car than banging a pot on it
• When you do remove ice from your car, it is usually best to remove more than just the 20% of the windshield that covers your face effectively leaving your windshield 80% covered before hitting the highways
• Driving 60 mph and then locking up your brakes before EACH and EVERY overpass generally isn’t the correct way to avoid wiping out
• It is called four wheel drive, NOT four wheel stop
• As this happens almost annually, it might be time for municipalities to invest in a plow to attach to the front of the sand trucks
• While on the topic of sand trucks, perhaps a higher mixture of salt than sand would be in order
• When driving on the highways and the lanes are clearly marked, perhaps it is best to actually use the lanes
• Sometimes taking your foot off the gas is brake enough
• When you decide to take a “side” road because it would be more interesting you should recall the s-curve about half way down that may push you towards the ditch (full disclosure: I didn’t panic and I managed to avoid the ditch, but I did almost need to change my pants before arriving at the Stars game)

The Dallas metroplex on Friday evening