Nobody tells you HOW to avoid these things
Jun. 5th, 2008 08:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Well, you can see what I woke up to outside my hotel room yesterday morning. Close enough for the black smoke to billow and roil over the interstate as I was leaving later in the day, not close enough for a good photo. And geez, the smell ...
Of course the first thing my mother had to ask me about when I called to let her know when I would be arriving. Several years ago, she told me I should come with a warning label, and a friendly call-ahead to wherever I'm going so the natives know to prepare. So far in the past ten years, I've visited places that immediately after my arrival experienced a hurricane; tornado; earthquake; blizzard (these last two were very near each other and in a part of the country not given to excessive snows); and now, oil fire. (I was even in China when the American spy plane went down in 2001.) I expect somebody else's cow to tip over a lantern or kick out an electrical box and start the next Great Chicago Fire this coming November.
But hey, you know - as long as I don't drown when the ship goes down, I'm good.
(Small side note to St. Louis drivers. You all SUCK. No, really - you do. In 15 years of driving the city regularly, I have NEVER had the problems I had on Monday with I-70 - I was in a friggin' moving traffic jam that went on FOR 30 MILES outside the city! Why couldn't the displaced Hwy. 40 drivers go bother I-44 instead? And you can't get out of this by saying it was all bad Illinois drivers - I saw WAY too many Missouri plates in that clusterfuck.)
Of course the first thing my mother had to ask me about when I called to let her know when I would be arriving. Several years ago, she told me I should come with a warning label, and a friendly call-ahead to wherever I'm going so the natives know to prepare. So far in the past ten years, I've visited places that immediately after my arrival experienced a hurricane; tornado; earthquake; blizzard (these last two were very near each other and in a part of the country not given to excessive snows); and now, oil fire. (I was even in China when the American spy plane went down in 2001.) I expect somebody else's cow to tip over a lantern or kick out an electrical box and start the next Great Chicago Fire this coming November.
But hey, you know - as long as I don't drown when the ship goes down, I'm good.
(Small side note to St. Louis drivers. You all SUCK. No, really - you do. In 15 years of driving the city regularly, I have NEVER had the problems I had on Monday with I-70 - I was in a friggin' moving traffic jam that went on FOR 30 MILES outside the city! Why couldn't the displaced Hwy. 40 drivers go bother I-44 instead? And you can't get out of this by saying it was all bad Illinois drivers - I saw WAY too many Missouri plates in that clusterfuck.)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-05 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-05 05:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-05 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-05 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-05 09:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-05 06:33 pm (UTC)I can certainly understand that. I flew to the East Coast on Monday, only twelve hours before a wave of massive thunderstorms and tornado warnings swept through the area. About 300,000 people had no electricity for hours. They actually shut Dulles down. How often does that happen in June?
Best hopes for you all in Chicago. Although, I've had some nasty experiences there as well. I wished a pox upon O'Hare last December after ridiculous delays.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-05 07:03 pm (UTC)