SANDTRAP!! (Drama in Real Life)
Mike awoke at 8.45am to the sound of the alarm from his cellphone. The last time he used an alarm clock was almost a year ago, until the cheap device decided to bid this cruel world goodbye. He thought to himself that this was going to be just another regular Sunday but he was so wrong, as he was about to face a SNOWTRAP!
He felt a slight sense of relief that there wasn’t as much snowfall overnight as he expected. Thus his de-snowing of the car the day before was not in vain. Still he had to let the engine run awhile and leave the heater blowing to melt the tiny icicles that formed on the car windows. 9.15am. Church starts at 9.30am. Time to get the guys.
As usual, the three youngsters piled into the car happily chatting with one another. Mike was glad that Jeff, Carla and Mindy (names changed to protect the innocent) weren’t phased by the subzero temperatures.
The CD player wasn’t working as well as it should. Mike blamed the cold weather which caused condensation to form on his CDs. So he flipped on the radio instead. Apparently there was a state of emergency in NYC because of the heavy snowfall. Flights were cancelled and people grounded indefinitely.
“I’m just glad that it’s not as bad over here,” Mike said as he squinted through his fogging windshield.
Finding a parking space wasn’t difficult, as usual. A lot of students go home for the weekend, resulting in a lot of vacant lots. However there was another problem. A good half feet of snow occupied the vacant spaces.
“I tell you what. Why don’t I drop you guys first and meet up with you in church later. I don’t think you can get out of the car after I park,” said chivalrous Mike.
Once the three kids got out of the car, Mike edged his car closer to a wide lot which had little molehills of snow here and there. He gave it a little thought, decided that it was getting too late to look for somewhere else to park and nosedived into the lot. Big mistake. After getting about 90% of his car into the lot, the car lost traction and refused to move. “Darn it. I’m stuck.”
Not wanting to cause too much panic amongst his passengers, Mike got out of the car and joined the other three as they all walked to church. “I’ll worry about that later. Let’s go for service.”
Once service was done, his kind passengers offered to help him move the car. However Mike politely declined as they had some other matters to attend to at the time. With a deep breath, fearing the worst, Mike headed out to his car.
First, he took out his pathetic snow brush and started shoveling the snow from around his tires. Putting the pedal to the metal, snow flying everywhere Mike kept his fingers crossed. The car moved a little better, but he was still stuck. This was going to take a while.
“Darn it. I should have asked them to come help me. Darn male ego,” cursed Mike under his breath.
Mike kept revving his car engine and continued shoveling repeatedly. The icy cold wind continued to eat at the exposed parts of his body, making his efforts even more cumbersome. The car kept on moving more and more until he could move for about as much as a foot. He needed enough space for the car to gain momentum to barge through the snow that was in the car’s way. His plan was working....slowly.
At the same time, the surrounding cars posed as a secondary threat. Mike had to be careful not to accelerate too much or he may hit either the car in front or the car behind him. It was a very delicate situation. One wrong move could cost him a hike in his monthly car insurance bill. He couldn’t afford that. Not with his plans to get a new cell phone plan soon.
After about 15 minutes of rocking the car back and forth, Mike was able to turn the car slightly out of the parking lot. But the car, like a wild stallion, was difficult to tame. The car slid and swung erratically, hampering its deliverance from the icy clutches of the surrounding snow.
Finally, with a final burst of energy, the car broke free from its incarceration and Mike found himself on the road again. “Thank you Jesus,” Mike whispered.
Mike couldn’t resist celebrating his victory by swinging in as opposed to turning into his parking lot. The car made an elegant 180 degree spin as Mike yanked up the handbrake. Pulling off a move from Need For Speed was the best thing that happened to him all week. He walked back to his apartment with a slight spring in his step. It was only half the day, but he had already experienced so much. -NCH
He felt a slight sense of relief that there wasn’t as much snowfall overnight as he expected. Thus his de-snowing of the car the day before was not in vain. Still he had to let the engine run awhile and leave the heater blowing to melt the tiny icicles that formed on the car windows. 9.15am. Church starts at 9.30am. Time to get the guys.
As usual, the three youngsters piled into the car happily chatting with one another. Mike was glad that Jeff, Carla and Mindy (names changed to protect the innocent) weren’t phased by the subzero temperatures.
The CD player wasn’t working as well as it should. Mike blamed the cold weather which caused condensation to form on his CDs. So he flipped on the radio instead. Apparently there was a state of emergency in NYC because of the heavy snowfall. Flights were cancelled and people grounded indefinitely.
“I’m just glad that it’s not as bad over here,” Mike said as he squinted through his fogging windshield.
Finding a parking space wasn’t difficult, as usual. A lot of students go home for the weekend, resulting in a lot of vacant lots. However there was another problem. A good half feet of snow occupied the vacant spaces.
“I tell you what. Why don’t I drop you guys first and meet up with you in church later. I don’t think you can get out of the car after I park,” said chivalrous Mike.
Once the three kids got out of the car, Mike edged his car closer to a wide lot which had little molehills of snow here and there. He gave it a little thought, decided that it was getting too late to look for somewhere else to park and nosedived into the lot. Big mistake. After getting about 90% of his car into the lot, the car lost traction and refused to move. “Darn it. I’m stuck.”
Not wanting to cause too much panic amongst his passengers, Mike got out of the car and joined the other three as they all walked to church. “I’ll worry about that later. Let’s go for service.”
Once service was done, his kind passengers offered to help him move the car. However Mike politely declined as they had some other matters to attend to at the time. With a deep breath, fearing the worst, Mike headed out to his car.
First, he took out his pathetic snow brush and started shoveling the snow from around his tires. Putting the pedal to the metal, snow flying everywhere Mike kept his fingers crossed. The car moved a little better, but he was still stuck. This was going to take a while.
“Darn it. I should have asked them to come help me. Darn male ego,” cursed Mike under his breath.
Mike kept revving his car engine and continued shoveling repeatedly. The icy cold wind continued to eat at the exposed parts of his body, making his efforts even more cumbersome. The car kept on moving more and more until he could move for about as much as a foot. He needed enough space for the car to gain momentum to barge through the snow that was in the car’s way. His plan was working....slowly.
At the same time, the surrounding cars posed as a secondary threat. Mike had to be careful not to accelerate too much or he may hit either the car in front or the car behind him. It was a very delicate situation. One wrong move could cost him a hike in his monthly car insurance bill. He couldn’t afford that. Not with his plans to get a new cell phone plan soon.
After about 15 minutes of rocking the car back and forth, Mike was able to turn the car slightly out of the parking lot. But the car, like a wild stallion, was difficult to tame. The car slid and swung erratically, hampering its deliverance from the icy clutches of the surrounding snow.
Finally, with a final burst of energy, the car broke free from its incarceration and Mike found himself on the road again. “Thank you Jesus,” Mike whispered.
Mike couldn’t resist celebrating his victory by swinging in as opposed to turning into his parking lot. The car made an elegant 180 degree spin as Mike yanked up the handbrake. Pulling off a move from Need For Speed was the best thing that happened to him all week. He walked back to his apartment with a slight spring in his step. It was only half the day, but he had already experienced so much. -NCH
posted by Mike Ng at 2:15 PM
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