Thursday, July 15, 2010

Blame It On The Rain

Yesterday should have been easy, a piece of proverbial cake so to speak.

I had a Dr's appointment and a work appointment scheduled in the early morning hours and both went smoothly. I should have been able to make it back to my desk around 1:30.
Instead, I sat on the Walt Whitman Bridge for a good hour, in a torrential downpour - along with hundreds of other cars, as the lightening and thunder boomed around me.
The rain fell so hard I couldn't see the car in front of me - it was like driving through a carwash, except it wasn't. I was nervous, I was hungry, and I was scared to death!

I ate a few slices of dried mango and a hand full of almonds (I'd tested before I started driving & my blood sugar was 90), and I never took my eyes of the road.
As I finally crossed over the bridge I saw a five car accident and stopped complaining. Traffic was still at almost a complete standstill. I continued to inch towards my final destination with WXPN 88.5 FM for a companion, and listened to some French themed music to celebrate Bastille Day. FYI, French Rap and Edith Piaf ROCK.

Then, a warning about flash floods in my general vicinity via the Emergency Broadcast System freaked me out, and the next 30 miles seemed like 300.

I was actually driving into the storm, not away from it- because apparently, that's how I roll. After another hour of white knuckled driving at a snails pace, I said "screw it" and pulled into a diner, parked the car, and made a run for the entrance.

I was soaking wet (the umbrella didn't help,) and slid into a booth. I was super hungry and wanted a cheeseburger, but ordered an eggwhite Spanish omelet and tested again. 194 - "THANK YOU STRESS."

And like Milli Vanilli, I "blamed it on the rain."

8 comments:

Cara said...

So scary! I'm glad you're okay.

Penny said...

Oh so glad you made it OK and are safe and sound. The WW bridge sucks on any given day - it's like the rodeo of bridges, but in the rain, yuck!
WXPN does rock. Favorite station. Ever go to World Cafe in the city - best place on earth!
Sorry about the stress and your #s, but at least no accidents and you are in one piece!

Renata Porter said...

I had a day like that where the kids and I were going back to Texas from Seattle. We hit a huge storm in Kansas and it freaked me right the heck out. I use to not be agraid of anything while driving...thanks to that day and the day everyone got stuck on the interstate in a suprise snow storm in Seattle about 3 years back...I panick a bit when the weather is bad and I am driving. Is it age?

Karen said...

Oh gosh, that sucks!! To be honest, after a horrendous drive like that, a 194 isn't bad at all. I would have guessed more like 294. But yes, the stress still sucks.

That storm must have been heading my way. I got stuck driving in a downpour like that after our diabetes dinner last night. In fact, my car almost stalled out in a huge puddle on the highway entrance ramp. Unfortunately, when I got home I found out that one friends car DID stall out in that puddle. I wish I had known and could have helped her. :(

Katie said...

Wow, that's terrifying! Glad you made it out ok!

Pam said...

Good grief! You keep making me relive my past... Milli Vanilli? Oh, how we rocked the bicycle shorts back then!

Hallie Addington said...

I'm totally going to be singing that song all night! Glad you're ok!

Unknown said...

Dang! Sounds like a not-so-fun commute!