Dec 25, 2022
How I Nearly Froze in an Ice Storm
While living 2000 miles from home
The temp job was below the frost line, he said; no need for heavy coats in the Louisiana winter. When my partner took the traveling therapist job in Louisiana, we couldn’t wait to leave the chilly New England Autumn to enjoy our first Southern winter. Hello, sunshine and Palm trees! Then, a week after moving into our new apartment, a freak ice storm hit.
There’s no harm in hoping for the best as long as you’re prepared for the worst. -Stephen King
We weren’t strangers to freezing weather. We’d gone to University in Michigan for three years and knew what lake-effect snow was like. We both knew how to drive in the snow. We also carried winter hats and gloves for camping. This was a warm climate, and we naively thought the sun would be back in a day. We figured our biggest concern would be Southern drivers who weren’t used to driving on ice.
Day One
On the first day, an inch of ice coated everything, and nobody could drive. My partner stayed home from work, and we spent the day playing cards. When the power went out, we ate crackers, cheese, and whatever we could find in the cupboard.
The roads were a little better by the afternoon, so we drove slowly to the nearest Walmart, where we bought batteries and fuel for our camp stove. We were grateful for a small balcony that gave us a spot to warm soup and hot water to make cocoa.
While outside, we overheard the neighbors below us talking among themselves. They were going to spend the night in a hotel. We smiled at each other because we thought they were overreacting. Southerners were just not used to cold, but we were from the north country, and a little ice storm wouldn’t bother us. We’d even camped in the snow before. Plus, we’d given most of our extra money to help out a relative right before the storm hit, so we were on a tight budget.
There are some things you learn best in a storm. -Willa Cather
Day Two
The second day of the ice storm wasn’t too bad, but we were beginning to notice how cold it was getting, so I hung a tiny camping thermometer on the wall to keep track of it. It was meant to hang from a zipper on a coat — a coat much warmer than any we’d brought along for our warm, southern winter.
By the end of the second day, playing cards was getting old. We were running out of fuel for the stove. We returned to Walmart to discover they were out of everything from propane, batteries, coats, and toilet paper. It was unbelievable how fast a large store could empty within twenty-four hours.
As we headed home empty-handed in the dark, we felt warm for the first time in two days, but we couldn’t sit in the car all night, or we’d run out of fuel.
Back in the apartment, we looked at the thermometer on the wall, which read only 27 degrees. Part of the problem was there was no insulation in our low-budget apartment building. We were beginning to feel it was as cold inside as it was outside, and considering that the trees outside were still covered with an inch of ice, we were starting to get concerned. Surely the utility company would come and turn the power on soon.
The property manager knocked on our door to ensure we kept the water dripping in the sinks. He said the power company was making its way toward us slowly. Then he handed us a flyer with directions to a warming shelter.
At the time, we reasoned that we weren’t homeless, and it seemed crazy to sleep on the floor in some high school gymnasium among strangers. We forgot that we didn’t know anyone in town; we had no friends to call and no backup plan.
Day Three
We were hungry, cold, and tired of all the inconvenience by the third day. When we woke up shivering in the middle of the night, we rechecked the thermometer. By then, it was only 17 degrees in our apartment, and any heat stored in the building was long gone. We might as well be sleeping outside except for the wind chill factor.
We tried to warm ourselves by saying at least we didn’t have to deal with the wind, but by 12:07 am, we grew concerned that we might suffer from hypothermia if we didn’t find that shelter. So we gathered our pillows and blankets and drove to the gym.
The city was divided between the haves and have-nots, with electricity being the commodity in demand. Driving at night made us realize just how much of the community had been affected by the blackout. The entire area was dark except for a strip of businesses near Walmart and one service station on the far end of town.
It seemed the power had been restored to the gas station so people could buy fuel. A tiny convenience store was attached, but there was no room for people to hang out waiting for the sun to come up. We turned away from the gas station and headed for the shelter.
My partner knocked on the door while I stayed in the warm car. The shelter was dark, except for a small green lamp across the room where a man sat writing. He tried opening the door, but it was locked. Trying to get the man’s attention, he pounded on the window. Even with the engine running and the radio on, I could hear the panes vibrate from the car, but the man inside didn’t hear or see him.
There’s something surreal about watching the person you love brave the cold so you can stay warm while they beg someone to open a door to save both of your lives. And when that door fails to open, it’s terrifying.
I’ll never forget him standing there hunched over with his hood on his head and swinging his gloved fist at the door and window. He eventually gave up and returned to the car. It was too cold to stand outside knocking on a door that wouldn’t open.
We didn’t say much as we both tried to figure out what to do. Everything was cold and dark. I felt as hopeless as I’d ever been. I didn’t dare speak my fears out loud, or I might start crying as I wondered what would become of us.
Survival can be summed up in three words, never give up. -Bear Grylls
My partner decided to get gas because it looked like we’d need the fuel to stay warm in our car. When he went inside to pay, he noticed a hot water thermos sitting by the coffee maker. This reminded him that I always carried a hot water bottle with us because I hated to feel cold when we slept in a tent. I’d go to the restroom, fill it with hot water, and stay toasty in all night. He asked the owner if we could have some hot water. She told him to hurry back before she closed.
It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change. -Charles Darwin
We rushed back to the apartment, found the hot water bottle, and grabbed a bath towel. Back at the service station, he ran inside, filled the water bottle, and wrapped the towel around to keep it warm.
When we returned to our apartment, we took the queen-sized bed apart from the extra bedroom. Placing the mattress and box spring on each side of our bed, we made a canopy by hanging a heavy blanket across the top from one side to the other. It looked like a blanket fort. Then we gathered every blanket and piece of clothing we could find.
We kept our sweats, stocking caps, and socks on as we crawled into bed and pulled all of our extra blankets and clothing on top of us. Then we snuggled around that hot water bottle hugging it for dear life. That little bit of heat, combined with the covers, and our love for each other, kept us cozy until morning.
There are all these moments you think you won’t survive. And then you survive. — David Levithan
Day Four
We woke up warm inside our blanket fort and discovered blue skies and sunshine waiting outside, but we were disappointed to discover we still had no power. How much longer would this trial last? At least we knew how to stay warm for another night if necessary.
Some of the restaurants in town had their power back on, so we were glad to find a warm breakfast.
After breakfast, with full stomachs and warm hands, we drove back to the neighborhood. A million icicles sparkled as they hung from the trees. They looked magical, filtered through the sunshine. As I squinted into the light, I was relieved to see a white utility truck pulling onto our street.
Cherilyn Christen Clough broke the rules when she started writing about her family’s secrets. Some claim she sold her soul to the devil, but she prefers to think of it as gaining freedom. You can read about her strange childhood in Chasing Eden A Memoir.
