Sky and I were watching the news last night. Our local weatherman again mentioned the Blizzard of 1992 for the east coast. I mentioned how we made a hospital run right in the middle of it. Michelle said she does not remember it.
Sky got loud and started saying how that was his worst memory, and also his first memory from his childhood. He was two months shy of being 4. He reached up in the cabinet and took down a Pyrex bowl, telling Michelle how he remembered me putting crushed ice in that bowl and shoving his foot in it. Then driving to the Hospital at Andrews, AFB. Michelle still does not remember it. Skyler and I remember it well.
Blizzard hit on a Friday night. We had only been living there about a month, having just moved from Anchorage Alaska. Michelle called Sky and I down for breakfast. We were all in our PJs, and I was setting the table. Sky wanted to help, so he was moving the stools into place around the table. (With a three yr old we did not use the carpeted dinning rm) One of the stools fell over, right on sky's toe. Blood flew and the child screamed. His toe was a mess, and I knew he needed to go to the emergency room. The nearest one I knew of was at Andrews AFB, just north of Waldorf where we lived. Michelle and I got dressed and off we went with Sky's foot in a bowl of ice.
When I backed out of the garage I never gave it a thought about the snow. That was a normal occurance with me having lived in Alaska for so long. I was driving a Ford Aerostar van with 4-wheel drive. As we left Waldorf going up 101 I realized there were no tracks on the highway. Oh well did not bother me. When I got to Andrews, the guard came out telling me the base was closed. No one was allowed to be driving on base. I informed him I needed to get to the Emergency Room. The guard pointed to the hospital and said good luck getting there. I drove to the hospital.
When we got to the hospital emergency room I had to dig out the door to get inside. When we got inside people were lying everywhere. On the sofas, the chairs, and on the floor. People started cheering saying the plows had gotten through. They were real disappointed when I told them no plows just me. I had to go looking for a nurse and doctor. They were locked away in examining rooms and offices. Had a hard time convincing a nurse that we had just arrived. Finally she got a Doctor, and a couple of Techs, together to take care of Sky.
When the storm reached a certain point the night before the Base Commander had closed the base, and refused to let anyone on or off. All those people were stranded at the Hospital, along with a good portion of the Staff that was due to go home. Then it reached a point where Security Police could not get around. All they had were cars and two wheel drive trucks, all with highway tires and no snow chains anywhere on base.
When the Doctor had finished with Sky, and given him a pain killing shot, he told me to go find a space for my family to wait till the roads were plowed. I quietly led Michelle out into the hallway, down a quite corridor to a back door. We went outside and got into the van. As I approached the gate the guard was facing towards the road. As I went by the guard shack the guard saw me going out and started yelling and ran outside, but I was already past and headed for the highway. As we headed south on 101 I saw a Roy Rogers Chicken place open. We stopped to get something to eat, since we had not eaten before leaving home. The employees had been stranded the night before and could not get home. Four teens lived in Waldorf, and asked me for a ride to the Shopping center there. They said they lived close enough to walk from there. They prepared us something to eat, and we took them with us when we left. I drove each one to their driveways, then went on home.
It was Sunday evening before they got the highways plowed, and two more days before they got our street plowed. We were called and told not to come to work till Wednesday. Then it was only mission essential personnel for the rest of the week. I had to go to work, Michelle got to stay home.
