The Snowstorm of ’19

It’s CRAZY out there!!!

Round 1 of snow came and went without much hype.  Small amounts of snow and ice remain, as of today, but besides a little inconvenience, there wasn’t really much effect.  I shoveled all of our sidewalks at our office that day and sprinkled out some Zero Ice (which is a product for melting ice and snow on concrete surfaces etc.)  I had gone to McLendon Hardware and purchased a “shaker” jug, but in hindsight, I should have purchased one of the large bags that they had out front in large bins.  When I came back with the jug, at the time, my wife asked me why I did not purchase one of the large bags?  “ this will be plenty, I’ve had half a jug in the garage, for 2 years, from when I purchased it last time”.

When reports of the upcoming snowstorm came out on Thursday morning, I decided that I’d better go pick up one or two of those large bags. I was out in Puyallup, doing some pest control services, and I was going right by McLendon, so I stopped in to pick some up.   Nope “we don’t have any, we may be getting a shipment later today or tomorrow”.  Darn!  Okay, I’ll do my thing out here in Puyallup, and then stop at McLendon Hardware in Tacoma, by our office.

Went in ……“do you have any Zero Ice/Ice Melt”? “Nope shipment is coming in early tomorrow morning.  Be an early bird because it will go fast”.  Off to Lowes.  Any Zero Ice/Ice Melt?  Nope.  Darn.  Over to Home Depot.  Any Zero Ice/Ice melt?  Nope!  Darn!!!  I called my wife who was doing a Quality Assurance Inspection (She is a certified pest control operator too) at one of our restaurant franchises.  I asked if she could stop by Sarco Supply and see if they had any.  Nope!  None!  Nothing else to do but wait until tomorrow morning (Friday) and see if I can hit the jackpot.

A Costco run

On our way home from work last evening (Thursday) My wife, Beth, and I decided that we had better stop at Costco to get gas for our vehicle and for our generator. We also needed to stock up on a few things that we’ve been running low on.  It seems that we may be stranded for a couple of days or so and wanted to make sure we had everything we need.  What a madhouse!!!!!  The gas lines looked like something out of the “70’s and the entire parking lot was FULL!

But we had a brilliant plan!

I’ll drop her off so she can do the shopping and I’ll swing back around and wait in the gas line!  It worked to perfection.  At almost the exact time I was finished gassing up, she was calling me to say she was waiting out in front of the store.  We made our way out of the ridiculously backed up round-a-bouts, on Borgen Blvd,  towards home.  It looked like something out of a movie, one of those where the world is coming to an end.

It really is amazing how we fall into all of the hype.

I sometimes watch the news and wonder what the heck everyone’s doing.  Aren’t we all getting a little carried away with this “snowstorm of 2019”?  But I look at myself and see that I am doing the very same thing.  I guess if you really think about it that it’s better to be safe than sorry.  It goes back to my cub scout days of our motto “Be Prepared”.

I never did get any Zero Ice/Ice melt.  I went to McLendon today and they still didn’t have any.  There was a line I could wait in if I wanted to wait for one to two hours though.  I decided against it and instead drove over to the coffee stand and got myself a mocha and my wife a tea.  Here I sit, at work, writing this blog not knowing what’s in store in the upcoming days, but knowing We’re prepared.

I hope everyone is prepared for whatever comes in the next few days and stays safe.  Be courteous and patient, with others, as we are all in this together.

Happy snow days and please send us your pics and stories.