First Snow

Another 43 mph commute over the snowy Blue Mountains.

Preparation is more important than winning, said the late championship basketball coach John Wooden. If you properly prepare, you’ll win your share. I take Wooden’s words to heart. On Halloween, instead of preparing my costume for a night on the town, I prepare my car for a winter on the road. Good thing, too. Just as predicted, the first snow of the fall blankets the Blue Mountains Nov. 2. It’s beautiful, as the sun sets, to see the mountains decked out in a cap of snow. Towering clouds build up to the west, portending more storms to come. I am ready. The Prius Snow Leopard has its snow tires on, and thanks to a new state law, which cost me $275, sensors in the tires to let me know if they are low on air. Perhaps it is worth the investment. Perhaps not. I just know, even with Mother Nature smiling this Sunday afternoon, that winter driving awaits tomorrow morning. No matter the calendar, which says fall is only half way through. Winter is here.

I watch the road reports closely. If there is snow in the Blues, I start 15 minutes early. I like to give myself plenty of time in the likely event I have to slow down and be careful. If there is snow in the Blues, and in the Umatilla lowlands, I start 30 minutes early.

It doesn’t matter if I commute 75 miles to work, which I do, or from across the street, I need to be on time. I am thankful in this recession to have a job. Sure, I am not going to get rich. But I will be rich in spirit sharing this lovely life with a wonderful wife. If we have to live 90 miles apart for 10 more years, to keep our jobs, so be it. I don’t want to rush retirement. I want to live every day between then and now to its fullest, and commuting over the Blues is part of the adventure. Snow? Bring it on. I’m ready.