[Sca-cooks] freeze free Caid

[Laura C. Minnick]

Wimps! Pikers! All of you!

I'm still shaking from the drive I made yesterday- we had a weird and
localized freak storm blow through the Willamette Valley yesterday. It hit
the coast at Coos Bay, went inland at about a 45 degree angle to I-5 and
turned north, picking up speed as it went. Averaged 50 MPH slammed into
Eugene between 50-60, last official reading at the Eugene airport was 62
MPH before it broke the equipment and destroyed the weather tower. It
continued north, hit Albany, veered east again, and beat itself to death
on the mountains...

Now, of course, I didn't know there was a storm on the way. I'm blithely
driving south from Portland, and I'm running late because I wasn't feeling
well. There was heavy rain in Portland and through Salem, and naturally, I
hit Albany from the north about the same time the edge of the storm was
hitting from the south. From then on I was driving into the teeth of it.

I saw: bits of lumber and chunks of foam insulation fly by. Tree
limbs. BUndles of wire. The left front fender of a semi. Several tarps. A
bundle of chains from under a truck. Cars- large and small, trucks- large
and small, skittered around and off the highway. The water next to the
road (fields either side are sheets of water- so much rain lately) so
stirred up by the rain they look like latte- complete witht eh whipped
cream on top.

And then the trees started falling.

There were trees down on I-5. When I got off of 5 and onto 126 to head
into Eugene, it got worse. The farther into town, the worse it
got. Oh... have you ever wept for a tree? Eugene is full of trees- big,
beautiful, OLD trees. Well, there are fewer now. One in every
block. Several of my favorite old ones. I was heartsick. And it took me an
hour to get from 5 to where my kids live (a 10-minute trip). Getting out
took 40 minutes- streets back out to the freeway were blocked.

I'm ok. The kids are ok. According to the news last night, damamge in
Eugene/Springfield may end up in the million $$$ due to power outages,
trees, cars, streets, damage to buildings, etc.

I also learned alot about driving while avoiding debris on the road,
debris flying in the air, and other cars, and I have decided that the
little diesel Volvo of Regina's that I've been driving has got to be the
best thing to be in when the front end of a semi goes flying by!

finished my tea and maybe I feel better now,

'Lainie