Record snow storm in London

[splashhopper]

Went to pick up a guy for work this am.

 

I got stuck on the side street behind his residence. Another car had come out of nowhere and I headed to the shoulder to miss him and then he LEAVES!

 

I am stuck, big time and no shovel

 

I try rocking the van, but it ain't moving anywhere. I am on top of the snow with the wheels slightly off the pavement apparently.

 

Called a couple of friends and they couldn't help. ( no tow ropes and too far away)

 

I say a little prayer and ask my Creator for some SERIOUS help.

 

Lo and behold, a private contractor grader comes by within a minute or two., but he won't stop to help

 

A few minutes after that and this nice guy from Newfoundland walks up and offers to help. We try and try and try to get the van out off the hardening snow, but the wheels are just spinning. He is more determined than I am to get the van out! I am thinking I would just go in to the Sally Ann and wait for my buddy to be available to pull me out with his 4x4.

 

Then, the grader comes back for a second pass and he gives me the two handed halt sign from his cab. Hmmmmm?

 

He maneuvers that brute of a machine to within a foot of the front of my van, with me in it and the newfie beside the van.

 

Then he backs up and takes the snow down to the pavement and gets even closer

 

THEN, he backs it up and does about a NINE POINT TURN and comes at me from another angle ! Everything is cleared right up and all I have to do is move the van 6 inches and i will have pavement under my wheels.

 

Then the nice newfie jumps outa the van and says, gun it and keep moving.

 

Nothing for a few seconds, so I rock the van a bit and voila... I am moving forward.

 

I get the van on to solid ground and give the grader operator the

 

I ask the newfie where he was walking to in this weather.

He says sheepishly: " the food bank".

 

I tell him to get in and coffee is on me. We grab a coffee and muffin and start discussing the snow storm we are in.

 

As we pull up to the Foodbank, I see this parking meter.

 

 

I wish I had thought to take pics of that grader in action. The operator was a young guy, but he sure knew what he was doing.

 

What a morning! The talk radio show I listen to CJBK1290 broadcasts out of st catherines and serves their market and ours from 10-12 am. He has callers calling in from London about the storm and I decide to email him a few LIVE SHOTS from my van window.

 

 

I finally get home and pull in to our UNPLOUGHED lane and parking area in the townhouse complex I live in. Two pick up trucks abandoned and blocking most of the skinny "trail" in.

 

I get in the house and decide to take one more pic of our record breaking snow storm.

 

 

The snow is still coming down and the forecast is for 20-30 more centimeters today and then another 15cm tonight !

 

I guess I am shovelling my wife's parking spot out again this afternoon.

 

Stay tuned, this storm broke the record we hit in 1977. Somehow that one seemed a lot more fun that this one. Oh yeah, I was 16 then ! lol

 

In retrospect while writing this I am grateful for:

1) Asking my Creator for a little help. ( a grader and newfie were there within minutes )

 

2) Not flipping the bird to that grader operator when he went by the first time and didn't stop

 

3) For my giggling daughter and her friend as they enjoy another "snow day" at our place today and that I am here to listen to them and all their innocence!

 

4) And the FREE ADVERTISING the radio host gave me. I emailed the pics from my blackberry and it uses my work address to do so.

 

 

How great is my Creator for me this day, and it is only half way done.

[10point]

I have been hearing about this storm on facebook from my sister in law who has been stuck in her house for over 48 hours. One of my sister in laws was the born the day after the big storm in 77. Looks like a whale of a storm.

[splashhopper]

I have been hearing about this storm on facebook from my sister in law who has been stuck in her house for over 48 hours. One of my sister in laws was the born the day after the big storm in 77. Looks like a whale of a storm.

 

If she needs any help, send me a PM with her number and we will see what we can do for her.

Edited December 7, 2010 by splashhopper

[Guest gbfisher]

keep it your way. less than an inch here in TO.

[Beans]

If she needs any help, send me a PM with her number and we will see what we can do for her.

 

Ron:...Glad to hear you got your Higher Power working...

 

Haven't heard from either one of my sons in London yet...

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2010 by Beans

[tb4me]

Thats incredible! CYV news is covering this storm on the national channel. This is going to be one of the biggest dumpings that has hit that part of Ontario EVER!! Yee haw, here we are 45 min down the road and were lucky to have 5 to 10 cm...Good on the guy to help push you out. Food bank.. just goes to show times are tough.

[splashhopper]

Ron:...Glad to hear you got your Higher Power working...

 

Haven't heard from either one of my sons in London yet...

 

I count on Him Bean's.

 

Same offer if your son's need help too.

[asdve23rveavwa]

Hard to believe you guys can be so close to us in Woodstock, yet be getting it 10X worse!!!

[splashhopper]

Thats incredible! CYV news is covering this storm on the national channel. This is going to be one of the biggest dumpings that has hit that part of Ontario EVER!! Yee haw, here we are 45 min down the road and were lucky to have 5 to 10 cm...Good on the guy to help push you out. Food bank.. just goes to show times are tough.

 

He needs the foodbank and he still does good deeds for others... is a great testament to his character

[tb4me]

He needs the foodbank and he still does good deeds for others... is a great testament to his character

yes sir! Keep the faith my friend!

[Raf]

please clean it up by friday am, i need to be in st. thomas.

 

thank you.

[capt bruce]

To have to go to food bank this time of year is so so sad , seams everyone wants to talk about scammers and laze abouts , good people have very bad things happen to them to . Hope your helper gets back what he gives , Karma guys , no matter how bad things seam you give what you can and it will come back ten fold , sorry to hear about you getting stuck but than you got to meet a great guy . The world works in funny ways .

[Sinker]

Great story Ron! I'm not surprised one bit by the helpful newfie!! The best people on the planet come from that little rock in the atlantic!!!

 

Good luck with the rest of the storm!!

 

S.

[misfish]

Great story Ron! I'm not surprised one bit by the helpful newfie!! The best people on the planet come from that little rock in the atlantic!!!

 

Good luck with the rest of the storm!!

 

S.

 

I would help even the one I didnt like. It,s in our nature.

 

We,ve escaped the big one so far,been all around us,but I think it,s here now.

[splashhopper]

I would help even the one I didnt like. It,s in our nature.

 

We,ve escaped the big one so far,been all around us,but I think it,s here now.

 

batten down the hatches then... this has been a bugger

[ctdd2006]

...and we here in Elliot Lake still have grass showing??? Weird stuff! Cold though....and making ICE

[Whitespinnerbait]

Snow Storms............Happen every year eh !!!

[misfish]

batten down the hatches then... this has been a bugger

 

We could only dodge the storm for so long. Woke up to about 2 over night. It sure is nice to see, this time of year. Thankfully also,it,s that nice light stuff. Just blows off the truck.

 

Drive safe all.

[lookinforwalleye]

All this snow around us here in Orangeville is weird we usually get it, I have some family in Aliston and Beeton and they got over 100cm and us virtualy nothing but I`am not complaining though.

[limeyangler]

Hey Ron, great story, glad it had so many happy endings.

 

Cant say i'm in a sympathetic mood though(not that you require or asked for sympathy...lol)because we also got a huge snowfall here this year...my snowbanks are higher than they normally get all winter and that was in 1 week!

 

Please go out and find that guy running the grader and tell him if he ever needs a job come up to Dryden...our guy is incompetent...or is that incontinent...probably both....lol.

 

anyway great story....thanks for the read.

 

Simon

[mercman]

RONNNN !!!!..........RONNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE,RE COMMING TO GET YOU......HOLD ON BUDDY !!!!!

[ccmtcanada]

crazy crazy snow!!! Can still see the grass coming through the layer of snow we got just east of Toronto!

[splashhopper]

Hey Ron, great story, glad it had so many happy endings.

 

Cant say i'm in a sympathetic mood though(not that you require or asked for sympathy...lol)because we also got a huge snowfall here this year...my snowbanks are higher than they normally get all winter and that was in 1 week!

 

Please go out and find that guy running the grader and tell him if he ever needs a job come up to Dryden...our guy is incompetent...or is that incontinent...probably both....lol.

 

anyway great story....thanks for the read.

 

Simon

 

 

Hey Simom: I finally get out for work this am, pull out of the Timmies that I always go to, head up the street and THERE HE IS .... The grader dude

 

This time I pulled up down the street where he was headed down.

 

Got out of the van and put my "stop signal" out to him... He is trying to wave me off and probably thinking I was a little

 

I lean back in to the van and come out with an EXTRA LARGE DOUBLE DOUBLE Timmies.... He gives me the and stops...

 

I gratefully climb the ladder to his cab and hand it over and thank him for getting me out yesterday.

 

 

A few minutes later, he called the number on my van and says: "Hey, I was dieing for a coffee" !

 

How cool was that!

[lew]

 

I lean back in to the van and come out with an EXTRA LARGE DOUBLE DOUBLE Timmies.... He gives me the and stops...

 

 

Kool gesture that he would definetely have appreciated

[irishfield]

Time's have changed.. my father use to take a rye and coke out to the plow guy on our dead end back street at 7 am.. It sure kept our street cleaned nice and first.... but once the loader.. dump truck.. sidewalk guys caught wind... it got expensive.. lol