TEXAS COLD AND ICE

Brazos River

by Richard Drake, guest writer

Texas Cold and Ice

This past week north Texas had another ice storm which pretty much shut down the area.  At our home it started with about one half to three fourths of a inch of sleet (ice).  It was followed  with about an inch of snow and that was followed by a another half inch of ice.  Then came another one to one half inch of snow with more freezing drizzle.  It all froze solid.  It was impossible to walk up our driveway to the mail box.  It did not matter because no mail was delivered for six days.  Remember the old post service motto "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion their appointed rounds"  You noticed it says nothing about sleet.  Also, no news papers but we did have our friendly satellite television service so we snuggled in. This weather did bring back memories of our other experiences with Texas cold and ice.

When we moved to Texas in the late 1970's, we were expecting heat and humidity but not cold and ice.  After living on a mountain outside of Denver for seventeen years we were acclimated to snow and cold - we thought.  However, on driving to work on January 3, 1979, my first day of employment at the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority, I encountered ice on the overpasses on the freeways.  It was very slick and several cars had spun out on the  roads.  The wind was brisk and with the high humidity it was very cold.  The heater in my rental car was having difficulty keeping the windshields clear.

Upon arrival at the bus maintenance facility where my office was located, I soon learned just how cold it was.  Normally by that hour, the bus fleet should have been out on their routes but the bus parking was completely filled.  I quickly learned why.  Diesel engines are notorious for their difficulty in starting in cold weather.  In Denver we had learned to keep the engines idling overnight during very cold weather.  Also, we kept a good supply of cans of ether on hand.  A good spray of ether into the engine air intake system would roar the engine into life.

Houston had not had bad weather in several years and were not prepared. There was no ether in the bus garage parts rooms.  I had seen an auto parts business a few blocks from the garage so a quick dash to the store yielded a carton of ether.  The clerk said that they had had the cans in stock for several years because there was no demand for it. I dashed back to the bus garage and gave a quick training course on how to start a diesel engine.  You had to be careful because fires were a possible hazard.  Finally the buses started to move but by that time the morning service was a disaster.  Needless to say the first day of service of the new transit agency did not get good press.  WELCOME TO HOUSTON, RICHARD.

A few years later, the family gathered at our home for the Christmas celebration.  Shortly before the holidays a strong weather storm came in and temperatures did not get above freezing for 295 straight hours from December 18 to December 30, 1983.   We learned very quickly that houses in Houston were constructed with the water plumbing in the attics rather than underground.  Within a short time our plumbing was not working.  A good hard look showed the problem point and a hair dryer had us back in service.  

Many of our neighbors were not so fortunate.  Many had left town to visit relatives for the Christmas holidays and soon water was running out from around their front doors.  All  of the neighbors banded together and managed to turn  the water off to most of the homes but not before all of their carpeting and wood floors were ruined. Along with the soaked insulation, it was a major disaster. Vegetation took a big hit.  All of the palm trees, some over one hundred years old, were killed all of the way to the Rio Grande valley.  A trip to Corpus Christi on the coast several months later told just how bad it had been,  All of the trees were just bare trunks with dead fronds on top.  

Later, at the end of 1998 my company relocated us back to Texas from the Boston area. I moved to Ft. Worth a few weeks early and Marcia stayed in Massachusetts to arrange for our move.  A few days before Christmas I planned to fly back and help with the move. Before going to bed the night before my flight, I watched the weather news carefully.  Snow and some ice were forecasted for the morning so I planned an early wake up call.  

Upon arising I looked out of the hotel window and all I saw was ice, very little of my car.  A quick visit to told me that I had a problem.  I could not get into the car because of the thick ice coating.  I started carrying buckets of water (new use of the room's ice bucket) out to the car and slowly I was able to get the front door open to get inside.  I started the engine and  turned the heater to full blast.  From my room I enjoyed my morning coffee waiting for the heater to do its job and, within a short time, I was able to scrap the ice off of the windows.  Now the hard part began.

The roads were very slippery and I made my way slowly towards the airport.  Cars were sliding off  the roadway.  It was apparent that people in north Texas did not have a lot of experience driving on icy streets.  I did well until I tried to go up the off ramp leading to the airport.  Cars in front of me were blocking the road and were not going anywhere.  Quickly I backed down the ramp and drove around the intersection towards the Dallas side until I could take the road back to the airport.  I made it.

In the airport I learned that my flight, along with many others, had been canceled, but I had time to get on a flight to Baltimore.  I reasoned that if I could get to the east coast I would be able to get a flight to home.  My plan worked.  A quick call to Marcia and she was able to meet me in Providence, Rhode Island.  We had an enjoyable Christmas even though most of it was spent packing for our move. 

I digress for another little tale of ice.  In 1974 my company sent me to Munich to consult with the old Messerschmitt airplane company with whom we were competing for the European Space Lab contract.  After a three week period, I was returning to Colorado for Christmas when I slipped on the icy sidewalk outside of the hotel.  I fell on my tail bone and I was stunned.  The pain was such that I could not get up so I laid there hoping someone would come along and help me up. After several long minutes the pain subsided enough for me to get up and reach my car. 

The airplane seats were very uncomfortable but with the aid of some liquid pain killer, I survived the trip to the states.  More bad news was ahead.  An ice storm in Chicago closed O'Hare International Airport, so the plane was diverted to Minneapolis, where we sat for three hours.  They did not have a gate available with customs agents so I sat with my aching tail bone. Arriving back in Chicago I found that my connecting flight had also been delayed, so me and my suffering behind finally made it to Denver and my Christmas heating pad.

Every time I hear of an approaching ice storm my tail bone starts to hurt. 

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FOR MIL'S
by Richard Drake, guest writer
CHS Class of '53