Bad luck Friday

I normally drive a old Reagan-era sedan, but after and ice storm Tuesday the doors were iced shut, and I couldn't get them open, so I left it parked in front of the house. Wednesday and Thursday I drove Patricia's car - which meant I had to drive her to and from the school where she substitute teaches.

We got four inches of snow early Friday morning. School was cancelled, so I had Patricia's car - a Hyundai Sonata - all to myself. BUT there was so much snow and slush that Friday evening I couldn't get the car up either driveway - the one to the garage or the one in front of the house. This is the first time this ever happened to me in the three and a half years we've lived in this house. If I was driving my own car - which is a lot larger - I probably could have made it.

I parked the car two blocks away in the parking lot of a church and walked back home. NOW the story gets worse.

Saturday morning I walked back to the car, but it was so cold that I couldn't get the doors open again, despite the fact there was no precipitation overnight. After a while I got a back door open. I got into the back seat, and after some great effort, climbed into the front seat. I started the car and drove to work.

When I got the office, I still couldn't open the driver's side door. There were people inside the building, but nobody saw me, and my cell phone was dead - the battery had drained overnight while it sat in the car overnight - so I couldn't call anyone.

I assumed someone would eventually come to work, but I sat for 45 minutes, and gave up. I drove to a fire station to ask for help, but when I pulled into the parking lot of the fire station, I gave the driver's door a last shove, and it finally opened.

I drove to back to the office. By that time, TWO people had come to work. I also learned that someone had opened the door to the building while I sat there, but he saw me sitting in the car and didn't think about it. No one ever noticed I didn't come in the building.

Later in the day the temperature rose above freezing, and now most of the snow has melted. I hope to drive my own car to work Monday. It seems something is wrong with the front passenger door - the latch in the door seems jammed, maybe it was damaged by the freeze - so I will take it to a shop to be looked at.