by Mike Mulhern

Created on: January 19, 2010

He turned onto his road and felt that familiar nervousness welling up.  It had been snowing most of the day and he knew his driveway awaited. 

The driveway was pretty long, a couple of hundred feet at least, and it was steep.  Very steep.  And on days when several inches of snow had accumulated… well, let’s just say it was a challenge.

The nervousness grew as he approached the driveway.  Please be plowed, he thought.  C’mon, please, please, please be plowed.

The driveway appeared in his headlights.  It wasn’t plowed.

Those infernal plow guys! he thought.  Oh well, let’s hit it.

He turned into the driveway and started up.  The first 50 feet or so weren’t so bad, but then came the steeper part.  He motored on, up… up… up… and then his tires began to spin.  His heart sank and he stepped on the brake.  He exhaled in one long breath.  He knew it was futile, but just for the heck of it he quickly moved his foot from the brake back to the gas pedal.  Not only did the wheels spin wildly, the entire car began to swivel sideways.

“Gaaahhhhhh!” he sputtered as he shot his foot back over to the brake.  In his haste he missed the brake the first time but his foot finally stomped down on the pedal, halting the car’s sideways progress.

He exhaled again.  His neighbor’s car had gone off the driveway last week and they’d needed a tow truck to come and winch it out of the ditch.  No way was he going that route.  He wouldn’t be able to tease his neighbor anymore.

He put the car in reverse and carefully removed his foot from the brake.  He righted the car and slowly backed down the length of the driveway. 

The snow shovel was in the trunk.  He didn’t want to shovel.  It was cold out.  Windy.  Snowing like crazy now.  He was tired.  Still in his work clothes.  He had to pee. 

He stared at the snowy driveway.  The tracks leading upwards seemed to beckon to him.  Maybe some more momentum is all I need, he thought.  Why not?  Let’s go for it!

He gunned the engine, shifted into drive and lurched back up the driveway.  The first 50 feet were good to gather some speed, and then he hit the steep part again.  The car motored along.  He passed the part where his tracks ended the first time and kept going. 

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