I attended a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at a friend's house in Warren, Vt. tonight and risked life and limb in doing so. In all the years I have been traveling to visit my friend Joan, up near the Sugarbush ski area, I have never had trouble making it up her road, but tonight I skid all over the place, barely making it to the top. Joan, practically lives in Heaven.
After I recovered and we helped dig another friend out of the snow, Joan and I set off in her 4-wheel drive Tracker down the road to the Christmas tree lighting. The passenger side of the Tracker is presently without a seatbelt and I never travel without a seatbelt but since we were only going a short distance, I conceded. Driving slowly down the hill, in 4-Wheel drive, Joan's vehicle suddenly spun out of control and we did a complete turn down the hill ended up in a ditch facing uphill. While we were spinning and I feared we would crash I matter-of-factly announced "I'm not wearing a seatbelt." We had to get a bunch of guys and a tractor to get us out.
We walked to our friend's house, had food and hot wine and watched the tree lighting, which was admittedly peaceful. I still feared making it back to Joan's and then over the icy roads to my house, but I survived. Now off to bed, to sleep, to dream.