Don't forget Mother Nature

Our Halloween weather today could not have been more fitting: stormy, cold, wet, windy, grey. I needed to drive in and out of Chicago one more time, finalizing some repairs on our condo before the new tenants move in tomorrow. The drive to Chicago in mid-morning proved a challenge insofar as the high winds were concerned, but conditions were dry. By the time I got into town, however, there was a steady mixture of rain and sleet and snow. The wind continued to gust quite fiercely as I drove north along Lake Shore Drive. Lake Michigan tossed and rolled and smote the shoreline and the breakwaters with mesmerizing strength. I wanted to keep my eyes on all that lake activity, but it also seemed important to keep the car under control!

Later in the afternoon I headed back south along the drive. Weather conditions were worse. In fact, as I left our condo to load my bits and bobs into the car, I had to struggle against wind-driven sleet. It made me remember the line 'Tain't a fit night out for man nor beast from an old W.C. Fields film.  The southbound journey kept me busy controlling the car. Traffic was lashed by powerful wind gusts that drove an astonishing amount of sleet onto the cars. And all the while, every time the road approached the actual shore of Lake Michigan, I could see the grey, angry waves washing over the beaches. I think I like Lake Michigan best when storms drive it into Chicago.

It's easy to forget how fickle and dangerous open water can be. The beaches that stretch so invitingly in the summer disappeared today. And the harbors in which the boats ride safely in good weather rocked and rolled from the wind-driven waves. Mother Nature put on quite a spectacle today.

The final, entertaining touch, however, occurred whilst I was battling my car on the Indiana Tollway, heading home. My hands welded themselves to the steering wheel, as those dangerously high winds rocked the car pretty strongly. While I fought that battle, the sleet pelted everything relentlessly and a flotilla of semis hemmed me in. Nerve-wracking? Indeed. But, here's the entertainment: as I'm desperately focused on safely navigating this patch, WFMT Chicago begins broadcasting Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"! Yes, indeed, the perfect soundtrack for my own wild ride. I felt like Freya herself!

I laughed and let loose a few Valkyrie-inspired whoops and drove on.