Library Notes
December 19, 2003
By Pansy Hundley, Librarian.
I made plans last week-end to go to Oklahoma to visit you know who. I had planned to leave on Saturday afternoon after work.
Well, about Thursday morning, Suzanne called, said the weatherman was calling for many, many inches of snow, beginning on Friday night and into Saturday. So, I started packing the suitcase faster and re-thinking my plans.
Next phone call informed me that the bad weather was coming in earlier than previously expected. So, I crammed stuff in faster. Got that "Hello Dolly" cooked faster, wrote me a note not to forget things in the refrigerator. Still adjusting plans to beat the snowstorm. (And, if you are wondering what in the world "Hello Dolly" is, it is one of the most luscious, delicious, yummy deserts that you ever tasted. And whoever named it that silly name should be shot, or not ever allowed to have another bite of it.)
I had everything in the car, except last minute things, when the next phone call came, saying "You better leave right now. The weatherman is now saying sleet, freezing rain and maybe 5-8 inches of snow."
So, in hopes of beating the Oklahoma snowstorm I left home and headed north on 75 several hours earlier that I had planned. And, after all, life is about learning to roll with the flow, or in this case the snowstorm.
It was raining when I left Farmersville and it continued to do so. I’ve recently learned that one should not drive with the cruise engaged when it’s raining, the reason being that if your car hydroplanes, the cruise will speed up and you don’t have that instant control that you need. For the first time in years, I drove with my foot on the accelerator all the way. I love the cruise control. Would not buy a car without one. If I were spoilable, you might say that I’m spoiled to it – if I were spoilable.
I passed through Ardmore, still raining, with no ice forming on my windshield. I passed through Pauls Valley, still raining, but no ice. I thought that I was surely going to make it.
As I drove into the outskirts of Norman, the rain was still liquid. My front-wheel drive car does great in snow, proven almost exactly three years ago when Cheyenne was born, with several inches of snow on the ground.
But, nothing does good on ice, not even 18-wheelers, as evidenced by some that have turned completely over sometimes, when everything ices up.
I finally arrived at Suzie’s house, rain still on the windshield, breathed a great sigh of relief, opened my car door and heard the sleet begin falling!
Suzanne drove in about an hour behind me, and the snow had started. She had hit a slick spot in the road, so the sleet was accumulating. It snowed for a few hours, with us safe and snug in the house.
The ground had a good covering the next morning and that was it. I had looked forward to watching it snow on Saturday, child that I am. It didn’t snow another flake. The front had swung off to the side and Norman just caught the edge of it. About thirty or forty miles on north of us, they had five inches. They got my snow.
I’ll be there at the young man’s house over Christmas and beyond. Wouldn’t be a bit surprised if I’m treated to some snow during that time.
Now you know the story of the snowstorm that didn’t happen. So, on to a book. We’ll talk about that, since I’m talked out about the snow that almost came.
And, what better book to talk about than a new one by John Sandford. He’s telling us the story of "The Hanged Man’s Song". Now, you’ll have to read the book to find out how in the world a hanged man can sing, I guess. Never heard of such.
"Prey fans everywhere have embraced the return of Sandford’s other charismatic hero, Kidd – artist, computer whiz, and professional criminal – and his sometime partner, sometime lover, LuEllen.
"A superhacker friend of Kidd’s named Bobby, suddenly disappears from cyberspace, and Kidd knows that isn’t a good sign. Then, when he goes to Bobby’s house, Kidd finds him dead on the floor, his head bashed in and his laptop missing – and Kidd knows that really isn’t a good sign. The secrets on that laptop are potent enough to hang Kidd and everybody else in Bobby’s circle, just to start with, so there’s no question that Kidd and LuEllen have to try to track it down – not to mention that Kidd would dearly love to get his hands on the man who killed Bobby. But before Kidd can get very far, the secrets start coming out anyway….and they’re more staggering than even he had imagined.
Because it’s not just about the lives of a circle of friends and colleagues now, oh no – It’s about something much, much bigger. And much, much scarier…………"