That'll be a cold day in... Gainesville!

GAINES-VEGAS – I got home late Thursday afternoon. It was around 4:30. I bombed the last final, but that was the last thing on my mind. A wiser man would have stayed in Athens and waited for the ice to melt before trying to brave the roads. I was not that wise. I left Athens around 2:30 to make the forty-five minute drive home. That time would be doubled (at least). 316 was fine; no ice on the road or trees or power lines down. It was when I got off of 316 that things went south… quickly. I spent the entire remainder of the trip dodging trees, downed power lines and patches of ice that covered large stretches of the road. It took an hour and a half, but there was no damage done to me or anyone else, so I counted my blessings. As I rounded the corner and saw my house (completely decorated for Christmas and with ice in the trees in front of the house and along the driveway), I thought to myself that I had surely made the right decision to brave the ice and cold and come on home. It was when I pulled up the driveway that I immediately reconsidered that decision. My dad and brothers exited the garage in full winter gear carrying chainsaws and instructing me to unload, change clothes and quickly accompany them out to the street to begin moving downed trees. I could tell already that I had made a huge mistake. As I entered the house, I noticed that it was as cold as __________. Apparently, the power had been off of some ten hours. It was cold and dark. I changed as quickly as I could under the circumstances and ventured outside to begin chopping and removing fallen trees from the road in front of our house. It wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated, but I still missed Athens and I had only been home for eighteen minutes. How long 'till the Sugar Bowl trip?

MORE TO COME.......