8:53 a.m. - 2012-10-20
EARLY FROST
Last week I was working an early shift and had to leave at 0530 because of the length of my commute. My apartment complex doesn't give us garages, so I dread the winter, when I have to scrape my windshield every day, like William H Macy in "Fargo." When I got to the parking lot, sure enough, you betcha, my car was covered with frost and ice.

I had something extra that I was taking to work, so I tried to open the car from the passenger side to set it on the seat. But the door was frozen shut, and even though I unlocked it, I couldn't get it to open. Luckily when I tried the driver's side it opened without any problem--maybe something to do with the direction of the wind the night before.

Got into my car, turned the ignition, started the defroster and grabbed the ice scraper, which I had put inside a few days earlier in anticipation of some cold weather. After a few minutes I was ready to go.

It was too dark to enjoy the fall colors, but the sky was very clear and I got a great look at the moon and stars. I like having the early shift because there aren't that many cars on the road and the sun is never in my eyes since there is no sun yet.

I was about five miles into my commute when I heard a strange whistling sound from the passenger side of the car. Took me a few minutes to figure out that the door on that side was partly open. My yanking and pounding when it was frozen had produced no result, but once the ice holding it in place was frozen it became an open road safety hazard.

I was still a few miles from my expressway entrance ramp, so I looked around for a place to pull over. Found one at a not yet open business, pulled in and corrected the problem.

That could have been a real problem if the door had swung open at 65 mph. Guess I'll have to stick to using only the driver's side door during the cold weather months, or get rich enough to afford a garage.

Like that will ever happen.

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