A Winter Story That I Have Never Told My Parents

(Picture courtesy of Blazerowners.com)

One winter afternoon when I was 16 years-old, I drove my father's Chevy Blazer down to the mall and noticed that the snowplows had just finished pushing the newly-fallen snow into large mounds near the edge of the parking lot. With a newly-acquired drivers license in my wallet and a brain operating with the logic of a teenage boy, I eyed a giant snow pile that was probably 10 to 15 feet tall and decided that I could definitely make it over it with my four-wheel drive.

I pushed the accelerator to the floor, aimed at the giant snow pile, and gathered momentum as I sped across the mall's parking lot. The Blazer easily overtook the snow pile's incline, and then it happened….

The Blazer stopped suddenly on the peak of the snow pile. I gunned the accelerator a few times in a desperate attempt to dislodge myself but I did not even move an inch. And then the realization hit me, I was stuck.

I had not prepared for such an eventuality and I did not even have mittens or a hat with me. I opened the door and got out to survey the predicament that I had gotten myself into. Immediately, I saw that the body of the Blazer was stuck on top of the snow pile and all four wheels were hanging off it. I got behind the Blazer and tried to push, but this just proved to be an exercise in futility. I then attempted to dig some of the snow out from underneath the Blazer with my bare hands. I quickly stopped once my hands turned red from the cold.

I do not know how much time elapsed during my efforts to free the Blazer, but I was horrified with the thought of having to call my father and explain the situation. At the same time, I realized that I was completely helpless without any further recourse.

And then, I noticed a large truck pull into a parking spot nearby. I climbed down the snow pile and went over to the middle-aged man and explained my predicament. He looked over at the snow pile, laughed, and then went to the back of his truck to get some chains. He attached the chain from the Blazer to his truck and then slowly dislodged me from the top of the snow pile.

WHEW!! The kindness of this stranger saved me from the wrath of my father.

When I returned home that evening, my heart was beating a million times a minute. My father asked me why I had been out so long and I mumbled something in response. I then made my way up to my room with gratitude that I hadn't gotten caught for this one.

18 years later, I still have never breathed a word of this one to my parents; unsure whether a 34 year-old can still be grounded.