Good Idea/Bad Idea?

There’s a moment in life we all share in common. Actually, rather than ‘a moment’ I should probably call it a type of moment. It is, none-the-less, a shared experience. Regardless of the environment of the circumstances, it’s the moment when we think (or say) to ourselves, “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”

You know the moment. The moment your feet leave the cliff and the water starts rushing upward. The moment an open hand meets your face after you offered what you thought was very constructive criticism. The moment you hear the first scream from the room next door in the hotel you chose so you could save $50. You know the moment.

I had one of those moments today. As I saw the car 3-4 cars ahead of me spin around twice and end up in the median, I thought, “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” What was my ‘bad idea’? I chose to drive to Memphis today with full knowledge that a snow storm was coming.

I have a class at 8 o’clock in the morning. I didn’t want to end up stuck in Florence because of snow while my class met in Memphis. Or my 11:00 class or my 1:00 class for that matter. So I made the decision to leave early and drive to Memphis. Was it a bad idea?

Let’s recap the trip: I left Florence around 11:00 am. According to most weather reports the snow was supposed to start in Memphis after 12:00. The drive from Florence to Memphis takes about 2 ½ to 3 hours. That would put me in Memphis at 1:30 at the earliest. I left anyway.

Most of the trip was uneventful. I made it almost all the way through Mississippi before I saw the first snowflake. I didn’t notice any snow on the road until I was in Tennessee. Then came the spinning car mentioned earlier. The roads in Memphis were treacherous to say the least. I saw at least 3 cars lose control and spin out. Luckily they were all well ahead of me or behind me. Eventually traffic slowed to a crawl. It took me about an hour and a half to get to the house once I arrived in Memphis.

But here I am. Alone in the commuter housing I call home on Wednesday nights. The question remains, was it a bad idea?

I’m going to have to go out and get something to eat later. I’ll probably walk because the roads are…well you know. I hope something is open. The prospect of classes meeting tomorrow looks slim at best. I’m going to leave the answer to the question up to the outcome of those two uncertainties. Can I get something to eat tonight and will we have class tomorrow.

But I’m starting to think that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

*UPDATE* - I found some food. But no classes tomorrow. Do I guess it's still 50/50...