Keep your eyes on the road

This has been one of those winters where we literally have snow up the kazoo.

The other day the snow depth in my backyard was about three feet, which is a pretty fair measurement of that distance starting from the bottom of my shoes. Since then it has melted a little and compacted from rain and warm temperatures.

So it’s more like about two feet deep, but that’s still a lot. Fortunately it did not come down in one big dump but a lot of little ones that added up over the winter.

The latest one was a pretty good snowfall and the roads looked treacherous, but I had to drive through downtown Anchorage yesterday to run an errand. The trip was bumpy but not especially problematic.

The snow season in Anchorage is always interesting and sometimes hazardous, especially for those who drive on unplowed streets and shovel their own walks.

I’m not a shoveler — actually I’m somewhat lame — but my wife is both strong and ambitious so she gets at it after the snow flies. I feel guilty when she heads out with her shovel but that is the extent of my involvement. I do, however, offer her a nice glass of wine when she comes in.

When I read about what I have done I feel even guiltier, but we all have to bear our own burdens. I’m just afraid she might stop shoveling when she reads this column. I’m not gloating, just wallowing in my guilt.

We all have to find our own ways to get through difficult times, like winter after a snowfall. And your burden depends on whether you are the one doing the shoveling or the one trying not to watch.

The drive through downtown Anchorage was interesting, to say the least. There were more potholes in the driving lanes than I have ever seen before. They weren’t deep. The trip was bumpy but other than wear and tear on the automobile, which probably involved little if any damage to the vehicle, it wasn’t really problematic.

Driving through the city at this time of year can be a challenge, perhaps mostly to your memories of life behind the wheel. But with the exception of a few painful adventures, they are generally just part of the price of living here in February.

The good news is that spring and summer are on the way. And my spouse tells me every day that they are — in a way that suggests I had better do what I can to help them get here sooner. The only idea I have come up with is that glass of wine.

Spring will be here soon, the grass and flowers will bloom and the migratory birds will be appearing overhead. And drivers should be on the lookout for young animals wandering into the roadway.

Fortunately their mothers are aware of the danger and generally keep the young ones back away from the moving vehicles. But keep your eyes open when you are behind the wheel.

It’s important.

Tom Brennan is an Anchorage columnist and author of six books. He was a reporter/columnist for The Anchorage Times and an editor and columnist at The Voice of The Times.