First week back in the Ozarks

I left Kentucky on January 12th and flew into Kansas City, Missouri only to be greeted by the destructive snow and ice storm that made national news. On the way back from the airport to the school, we heard that an email had been sent out saying, "If you haven't left home yet, stay where you are until further notice." A little late for that! School was supposed to start January 15th, but it was cancelled until the 22nd. Camden County (where I live) was declared a natural disaster. Power outages, vehicles in ditches, crashed trees, ripped off branches, and downed transformers greeted us when we returned from our Christmas break.

Even Wal-mart was out of electricity for thirteen hours! Those of us here on campus were out of power for twenty-four hours so we kept our flashlights and candles handy. Walking around anywhere outside was precarious since everything everywhere was completely iced over. Freezing temperatures for six days kept all the ice solidly intact. One night around 9:00 we heard repeated gun shots very close to our apartment. We found out later that one of the men on the Grounds Crew was shooting ice out of a tree with a 12 guage shotgun. Because the tree branches were so heavy, they were in danger of falling on the power lines.