Dottie, Michael, and I returned yesterday from a Thanksgiving visit with my oldest sister, Leslie, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Dottie and I left Monday morning of last week, spent the first night in North Platte, Nebraska and then arrived in Lee’s Summit late Tuesday afternoon. We then picked up Michael who has been living in Kansas City for the last several months working on developing his online web development and copy writing business. We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving week with Leslie and her husband, Ray. Many of Ray’s family joined us on Thanksgiving day for a party and dinner that Leslie orchestrated, and it was a pleasure to meet this side of the family for the first time. Our stay was enjoyable in all respects, save for the driving. I don’t enjoy driving long distances, but the drudgery was relieved by Michael’s willingness to serve a fair share of time behind the wheel.

One concern for our trip was the weather. Encountering a blizzard in Wyoming or Kansas was something we definitely wanted to avoid. Thankfully, the conditions were near perfect, and our drive was uneventful save for one short but unforgettable experience as we neared the Wyoming-Nebraska border near Cheyenne. As we climbed a mountain pass, we encountered a brief snow squall. The snow, the air temperature, and the speed we were traveling at, all combined to create a "perfect storm" event. Almost instantly, the road surface iced over, and we found ourselves traveling fifty miles per hour on sheet ice. Dottie was driving at the time, and we both tensed as we realized the danger we were in. The road was glistening, and we could feel the tires of our Subaru beginning to lose traction. While this was taking place, I noticed a Jeep Cherokee coming up quickly in the left lane. I turned to take a closer look and was startled to see the back of the car sliding from side to side in short arcs. As it passed us, time seemed to shift into slow motion as our situation rapidly deteriorated. As Dottie fought to maintain control of our car, I watched the driver of the Cherokee frantically wrenching his steering wheel from side to side to try and regain control of his vehicle. His actions were too late to do anything but delay the inevitable. The pendulum swinging of the car’s back end reached a point of no return, and fifteen feet in front of us, the car went into a full spin. We braced ourselves, knowing there was nothing we could do but to hope we could somehow avoid disaster.

The jeep completed two full 360s but, incredibly, remained entirely in its own lane. As its spinning slowed, the car began to slide toward us, and Dottie, knowing that a collision was close at hand, voiced her point of near panic by saying, "I don't want to be here.” Miraculously, she kept us in the clear. While the Cherokee slid toward us, she slowly eased our car toward the shoulder of the highway while simultaneously accelerating as much as she dared. She handled it perfectly. The jeep crossed into our lane just as we cleared its path. One second later, and we never would have made it to my sister's. We exited the freeway, pulled into a gas station, and offered a prayer of gratitude. It was a very close call we were blessed to miss!