winter in july

Why would I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about winter?  Is it because I'm already nervous about what I may be facing come November?  I've been nervous about it since moving here, like a dreaded visit to the dentist; you know it's coming, but you don't have to like it.

One of the 2 things people gasp about when mentioning Chicago is the winters (I've already addressed the traffic).  I really have no idea what I'm facing until it gets here, and hopefully it will be kind to me.  Still, being a true Southerner, I have major concerns.  It's not the cold that wakes me in the middle of the night - I think I can handle cold; you just bundle up and try not to be out in it more than necessary.  The white stuff is what has me sweating bullets.  I don't do snow.  I think it's beautiful, and love to see it falling, and think a pristine landscape of new-fallen snow brings a luster of midday...I mean, is a wondrous sight.  All of this is because I so rarely experience any of it.

Snow, where I come from, is a treat.  It's a rarity, especially more than a "dusting" of it.  Even more rare is enough snow that it causes driving issues.  Last winter in Alabama, we did have more snow than in a decade or so, but still never more than an inch or two at a time.  The problems caused by the snow was not so much the snow as the low supply of salty stuff to melt it from the roadways.  When you don't expect to need much, you don't waste money stocking up.

Here, people talk about snow as a fact of life, and I'm sure it is.  But I thought they had things like snowplows and salt trucks to whisk it away, making driving no more of an issue than any other day.  Evidently, there's not enough of either to clear all the roads, and while my drive to work consists primarily of main thoroughfares, I suppose I will be forced to face a snow and ice covered street somewhere along the way.

Co-workers suggest I will need to swap my perfectly good tires out for "snow" tires.  My imagination soars...tires filled with salt that sprays out ahead of my path and clears the way, or tires with little spikes like boots climbers use.  Research, however, tells me they have special treads that bite into snow for better traction, and softer rubber to stay flexible in the cold.  The biggest question, however, is what to do with my "regular" tires?  Put them in the living room covered with a comforter and call it a spare chair?

The best suggestion by far is the "practice" suggestion.  A guy said at the first snow, I should find a big, empty parking lot and practice driving.  Sound advice except for two immediate holes - first, how do I get to the big empty lot without driving in the snow, and second, where the hell am I going to find a big empty lot in downtown Chicago?

There are all kinds of ways to practice things, like your golf swing, or surfing, or skiing, without going to any of the actual venues for those things.  Where can I find a place to practice snow-driving before faced with the reality?  Unfortunately, my practice will take place in the real world, and just like everything else here, once I try it a few times, I'm sure I'll become quite the pro.  If my car is still in one piece.