Open Letter To All North Dakotans Who Never Get To Stay Home

Today seems like a good time to revisit a story I shared with y'all during the April Easter Blizzard of 2022. It still applies today as I came barreling into the parking lot at work around 4:30 this morning. Here's the "phrase that pays"

Today's words of wisdom are "COMING IN HOT!"

Your first challenge today will be getting out of your neighborhood. In blizzard conditions, residential streets are pretty-near impassable. You need clearance and commitment. Also, you need to be coming in hot. As you can see in the picture that's exactly what I did. How about you? Will you be drift-busting heading to work this morning? If so, here's my story from April.

You are not alone

Be it a big bad blizzard or big bad mandates...These people are still busy as a beaver.

I'd love to take a turn at being "stuck at home" sometime.

I like being at home. Me and Brenda just moved into our house and have a ton of projects to get accomplished (including unpacking!). So being stuck at home due to a nasty Spring blizzard would be just the thing! Well, as it turns out, we both have worked every day since the snow started falling. I'm not saying this makes us tougher than anyone else, it's just job responsibilities that call for SOMEONE to be on the job.

Are you one of those SOMEONE?

Let's call us the "never-get-stuckers".

I'm fortunate(?) to have access to a big ol' 4-wheel drive company truck that has the clearance you need to get just about anywhere anytime. So that's the first requirement. If you've got the truck, people not only ask you to help them move their stuff, but you also don't have a solid excuse why you can't make it to work. Don't get me wrong, in my blizzard travels I've seen many a rig snagged in the snow on Bismarck's side streets. Four-wheel drive isn't always a cure for ice-coated roads covered in two feet of snow. But I swapped out my Impala for company four-wheel drive before the first flake fell. My car's now surrounded by snowdrifts just awaiting spring thaw before hitting the street again.

What are the things that are driving people stir-crazy stuck at home?

We "never-get-stuckers" are curious...Did you run out of food? Run out of booze? Binge-watch all that crap you said you were gonna?

I can imagine just the idea of not being able to go anywhere is maddening. Like being in prison! I guess, y'know, if the prison had all your stuff, your dog, your favorite snacks, your dog's favorite snacks, and Disney streaming. Not to say there haven't been a couple of times I've been sick and stuck at home.

Like that time I actually had COVID.

But, that wasn't being forced to stay home, that was me sleeping for three days. Speaking of Covid, other than that, I've been on the job ever since the pandemic hit. My job is considered "essential" so I had the traveling papers necessary to work when most were forced to stay home. Brenda was the same way she didn't stop working one bit. Except that one week she caught COVID.

In years past, I've actually had snowmobiles come and get me.

ME: I'm snowed in! There's no way I can get out and your four-wheel drives will never make it down my street! Sorry to say I just can't make it in today.

THEM: We're sending a snowmobile.

We're all essential in our jobs or we probably wouldn't have them. But there is a certain segment of the workforce that has never experienced cabin fever or gone quarantine crazy under COVID house arrest. I'd like to give it a try sometime...just to see how long before I'd start crawling the walls. Maybe I'd read a book.