When I woke up this morning and looked outside, it appeared as though we were in for a day of winter storming unlike any we have had in some time. Stupid me, I thought.
Winter's not supposed to come for another 39 days. That's ok, I thought to myself. Certainly the majority of my students, would brave the wintry chill to come out and discuss real news vs fake news at the Dollard des Ormeaux Seniors Club.
I was..er...mistaken.
That's OK, though. Those that came have a passion for the material and a passion for sharing their stories with our readers. Here are their stories
"Got out of the house early this morning as I had a Tai Chi class at 9 a.m.,' wrote student Bess Miller. "First, I had to worry about the driveway. Would it be cleared (in time)? Then, of course the roads in Dollard des Ormeaux had to be negotiated. All that went well, and miraculously, I was out on time. I got to the parking lot (at the Dollard Seniors Club) and it was nearly empty. I walked in to the centre, I wondered if my class would even be held," she said. "I walked into the class and I was the only one there. 'Yay,' I thought to myself. A private class.' Within fifteen minutes, though, three other students showed up. The class, though, usually has 10 people in it. Where were they all? After the class, I went to the kitchen area of the centre where Meals on Wheels was preparing their run for the day. The cook who normally looks after those shut-ins was herself trapped inside her home and unable to get out. Other volunteers had showed up to cover for her. When that was done, I ran into one of the (fitness) teachers, who said 'Some days are not good. Today is one of those days, as her car was not starting and we had to drive her home. After we had gotten her safely home, we still had to get brunch and get back to Marc's class at 1 p.m.' --- Bess Miller.
Her husband, Alan Miller told a similar tale of snowy woe.
"My first flash of concern was this morning at 4 a.m. when I realized that it was snowing heavier than I thought. And that for the first time in my memory, I still do not have my snow tires on at such a late date. It would be another week before I can get into the garage and put on the snow tires.Then I looked at the the driveway and it was full of snow and I could see that the contractor had only cleaned half of the driveway. Oh, and we have a downsloped driveway and the snow accumulates like crazy. So I went on my phone and texted the contractor to ask him when he would complete the driveway. I then went back to sleep maybe for another hour or so, warm and content in the fact that my driveway would be clear. Then getting together with Bess, who just woke up around 7 or so to get dressed, had breakfast and got into the car to drive to the seniors centre where we had a Tai Chi class this morning. The roads weren't as bad as I had anticipated, but my biggest worry then was whether or not I could use my sneakers to go in the snow, but I decided to wear my winter boots. We got to the Tai Chi class on time and very happy to see that four of us showed up usually of a class far more people than we would see this morning. It was a really good class and we enjoyed ourselves," he said.
The couple both made it to my class on time, safe and sound. Pretty much, anyway.
Fellow student Maureen Scallion said she also struggled against the elements to get out and make it to the class on time.
"My husband always wanted to miss work on the first snow day of the year," she said. "He's retired now, so he got his wish. He got up to start shovelling at 7 a.m. and even though his car was in the garage, mine was still covered in snow. After he shovelled for half an hour, the city plow was kind enough to come along and pile more snow at the end of my driveway and leave me even more stranded.When I came out of the house, I knew I would be too late for my 9 a.m.Tai Chi class as the roads were also extremely slippery. At 9:30, my husband finished shovelling and said I could go to the class. I didn't end up making that one, but only a third of the class had managed to make it in for my 10 a.m. Spanish class. The class had changed rooms, though.. so I was even late for that one," she said, laughing.
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