Plowing Ahead

The Jeep Wrangler I currently own is the first car that ever elicited remarks from friends "This is you." I can understand the analogy. It’s a rugged but stunted vehicle. It’s got one of those attention-getting mufflers, so it is rather loud and obnoxious. It’s gray, which on a Wrangler means it’s multiple shades of gray, simple looking yet complex at the same time. It’s propped up on oversize tires, so it can run through pretty much anything. And it’s a hard top model.
When buying the vehicle, I specifically wanted something that could plow snow. I’d had enough with relying on others to take care of the properties and wanted a vehicle that could accommodate my self sufficiency issues.
After the first setback in November 2010, I stopped driving again. No one took my keys away, nor did anyone have to. I stopped on my own because driving presented a clear and present danger to myself and others.
I was off road again for a number of weeks, but making short trips on my own in December 2010. I already related the trip that made me stop driving entirely at night in "Midnight Ride." (December, 2011) After even the first setback, my eyes could no longer process dim lighting well enough for me to feel safe driving at night.
I could still do OK in daytime, depending on angle of the sun and contrasting areas of bright light and deep shade.
I was surprised to see how well I could plow snow at night. That specific driving task proved easier at night than during the day due to sun glare. At night, the white blankets that covered Rhode Island on a weekly basis for six weeks probed a uniform cover of white that my eyes could easily accommodate. This does not mean I took extra jobs; I stuck only to my property obligations and one neighbor. I dropped the regular gigs outside my neighborhood and took my time. Nighttime plowing also proved easier because I had to contend with fewer cars on the road. The fact that I intimately know the areas where I worked also made the plowing a surprisingly trouble free task, so easy a blind guy can do it.
Unfortunately, the stress and exertion of so much plowing that year took its toll. While not scientifically proven, I am confident that the heavy workload triggered the second setback. I limped home from what luckily proved the last storm of the year with a stringy gray cloud further obscuring my vision. That took me off the road for several more weeks until things recovered enough for me to regain reasonable certainty that I would not endanger others.
I’d been cooped up again and wanted a taste of those old freedoms and my all-important self-sufficiency.
I felt ready for another excursion.