From the Archives

With this wonderful winter weather we are having, I thought I would replay one of my favorite winter stories.

January 1st, 2005

Friday night after finishing up a rough day slaving away protecting the interests of the public as they drive on our state highways, I was just lounging around the house playing video games. I know real mature. Nate called me around 4:30 asking me if I want to go out for a happy hour. I asked him, “Well, how happy do you want to get?” Nate said just a couple drinks. Shortly after that call, Jay called me and told me that his wife had to work that night and he was looking to get into some trouble. I asked him, “Well, how much trouble do you want to get into?” Nate and Jay both stopped over and we had a beer or two. Then we went to Shepards in Wauwatosa and thought it would be a good idea to have a couple pitchers, some pizza, and play some Golden Tee. Around 8 or 9 that night the snow really started coming down. I had the brainstorm to go sledding that night. In fact I had been thinking about getting some sledding in that night since I had heard earlier in the day that we were supposed to get dumped on. It was around midnight when the three of us decided to get out of the bar and get ready to go sledding. Nate drove home, Jay and I went to Jay’s place where he changed and then we picked up Nate. Once we got back to my house, I got ready and then I grabbed some rope and looped it around one of the tie downs in the bed of my truck and then tied the two ends each to a sled. For the next half hour to 45 minutes I developed quite the racetrack around 2 or three blocks in my subdivision, at times hitting 40 m.p.h, all of this with Nate and Jay in tow behind in sleds. When we stopped, Nate and Jay were just coved with snow from head to toe. Then looked like Luke Skywalker when he got stuck out in the snow on a ton-ton in the Empire Strikes Back. Nate took over the driving, I told him, just be careful and don’t hit any curbs. Nate was a little more adventurous in his driving than I was. We started by my house, then Nate found the Honeycreek Parkway. He took that until we crossed Bluemound, then down Wisconsin Avenue to 76th street. And we went to cross 76th street again, Nate noticed it was too late to stop so we ran a red light. We circled around my house a little more, then hit the parkway again, which we took all the way down in to Tosa. Upon turning around and heading back up the park way, we passed a Volkswagon wagon just struggling to get up the hill, and the passengers decided it would be fun to yell expletives at us. On the way back to my house, not only did Nate nail a curb, but then I nailed it with the sled as I followed. Good driving buddy. But the Toyota held up and the steering is still in alignment. We decided to call it quits on the sledding around 3:30 a.m. And I was ready to call it a night, but then Nate said, why don’t you guys stop by and jump in the hot tub. After about an hour in the hot tub I was starting to fall asleep, I told them that was it and I got home and was finally in bed by 5 in the morning. A good time was had by all, however both Nate and Jay’s significant others wouldn’t quite agree. I believe Michel started talking to Nate again couple days later.