OCR Text |
Show April 1 03.qxd 12/7/2021 3:49 PM Volume VII Issue XII Page 7 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 7 April 1, 2003 Went into a Ditch and Have a Broken Finger—Not related By: Drienie Hattingh The Wasatch Mountains disappeared as the plane soared above the clouds. I was on my way to spend a week with Yolandi in Minnesota, helping her to find a better apartment, and to help pack for the intended move. But it turned out that it wasn’t all work. We often went to Yolandi’s favorite coffee shop, Amazing Graze, where I met her friends. We also went out to dinner and rented movies. I also spent time with my friends Marlene, Sonia and Mary in our old neighborhood, and even went to the John Beargrease Dog Sledding Marathon. It was wonderful driving up the North Shore of Lake Superior again. I knew every lodge, beach, and quaint little town. Driving up highway 61 (the road to Canada) with frozen Lake Superior glistening in the early morning sun, I could not believe I was there. I drove up Gunflint Trail and was alone in the northern wilderness, surrounded by snow-covered pine forests. It was a typical cloudless 20 below zero Minnesota winter day. I drove into the checkpoint at the Trail Center and a familiar colorful scene greeted me—officials, handlers, and spectators in brightly colored parkas. Hats and scarves stood in the fresh snow and around campfires, waiting for the first “mushers” to come over the frozen Poplar Lake. “Drienie! You came!” someone shouted. It was Julie O’Connor, one of my Beargrease friends. We hugged. “Rita will be so surprised to see you!” I did a story on Rita a couple of years ago for a magazine, and fell in love with the Beargrease. I had made many friends. Then we saw Rita’s familiar pink parka as she and her team came across the frozen lake! After she clocked in she saw me. “You came all the way from Utah!” she shouted, and threw her arms around me. Later I walked into the Trail Center, calling out in amazement, “Stacey!” It was another friend. Her Christmas card had Please send your announcements & photos to: read, “Hope to see you at the Beargrease!” And here we were! Later we stood around campfires, waiting for more teams to come in. I heard all the stories about who scratched and why, and who was where in the race. Later Rita, her handlers Ed Dallas and Chris, and I had breakfast while they planned strategies for the rest of the race—I was in the middle of it all again. All too soon I had to leave to meet Yolandi. We were to go see an apartment at 4:00. But I had to postpone our appointment because of the heavy snow that had begun to fall while I drove down the Gunflint Trail—I ended up landing in a ditch! I was stunned, and all alone in the wilderness—civilization was far away. The snow came right up to the windows. I pushed hard, and the door opened. I made my way through the snow, climbing up the hill. Then, miraculously, I saw a car passing on the road above me. I ran to the middle of the road and waved, and the driver saw me and stopped! I called AAA from Grand Marais and an hour later a truck pulled my car out. Yolandi and I saw the apartment the next day and loved it. The rent was less than she was currently paying, it was located in a much better area, along a bus route, and even situated on the first floor—no more three flights of stairs to climb to reach Yolandi’s apartment! It even had its own, clean Laundromat in the building! Mr. Rude the landlord, who was actually very friendly, said that the apartment might be empty by the weekend. I postponed my flight home till the following Tuesday. Perhaps I could help Yolandi move! That night Yolandi and I did her laundry. “Mom you will love this Laundromat!” she said. I did not—it was filthy. When I dropped something on the floor, I washed it again. Yolandi felt the same, but she loved the birdcages above the washing machines. “It is so nice listening to their chatter while washing clothes.” I wasn’t that impressed, and when I saw the characters that came to do their laundry, I added another scoop of Clorox to Yolandi’s wash. The Laundromat supervisor who, every now and again, shuffled into the Laundromat from a darkly lit room in the back did not do a lot for the ambiance of the place either. Talk about the perfect setting for a horror movie! And this is where I fell and broke my finger. I do not know what hurt more—the pain shooting up my hand or the knowledge that I was lying sprawled out on that dirty floor! I wanted to strangle the chattering birds. I got up, thinking my hand was fine, and carried on folding the clothes. The next day I continued helping Yolandi pack and clean until my hand puffed up and turned blue, and my rings began strangling my finger. I went to the doctor. I wanted him to cut the rings off, but noooooo . . . He said he could pry them off! After a painful hour, the ring got stuck on my knuckle. It could not be moved forward or backward. My finger turned dark purple. Dr. know-it-all then decided to cut the ring off, but could not get the cutter between my knuckle and ring. The pain was excruciating. Doctor “smart” departed, and a young man appeared, smiling sweetly. I looked at him suspiciously through my tears—was he sent to cut my finger off? He produced a tube of clear Jell-O like stuff and took my hand and massaged it into my finger. “Where is that lovely accent from?” he asked sweetly. His smile disappeared fast when my tearstained face turned red (not from the pain), and my right hand formed a fist. Just then the ring came off. “The next ring will come off easier” he declared. I’m sure he forgave me when I called him “stupid.” “Just cut the d—- ring off!” I said through clenched teeth. He obliged swiftly, and in two seconds the ring was off. X-rays showed that my finger was broken. I left the hospital with my tortured finger splinted to a steel strip. The friendly Mr. Rude called on the morning I had to leave. “The previous renter left, and you can move in now!” I postponed my flight again for another two days, and we moved Yolandi into the apartment. We worked hard until we were exhausted. The morning before my flight home, I put the last of Yolandi’s wash into a dryer in the lovely new, bright, clean Laundromat. I smiled contentedly thinking of her apartment on the first floor. All the boxes were emptied and everything put away in its proper place. I could not believe all we had accomplished. Yolandi was thrilled, and I smiled thinking of what Mr. Rude had said halfway through the move upon gazing at my broken finger . . . “What would this world do without mothers?” Please visit me at my new Brokerage RE/MAX Associated Realtors, in our convenient location at Valley Market ! (2555 Wolf Creek Dr., Eden) Homes, Townhomes & Lots Price Reduced! OGDEN VALLEY NEWS P O BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 Announcements are placed free of charge. It’s Baseball and Softball Time Again! Registration deadline for baseball and softball is April 19. Registration forms will be handed out to every student at Valley Elementary, and available in the office at Snowcrest Jr. High. Registration will also be on April 2 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at Valley Elementary. Forms are also available at the Huntsville and Eden Post Offices. Completed forms can be mailed to: Ogden Valley Sports & Recreation Wolf Star Townhome Wolf Creek Wonderful 2 BR/2 BA Remodeled, Pet's OK, 2 Car Garage $189,900! Moose Hollow Eden $164,000 Deluxe End Unit! 2 BR/ 2 BA on the Golf Course! Wolf Creek $239,900 Beautiful 3 BR/2.5 BA home. Vaulted ceilings, Open Floorplan, Master on main. On .88 acre! New Listing! Price Reduced! Wolf Star Townhome Wolf Creek Large End Unit! 3 BR/ 2 BA Pet's OK, 2 Car Garage $204,900! Liberty $169,900 Secluded 4.69 ac. Lot in Small Upscale Neighborhood, Ready to Build! Wolf Creek $399,000 Gorgeous 4 BR, 3 BA Modern Home, IMMACULATE Adj. to the 6th Green! New Listing! New Listing! PO BOX 436 EDEN UT 84310 For more information, call Liz Busick at 745-3718 or Linda Gillespie at 745-6807. Junior Posse will start soon! Boys & Girls Ages 8 - 17 years old Call Madelyn or Marv Evans 745-3415 There will be a meeting on April 3, 2003 in the Snowcrest Jr. Band Room at 7 p.m. Anyone interested please attend with your parents. Wolf Lodge $89,900 Clean 2BR 2 BA unit at Wolf Lodge includes a $1000 Carpet and Paint allowance! Huntsville $139,900 Gorgeous Views of Snowbasin from this 2.5 Ac. Lot! Great Neighborhood, Utilities in Place! Mtn. View Estates $214,000 Beautiful newer 3 BR, 2 BA Rambler on quiet road w/ private backyard and more! Ken Turner 710-8800 #1 Sales Agent in the Ogden Valley in 2002! Ogden Valley Specialist Ogden Valley Office Ogden Valley Resident Eden Office at Valley Market Call Ken 710.8800 or Email at Turner@csolutions.net for Virtual Tour or Color Brochure! For more Snowbasin Area Listings logon to : www.ogdenvalleyproperties.com |