I had the privilege of going out to provision my larder before the first of the month when the stores become a trail drive up and down the isles and a box canyon at the check-out lanes.

Being that it is actually on the warmish side of winter with today's temps falling just below 20F (-7C) after a warm 35F (2C) yesterday, we now have a nice ice coating on EVERYTHING.

I want to talk to the yuppies that have acquired a SUV with 4-wheel drive, in the past couple years. 4-wheel drive is a mechanism that allows power to drive all wheel instead of the normal two. It makes it easier to GO. Breaks make you STOP. You ALREADY HAD 4-WHEEL BREAKS! 4-wheel DRIVE does NOT make you STOP! When the flow of traffic is 40 mph and you find it quite easy to get up to a stable 60 mph, remember that the friction factor is the SAME for YOU as it is for them. You ONLY have more GO capability. You do NOT have more STOP capability!

In my 12 mile round trip, I witnessed 2 collisions with SUVs being the projectile of greater velocity and the drivers of BOTH making comments about their 4-wheel DRIVE. The one sliding past me in the adjacent lane was my undue concern until the vehicle in front of him slowed his glide path before I arrived.

I'm too old to be hopping out every 10 minutes and mushing around in a foot of frozen slush to see if everybody is alright.

__________________