Friday, January 17, 2020

Beating Black Ice

Readers in So. Calif. are going to laugh at what follows, but those all through the Midwest and East Coast are probably not.  That's where the dread black ice lives.  It's a real menace to driving but mentioned far less is just walking along your street to walk the dog or bring in the mail or the newspaper.

A good friend lives in Kansas City, MO which was predicted to have ice today.  Not specified was whether it will be "just ice" or black ice.  She has a little dog named Heidi who wants a minimum of four walks a day.  Not kidney issues, just a very sociable little dog who wants to pay calls to her dog neighbors up and down the street.

My friend is my age (older than dirt) and doesn't need a broken hip so … how to get around this?  Golf shoes!  They're cleated.  Eisenhower busted up the floor of the Oval Office by wearing his there straight from the course.

I asked my sister if they (golfers all) switch them over for use when it's icy?  Her laughing reply was that they only time they would is if they were caught out on the course with no recourse.  Not helpful.

And then I remembered mountain climbers who use a device called a "crampon" which is a strap-on set of fairly hefty spikes.  They're used for mountaineering and ice climbing.  No reason they couldn't be used on city streets.  Because they are a collection of straps, buckled on, it's easy enough to whisk them off when you get to your destination, put on your regular shoes and go about your business .

Who has them?  Out here the REI stores or Dick's Sporting Goods.  They range in price from $18.99 to $129.95.

Of note, Where the snow blows EMTs and first responders have a pair in their backpacks.  Right next to the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED)  

This wasn't mentioned but I bet they'd be good for push off on a sled...There's usually more than one use for any device.

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