Ice
Storm
I remember the ice storm that hit Mena, AR
December 25, 2000. I was pretty young at
the time but I remember how bad it was at the time. It was Christmas day and we were supposed to
go to Little Rock later that day to celebrate Christmas with my aunt and
uncle. It started icing early that
morning and it did not let up until way late that night. The things that I remember most from that
time were no power, falling a lot, and leaving to go to my aunt and uncle’s
house. I learned just how hard it was to
make it without the necessities in life.
The
ice storm was horrible and at midnight the power went off. It was an all
electric house which meant there was also no heat. My family and I lived about a mile off of
the main highway on a gravel road in the woods.
The town of Mena was about 16 miles from our house. I remember hearing trees falling every few
minutes. The ice on the power lines and the numerous trees falling created the
power outage. It was so cold in the
house, my mom covered my brother and I with a lot of blankets but finally my
parents decided to go stay with my grandparents who lived across the street.
The trip to my grandparent’s house was a
nightmare! Luckily my grandparents lived
on top of a pretty steep hill. The road was covered with ice. My brother and I would try to climb the road
but every time we would get up some distance, we would both fall and slide
right back down the hill. This happened
several times until my dad finally drug us up the hill. My grandparents luckily had gas heat and a
way to cook. I will never forget how hard it was to climb that hill.
The power was off for 5 days and it was
hard living without power. We had to melt icicles to use for washing dishes and
for water. My grandparents lived in a small house which made it difficult with
so many people in the house. On the
evening of the sixth day, my uncle Craig came all the way from Little Rock and
told us, “let’s get out of here.” My grandparents stayed behind but my family
left. The ride there was horrible. I remember
seeing cars in ditches and trees laying everywhere across the road. My dad and
uncle helped people push their cars back on the road several times. Finally we
made it back to my aunt’s house. It was so nice to have power again.
One
thing that I learned is that I am grateful to have power and the basic
necessities of life. I have also learned
that ice storms are bad and to always be prepared for one if they forecast them
on the news. The ice storm on 2000 is a
childhood memory that I do not think that I will ever forget.
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