Freezing Slacker

It has been a few days since I've posted. After posting every day in December all of a sudden I can't think of anything to write about in January. Other than it's cold. Very cold. Not Chicago cold, but very cold for Virginia. This morning's temperature was 9 degrees with a wind chill of -3 degrees. This southern blood is too thin for that kind of northern nonsense.

How about that plane crash in New York City? That was an amazing job getting that plane down in one piece by the pilot. Kudos to him. The local press was reporting on the similarities to our own river crash by an Air Florida plane back in 1982 that went down into the Potomac. First, I can't believe it has been that long ago. Actually the two crashes weren't that similar other than both planes ended up going into a river. The NY crash was caused by bird strikes to the engines. The Air Florida crash was caused by ice on the wings and snow and slush in the engines. The plane didn't have the lift and power necessary to stay airborne. The Air Florida plane sank like a rock after hitting the 14th Street bridge and going through an ice covered river in heavy snow. The NY plane took off in clear weather and manage to set down and stay afloat on an ice free river. Almost everyone died on the Air Florida plane. Of the 83 passengers and crew on board, only 5 survived. I remember we had been let off early because of the snow storm. We were stuck in heavy traffic on I-395 as the news reports began coming in over our car radio. We watched the news coverage of it when we got home, the valiant rescue by the Park Police helicopter, Lenny Skutnik risking his own life to plunge into the icy waters to save a passenger too weak to hold onto the life ring lowered by the helicopter and the passenger, name unknown, who repeatedly helped other passengers by passing the life ring to them only to disappear under the icy water when it was his turn. Here a dramatization of the crash , but not the rescue, I found on YouTube. Funny how life can play out from one tragic event to another.

Edited to Add: Apparently there is video of the rescue. See Daughter#2's comment to this post about how to see additional footage from the same show.

I actually finished our taxes today after being mercilessly beaten down by Ann to get them done. Alas all the nagging was for naught as it turns out we owe this year. How did that happen. I should ask Turbo Tax for a refund. At least the money isn't due until April.