Once your vehicle has been thoroughly serviced, you should pack it with all the supplies you’ll need in the event of a blizzard. For starters, you absolutely need a good-quality scraper, brush, and shovel. You should also consider stocking an abrasive material like sand to help you get traction if you end up stuck. Additionally, you’ll want to pack jumper cables, a flashlight, and flares. For personal items, keep blankets, coats, gloves, water, food, a first-aid kit, and a phone charger in your vehicle. The final step before you drive is to plan your route, including checking weather and road conditions. You should also leave yourself extra time to travel, so you don’t end up feeling like you’re behind schedule and need to rush. On the Road The most important practice while driving in wintry conditions is to remain alert and vigilant at all times. Hazards can creep up on you at a moment’s notice, so keep your eyes on the road and watch for any obstructions. If the weather turns apocalyptic, pull over to a safe place and wait out the worst of it. After all, you’ll have all the supplies you need to stay warm for a while.
Life doesn’t stop when the snow starts falling. In our neck of the woods, you’ll invariably have to brave the roads in less-than-optimal conditions during the winter. Slick, icy roads present an increased risk for accidents, which means you need to be especially careful when driving during or after a storm. You can mitigate a lot of that risk by preparing adequately and driving with extra care. With that in mind, here are some tips provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to keep you as safe as possible on the roads. Before You Drive It’s a great idea to get your car fully serviced prior to the coldest months of the year. In particular, make sure your fluid levels and tires are equipped to handle the conditions. You’ll also want to check that your wipers, battery, and lights are all in good order.
Finally, in the event of an emergency, stay put, turn on the flashers, and run your vehicle only in sporadic intervals.
MY FAVORITE AUTHOR: PAT CONROY
This month I wanted to introduce our readers (or re-introduce for many of you) to my favorite author, Pat Conroy. A proud son of South Carolina, Pat Conroy was, by many accounts, one of the greatest American writers of his era. A generation of high schoolers read his books as part of their mandatory summer reading curriculum. Several of his novels found their way onto the silver screen, with his characters portrayed by the likes of Robert Duvall and Nick Nolte. In all my years of reading, I have yet to find anyone who can match Conroy’s mastery of language. When Conroy sets an otherwise mundane scene, he paints a picture so vivid that the reader feels as if she has been transported to the lazy Southern setting where most of his novels take place. As a high schooler, I had to read his books with a dictionary nearby so I could look up his imagery- heavy phrases like “ebullient sun” or “ascendant moon.” Pat Conroy borrowed many of his characters from his real life. Growing up as a military brat, Conroy moved a lot throughout his childhood. Ultimately, he and his family settled in South Carolina. After high school, he attended The Citadel, a military college in Charleston, which provided the source material for two of his books, The Lords of Discipline and My Losing Season .
not unlike The Citadel. My Losing Season , on the other hand, details the ups and downs of his senior season on his college basketball team. I highly recommend either book if you haven’t had a chance to read them yet. In particular, My Losing Season makes for a great Christmas gift to any coaches or basketball junkies in your life. My favorite of his books, and probably my favorite book period, is The Prince of Tides . It’s the book I’ve read more than any other in my life, probably 10 times by now. For a while, I would read it once a year just to remind myself of how much I enjoy it. In the spirit of transparent reviews, you can feel free to skip the movie — it simply doesn’t do justice to the story. Once you’ve worked your way through the three books above, you’re still not done with Conroy’s impressive collection. The Great Santini may be his most famous book, inspired by his less-than- doting military father. The Water Is Wide chronicles his years as a teacher on an impoverished island off the coast of South Carolina — another great gift option. No matter which of his works you pick up, I trust that you will agree that Pat Conroy was one of the great authors of 20th-century America.
–Pat Cummings
The Lords of Discipline , my brother’s favorite book of all time, is a novel about the experience of a young cadet at a military school
2 www.shannonlawgroup.com
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