The only people on the roads were pizza deliverymen and plow drivers.  Even though the clock was barely past 7:00 pm, everybody else was hunkered down at home.  I was out driving to Caribou for a caffeine hit, which made me the exception that proved the rule.

As I drove on the unplowed streets, headlights struggling to pierce the heavy falling snow, I surveyed the parking lots in my community’s commercial hub.  They were virtually empty, and for good reason. Upon closer inspection, almost all of the stores were closed.  It would seem that my company was not alone in its decision to send employees home early.  Everything was eerily quiet.

The Outback’s all-wheel drive handled the snow with aplomb, so I aborted my journey for coffee in favor of a more circuitous route. I guided the Subaru down white lanes and through billowing drifts. The Bimmer loves curves, but snow is the Subaru’s element, and so we bonded — an understanding between man and machine. It was supremely peaceful. I felt like I had the world to myself.