THE GREAT SNOW DUMP OF 2008

"So how is your new job going? Hard to believe you've been in Spokane for 2 months now. I miss you so much! Can't wait to see you for Thanksgiving," Marie said, a smile heard through the phone coupled with romantic anxiety that she and Sean will be able to meet up and reconnect.

Yes, it has been hard to believe that Sean left home to get started in his new position, yet anticipated the day when he could move his beautiful wife Marie and their youngest daughter Amanda to Spokane to join him. Sadly, that wouldn't be for several months, as Amanda was finishing her senior year at Rosinbag High School in central Oregon.

Here it was 6:00pm and Sean was still at the office, finishing his day's personal paperwork and looking at that of his team. Mind you, this was 2008 -- there was automation available, web-based platforms. Yet, for whatever reason, his new employer was old-school when it came to documenting and accounting for your daily sales production. Detailing your own day, as well as that of the 7 sales representatives who reported to you, made for a mountain of paper to read through. The joys of management.

About halfway into his review of the day's events, Sean looked at the glass door to his office and in the reflection he thought he was seeing spots. "What in the world is that? Can't be dandruff, because I don't have any. Can't be dust from the air vent, because the furnace isn't on." As he turned his desk chair around, he saw his first snow in Spokane. This was not just any snow, mind you -- it was a dumping of white powder like he had never seen before! Come to think of it -- he had never seen anything like this before.

Stopping everything he was doing, he called Marie. "You are not going to believe this! It is snowing like crazy outside my office window. From the looks of things, this snow is sticking, because it's stacking up and part of my window is blocked. This is bad, babe." Marie said, "Oh no! Are you going to be okay? Do you have to finish your paperwork tonight? Can it wait until morning so you can get home? You're not used to this." She was right -- Sean wasn't used to this. He was raised a southern California boy who recently moved his family to central Oregon and now he was living and working in the eastern part of the Pacific Northwest, about 2 hours south of Canada. As the two talked, the snow got worse, to the point Sean blurted out, "It's a blizzard! I seriously can't see the night sky -- just a lot of white and it's sticking and piling up alongside the window. Hang on, let me go see how it looks out the front door of the office."

As Sean made his way to the front door, he noticed that the sky and sidewalk were much worse. In fact, he could hardly see his dark green SUV, the sole vehicle usually in the parking lot at night. "Babe, this is bad. I better get my paperwork finished quickly and get out of here. I've never driven in snow like this. I'll keep you posted when I leave and when I get home." Marie said, "Okay darling -- I'll be praying for you. Please keep me posted. I love you so much and miss you bunches." "Miss you, too, babe. Big kisses and so much more." As Sean hung up the phone, he got straight back to the task of finishing the review of paperwork.

30 minutes later, he was done and ready to leave. Before he put on his long black leather coat -- the one similar to what Hugh Jackman wore in "Van Helsing" -- plus his scarf and gloves, he called Marie. "Finally done! It's 8:00pm and it normally takes me 20 minutes to get home. Most likely it will be closer to an hour with all this snow. Let me check how it looks outside real quick."

Sean looks out his office window and sees the snow has covered half the height of the window. He goes to the front and finds it's a whiteout and can't see his SUV. "It looks like I'm not going to make it back to my apartment in Airway Heights. Let me turn my laptop back on and see what's going on." After 3 minutes of his laptop booting up, Sean inputs "Spokane weather and roads" into the browser. "Hey honey, this is bad! All roads are closed and WDOT is unable to deploy plows. According to the local news site, all streets are closed. I can't get to my apartment! I'm going to have to spend the night here." Sean heard Marie's emotions through the phone. "I'm so worried. You're not used to that type of weather. Are you going to be alright?" "Yes, dear, I'm fine. Fortunately, there's a couch in the front of office, so I can sleep on that. I've got my long black leather coat, so that will be great for cover. There's a coffee maker and snacks, plus a bathroom, so this will be more of an inconvenience instead of a disaster. If something happens, I'll call. Right now, I'm just missing you something terrible. You sleep well. Love you bunches." "Love you, too, babe." As the two finished their conversation with phone-blown kisses and endearments, Sean decided he better get comfortable for the night ahead.

After removing his tie, untucking his shirt, and pulling off his scarf and gloves, Sean looks at his watch. "8:20, lovely. Well, better go see what I can eat in the break room. A fresh pot of coffee sounds good as well." As he makes his way to the break room, he realizes there are doors he has only seen, yet never gone into. No wonder, as he is rarely in except for morning meetings and evening paperwork. "Well, I'm stuck in the office for the first time in my life, so might as well make the best of it."

As the coffee is brewing, Sean opens the door to the breakroom cabinet and finds a plethora of granola bars and miniature candy bars. Not the healthiest of dinners, but it could be worse. As the coffee finishes brewing and Sean pours himself a regular size styrofoam cup, he thinks how entertaining it would be to explore the 3 doors he has yet to enter. "No time like the present and I'm bored, so might as well get curious," he says out loud, even though he's the only one in the office.

He finds the first door locked. As he reaches for his keyring, he tries his office front door key and finds it opens this door. "That's random," he says in a low voice. As he enters, he finds the light switch and is shocked to find a room complete with an eliptical machine and treadmill. "What in the world? How was I not aware of this until now? My gosh, I could have been working out at the end of each day, especially since the apartment complex shut down the fitness center and pool for fall and winter. When I get home, I'll remember to pack myself some workout wear." After looking over the equipment, Sean decides to try the treadmill. Poor guy wasn't aware that there were speed controls for the walking conveyor, as he took three steps and promptly went right off the back of the treadmill. "That's not going to work. Let me see if I can slow this thing down." After pushing several buttons, he wound up doing more harm than good, so he unplugged this beast of machinery. "So much for that. I'll pass on working out after work."

After turning off the light and locking the door behind him, he steps across the hall and finds a second door locked. Just as before, the front door key to the office opened this door. As he entered and turned on the light, he found a hoarder's paradise of old telephone books, Banker's Boxes of old company files, metal file cabinets, and newspapers. "Okay, I've heard of archiving, but this is ridiculous," he exclaimed loudly, his voice resonating in the small content-packed room. "Holy cow, there's business records here from 10 years ago! Why in the world do we need to keep all this? I'll make a mental reminder to email my boss and ask if any of this is still needed." As Sean sips more of his coffee, he peruses the stack of newspapers that comes close to matching his height of 6'6" tall. What he finds are newspapers printed by the local Spokane publisher as well as other notable national publications and the front pages are historical. "Oh my gosh! Here's the front page on John Lennon's murder, JFK's assassination, RFK's assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, and a notable snowstorm here in Spokane that shut the town down due to a 3 foot snow dump back in 1958. Good grief, it's deja vu all over again."

After going through the newspapers and realizing he needs a bite to eat, Sean turns off the light, locks the door, and heads to the bathroom to wash the old newsprint ink from his hands. After that's done, he goes back to the breakroom and takes a couple of snack bars -- oatmeal/nut/chocolate chip granola bar and a fruit/fudge/almond roca bar. "Okay, it's not a television show, but there is still a third door. Time to explore some more." As he puts the office key into the door, he finds it won't open. "That sucks! The only other key is to my private office, so hope that works." Sure enough, that key did work. Sean stepped in, turned on the light, and found something he never would have guessed to find in his entire corporate life -- a suite complete with a futon, end table, television, toiletries, and of all things, extra underwear and socks of various sizes all in brand new packaging as well as t-shirts and boxer shorts.

"Am I being punked? Are you kidding me? How did I not know about this?" he blurted out, yet no one could hear him. As he checked around for cleanliness, Sean realized it was safe to bunk down here for the night. He texted Marie and told her what he found. Her response was that of pleasant shock and relief, as her husband of 23 years was safe and sound, yet was just as surprised at the mention of new underwear and socks. As Sean was getting ready to settle down for the long winter's night, he got a text from his boss around 9:30pm.

"Hi Sean. Chances are you are snowed in, as are we here just across the state line in Idaho. Since I hadn't heard from you this evening as to what was transpiring and remembering from our interview a few months ago that you were not used to snow, we decided to put something together in case of just such an emergency. Have a good night and let me know if you need anything. Jim."

Sean texted back: "Many thanks for the hospitality. How come I wasn't aware of this before tonight? Trust me, I'm grateful."

Jim wrote: "You're welcome. However, didn't want you to think this was a cushy job, as we have high expectations of you and your team. Use only for emergencies. Have a good night and chat tomorrow.

After going back through the office, turning off the rest of the lights, turning off the coffee pot, and getting one more look outside at the blizzard of 2008, Sean snuggled under his long black leather coat, wearing a set of new bed clothes, and promptly fell asleep. There was no need to worry anymore.