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It was like a dream come true. The scene - the Potomac Yards shopping mall in Alexandria, Virginia. I had gone over there about an hour and a quarter before sunset to do some Christmas shopping. Whoops; I mean holiday shopping. Yes, that's it; "holiday" shopping. The air temperature was in the mid-30's, which meant I could go on my bicycle, something I am coming to use more and more these days. Because it snowed on Thursday night, there were some icy patches, but not enough to prevent riding a bicycle. You just had to be careful.
What a good choice that was, as when I got to the shopping center, it was jammed with cars. They were waiting for green lights, waiting at stop signs, waiting to make left turns, right turns, to go ahead. Me? No problem. I drove right up to the front door of where I was going and locked my bike. There were a few other bicyclists out, but not a whole lot.
As I was leaving, I heard the sound of spinning wheels. The lot at Potomac Yards is generally level, but, in common with many lots, it has gentle slopes to direct rain water into storm drains. The grades of the slopes couldn't be more than two or three degrees. A Ford Explorer (I think) had pulled forward into a spot next to a storm drain, but he had parked on the ice. The driver couldn't move forward, as he had a curb in front of him. He couldn't back up, because the combination of the grade and the ice caused his wheels to spin. He must not have had four-wheel drive, as I could see only the rear wheels spinning. This big, manly, rugged, outdoors, off-road vehicle was trapped on the ice in a level parking lot.
I smiled at the thought of it all and kept going, wishing I had a camera to record the scene.
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