Thirteen days before her official due date, Tiffany Goad had a feeling her baby boy would be joining the rest of the world this week -- ice storm or no ice storm.
The Kennesaw mom called an ambulance when her water broke around lunchtime Wednesday only to have the vehicle get stuck on her iced-over driveway. One fire truck, a second ambulance and 30 minutes or so later Goad, 37, was finally on her way to WellStar Kennestone Hospital where her boyfriend, Chris Chaffee, 37, a nurse technician, anxiously waited.
She gave birth within an hour of arriving at the hospital, and Chaffee got to deliver his son into the world.
“It was a close call,” Chaffee said Thursday. “I’m thankful they got here when they did.”
The ambulance driver told Goad that she was from Rhode Island. She said, according to Chaffee, “I know how to drive through the snow. I’m going to get you to the hospital, don’t you worry about it.”
The couple is eager to take their son, Lucas Henry, home on Friday.
“Nothing worked out like it was originally planned, but that’s OK,” he said. “Everything happened perfectly and we’re thankful.”
MISTY WILLIAMS
Saying goodbye to an old friend
Vijay Makar and his wife, Stacey, faced an awful decision in this week’s winter fiasco.
Their 12-year-old dog, Merlin, stricken with cancer, hadn’t been able to walk for 24 hours and was fading fast. Stuck at home in East Lake with more ice and snow on the way, Makar put out a plea on the neighborhood’s listserv: Is there a vet nearby? A neighbor responded that Village Vets in Decatur was open, albeit a mile and a half away over slick roads.
Compounding the problem: The Makars have a month-old little girl, Lucy, whom they didn’t want to take out into the cold.
Luckily, the couple found another snowbound neighbor who could watch the baby while they inched their way to Decatur to end Merlin’s pain.
“That was the hardest thing I’ve done,” Makar said after saying goodbye to Merlin and hello again to Lucy.
AARON GOULD SHEININ
'Sometimes we need to slow down'
A couple of weeks ago, the Rev. Michael Sullivan offered sanctuary to about 100 stranded motorists at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church on Mount Vernon Highway.
During this week’s winter storm, he joined his neighbors in cleaning off the road in his Sandy Springs neighborhood to make it easier for drivers to get in and out.
Lessons learned.
“We learned how to work together,” he said. “So, yesterday (Wednesday), everybody was out with shovels and leaf blowers to break up the ice.”
The key was preparation and the recognition that people are their brother’s keepers, Sullivan said.
“This was not that big of a storm, but it slowed us down enough to notice each other,” he said. “We lead busy lives in Atlanta. We all run around, passing each other. Sometimes we need to slow down and see our real lives. The whole street was beautiful because we worked together.”
SHELIA POOLE
In the cold and dark on the Southside
Chris Tobler and his family were well into day two without power in Jonesboro. Their food was spoiling, the temperature in the house was about 50, and the Toblers hadn’t eaten since Wednesday night, when they had breakfast for dinner.
“It’s pretty cold,” said Tobler, a driver for DHL, who was holed up in a back bedroom while his wife, Leann and 5-year-old son, Robert, were asleep in the living room.
The Toblers contacted Georgia Power Wednesday and had a few hours of power, but then it went out again. Thursday they couldn’t even get in touch with the utility.
The Toblers’ story played out all along Flint River Road, a hard-hit area of Jonesboro. Many traffic lights were out. Stores and gas stations were closed. Although there are two warming stations in Clayton County, many elderly people in this stretch of Clayton were not only without power but also without transportation.
TAMMY JOYNER
Showing up, even if the customers don't
Barbers Paul Bogle, Sean Grant and Sam Dean went into work on Thursday just after noon.
“I have to make money. If I don’t work I can’t do that,” said Dean. “Even if nobody comes in I have to at least try.”
The Tru Kutz barbershop and salon on Rockbridge Road in Stone Mountain where the men work was closed Wednesday. And although traffic along the road outside the business was picking up Thursday afternoon, none of it was stopping by.
Bogle was expecting two clients for appointments later Thursday, but wasn’t sure they’d show. While he waited he stood at the door beside the flashing neon sign alerting passersby that the business was indeed open.
“It comes with the job,” said Grant, 45. During the ice storm of 2011 that left the metro area frozen in place for about a week, Grant remembers only missing one day. “There are ups and downs. We work seven days a week, so sometimes a forced day off is good.”
JANEL DAVIS
'It was a pretty crazy moment'
You’re at the University of Georgia with two choices: feverish studying for midterm exams, or a few days off to play in the snow and ice.
Leighton Rowell, a sophomore from Sandy Springs, heard celebratory shouts throughout her dorm as classes were canceled each day. She has watched students sled down Baxter and Lumpkin Streets and even witnessed a soccer game in the snow.
“It was hilarious to watch because they kept falling,” Rowell said.
Sophia Newman, a senior from Cobb County, said the Waffle House at Five Points was packed all week, and places within walking distance also were busy.
“Georgia doesn’t get snow so it was a pretty crazy moment for a lot of students,” Newman said. “There were a lot of screams and people wandering around the streets singing.”
NICHOLAS FOURIEZOS
'People just like to be out and about'
Jessica Williams knew her customers at Java Monkey in Decatur would not be hindered by snow, nor sleet, nor any other weather.
Though snow-choked streets were still mostly empty Thursday, restaurants and bars were hopping in Decatur and other walkable neighborhoods in the metro area, as boots- and muffler-clad stalwarts trudged away from home, hearth and claustrophobia.
“People just like to be out and about,” said Kathy Badonsky, sitting with her husband Jim in the busy Brick Store Pub, waiting to order an early Thursday lunch.
David Grace, a server at the Brick Store, said the chef had already fired up the smoker by the time he arrived at work.
“We expect to be really busy,” said assistant general manager Erin Sargent. The previous SnowJam gave the restaurant its busiest day ever. “It was like a festival night,” said Grace.
