Driving Miss Daisy the Swiss Way

Looking cocky, the Swiss Mountain man snorted, "Do you really think you can drive up our driveway?" What sounds simplistic isn't. When once in awhile we can capture a snow fall or freezing rain, our very steep driveway becomes a mini mini glacier. When we know weather is coming, we'll park our vehicles up at the top where our driveway meets the road. Our bungalow can't be seen from the road. All one sees is our lonely mailbox and our driveway disappearing down the hill.

In Switzerland, it snows; here it sputters although we have had our moments. (See the picture of our snow in January 2010!) The sun had softened the snow enough for Ruedi to bring the cars back down; later the freezing weather gave us two big ice patches on the driveway. Since he drives those big old buses, I drive the vehicles for "fun".

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So with a smile I stomped on Daisy Mae's pedal (our old beat up 1996 suburban) to shoot up the driveway. On the second ice patch, Ruedi hollered so loudly I let up on the accelerator. When one is "sledding" down backwards on our skinny little driveway, one has to be mindful of the boulders on the left and the deep, deep ravine on the right and the lake far down below. Missing the house as a braking device, I slowed down to a stop.

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With a smirk on his face, the ice man again asked, "Are you ready for the expert to take over?" That sounded like in invitation to me, and once again I put the pedal to the metal. Upward bound did Daisy Mae charge the incline! By the time we made it up to the road, I believe Ruedi was praying in his native tongue. Don't mess with a Tennessean who lives in the Ozarks. :-)