This is a work of fiction; none of these people exist or make a difference anywhere but here. Similarly I have come to the conclusion that most anonymous comment posters inhabit that same dimension. Enjoy.
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The Blanket Policy
A Bit of History
It all started back in the winter of '78. That epic winter featured brutal cold, ass deep snow, and biting winds. To some people that was the roughest winter of the ages in the Midwest. I was a child then but can remember the weather, mostly how it affected school and our daily lives. No doubt the memories were enhanced by viewing my Grandfathers Super 8 films of the deep snow.
My parents and I lived in a small town situated between Chicago and Rockford. We were renters, my folks just a year away from saving up enough to own our own home. The house we rented was a small one, clean and warm and perfect for a family of 3. My father worked in Rockford as a welder. Mom was a school teacher here in the local district. She was just in her second year of teaching at the local high school, as she had foregone her career to raise me until I started school.
The Blanket Policy began when Grandpa got a huge deal on surplus military blankets at the local Army-Navy store. He brought two dozen of those itchy wool beauties home. Grandma was skeptical until she heard the bargain price. She gave a few to my parents and put one in Uncle Rob's Camaro.
Uncle Rob was younger than Dad, still in his partying years, and made the rounds each weekend. As most of you Midwesterners know the Camaro and Firebird were usually the first cars into the ditch when the weather got snowy. One snowy night, in that brutal winter, Uncle Rob was coming back home to Grandma and Grandpa's farm after getting a snootfull in town. He lost the handling about 2 miles from the old homestead and slid into the ditch. The Camaro stayed running but with a temperature of 5 degrees and 20 below wind chill he was freezing his ass off. Then he remembered the blanket in the trunk. Uncle Rob covered up and stayed put until Grandpa found him, and pulled him out with his 4x4 the next morning. That was the beginning of the Blanket Policy. Since then everyone in the family has kept one of those old wool beauties in their vehicles, just in case it is needed.
In all the winters since I have never had to pull out the blanket for the purpose of survival. As a young man, dating my present wife, we used it for some fun in the woods a few times, and I am not just talking picnicking. But it seems those days are past now as I reach 47 years and she hits 45. Our son Steven is away from home now, down south in college at SIU-E. He, of course, has his own blanket in his Mustang. The wife keeps hers in her SUV under the lift up back floor spare tire cover.
About Us
My wife Jan works for the local park district as an administrator. I manage a home improvement warehouse store. You know us, it's the orange one. I have had some offers to move up to corporate in Atlanta as I also do some troubleshooting in our region for underperforming stores in the region. I have turned down these chances to advance, as Jan loves the Chicago-land area and her job. We live in a very nice, upper middle class Chicago suburb. Seems all of us small town Illinois kids have moved to Chicago. If you were smart enough to make it through college you moved here for the money. No college, you toughed it out in small town rural Illinois.
My folks were middle class and we lived well, wanted for nothing, but they could not really afford to foot the bill for my post high school education. I joined the Army right after graduation. I had taken and did well in a typing class in high school so the Army in their infinite wisdom made me a clerk typist. After basic I was sent to South Korea for a year to patrol the DMZ and type morning reports. I re-upped after 2 years and made Sergeant and transferred to Germany, where I oversaw clerk typists and played soldier in the Fulda gap. We "cold warriors" were tasked with stalling a Russian invasion long enough for NATO to respond.
The Army taught me a lot and I would never have done as well as I have in life without what I learned there about dealing with and managing people. After 4 years in the service I took advantage of the GI bill and enrolled in Northern Illinois University in Dekalb to major in Business. During the summer I interned at the big orange home store. I learned a lot more about life in those summers working the dock at night with the fellows who were full time. I also learned from the bottom up, hand jack and then forklift, all the warehouse jobs. My first management job was running that same dock after I graduated from NIU.
How We Started
I met my wife Jan at Wrigley Field, the biggest meat-market in Chicago back in the day. It still is party time out there in the bleachers. Back in the 90's it was THE in place for the young to see and be seen. I had just started out in my home improvement warehouse management career. A buddy from work and I called off sick, hopped on the bus, and headed to Wrigley field to take in the Cubs afternoon game.
Max and I had started as interns at the warehouse, working toward our careers in management. After we went full time we shared a bachelor pad in a newly hip part of town. We liked to have a few drinks and meet women. Hey it was the 90's, we were young, and we all partied like it was soon going to be 1999.
We took our seats in the left field bleachers on this warm May Friday afternoon. The beer man was summoned and he figured we would be steady business for his supply of ice cold Old Style. Our Cubs were taking the field. Sandberg, Grace, and a young Sammy Sosa were among this year's decent, but not championship caliber team. Not that we cared, we were here for the sun, ladies, and beer. Just as Grace jogged to his spot at first, a pair of ladies came up the steps carrying their plastic cups full of cold beer. They saw the open seats in front of us and giving us a quick glance, they landed in them. Apparently we did not look like trolls or serial killers so it may be, game on.
Max was always a player and introduced us to the ladies as soon as they settled. Jan, a blonde, was on the right, seated in front of Max. Carol her brunette friend sat in front of me. We chatted a bit between batters, seems these girls were there for the game. Of course we overheard them comment on Sandberg's ass. I had been told previously by other women that he had the finest ass on the Cubs roster. I expect female ticket sales dropped when he retired.
Max was working Jan pretty hard, and being a good wingman I was keeping Carol engaged. About the third inning, and beer, I notice that when Jan would speak to Max she would turn to her left and look at me. After a bit of this I broke protocol and asked Jan if she would like to go get some nachos. I had to do it Max, there was something going between Jan and I. I could just feel it. Max gave me a look, but disengaged his target and refocused on Carol, as Jan and I headed for the nacho stand.
Jan and I chatted a bit and stood by the rail as I held the nacho tray for her. There was something there alright, she kept tipping her head and touching her long blonde hair. She was giggling at almost every stupid thing out of my mouth. She looked beautiful to me. The game was on! About the 5th inning we headed back to the seats to find Carol and Max had gone. This was the pre cell phone days kids. Max couldn't text me to say they were leaving, he and Carol just blew the joint at a chance for a good time. Back then we didn't think much of it other than that we will find out more details later on.
Jan and I sat together, had a couple more beers, and stayed for the whole game. We enjoyed an easy Cubs victory on a beautiful day. I asked her if she would like to go for some dinner and she agreed. I knew of an Italian place just about 3 blocks from the park in a nice neighborhood at that time. We had a meal, talked a lot, and shared a cab back to her place. I knew Max would want and deserved the "home game" since I broke protocol. That was how we rolled back then.
Jan and I had a nice meal and quite a bit of wine. When I reached for the check she put her hand on mine and asked if I would like to go to her place for a nightcap. I thought that was a great idea and we took a cab to her rather upscale apartment building.