Joel's Story

Ahh, what a splendid night for a walk. The storm is gone and has left behind a white blanket in its wake.

I walk down the white road, snow pelting me in the face. The freezing wind biting any skin not covered. This seems familiar....

I continue on, pondering what this all reminds me of. Hmmm...

I'm so deep in my train of thought that I forget where I'm walking.

I stopped, and looked around. Nothing around me is familiar. I'm lost. "Shit."

But at this moment I realized what this all reminded me of. It was about an old friend of mine, who had gotten lost in a snow storm.

While I find my way back home, I will to everyone his story.

He is from the small town of Belfast, Virginia. His name was Joel Loman. It was late at night.

Belfast wasn't even one of the single screen movie theater small towns. You needed to take a dirt road to get there.

The nearest stop-light was at least 1 mile in every direction.

There was a blizzard rolling in fast. And Joel didn't have heat in his home for he could not pay for it.

His parents lived over at the next town, and he wanted a warm place to sleep in. So he bundled up and started on his way.

"FUCK it's cold!" he said aloud. 5 minutes into his walk is where I will make you dive into...

"I absolutely hate the winter." he grumbled. The blizzard was arriving, and the wind was blowing fiercely.

Joel walked down the dirt path looking at leafless trees and evergreens holding snow. Unknowingly he walked on an ice patch, slipping.

His legs kicked up. His whole body hit the ground hard, head slamming into the ice, cracking it. He blacked out.

When he awoke, he couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. He couldn't feel. Joel sat up. There was so much snow on him that it blocked his nose.

He gasped for air. It was nearly impossible to keep his eyes open. The Blizzard had arrived and was in full affect.

His face was numb. He felt like he had no fingers or toes. And he was soaked.

His head was in extreme pain. It felt like a truck had crashed into the back of his head at full speed. And he was sure he was bleeding.

"Sonuvabitch." He stood up, trying to remember how he had ended up on the ground covered in snow.

He quickly gave up on trying to remember after looking around. He needed to get out of this weather and fast.

He stumbled on, until he noticed he wasn't on the dirt path anymore. He was so focused on the pain that he had gotten lost.

Joel stopped and looked around. He began panic.

Everything was unfamiliar. He couldn't even see 5 feet in front of him. And his tracks were quickly covered by the non-stop snowfall.

He walked on. Hoping he would find the path again.

The freezing cold was taking its toll on him. He was shivering uncontrollably, losing feeling in his body.

An hour passed and he could hardly move. The snow has risen up to just below his waist and he knew his upcoming fate.

His vision started to get smaller and smaller. He had no energy left. He gave up and collapsed.

Joel took his last breaths as snow continued to fall and cover his body.

His body was found a week later by a couple of hunters walking through the woods. He was 5 miles away from his parents house.

No one knew he was gone during that time. I did though, because that's when I met him and he told me his story.

Ahh here I am. I found my house. Time to head back in. I'm freezing! Was I really outside for 2 hours?

Awell. I hope you all enjoyed my story. It's time for me to get comfy and sit by the fire. I will see you all tomorrow.