On January 12, 2007, Springfield, Missouri, and surrounding areas were practically paralyzed by an ice storm like no other. That storm made national news and had long-term consequences. . . . The historic ice coated trees, power lines, mailboxes, decks — everything exposed — creating a frozen Ozarks landscape of eerie, otherworldly beauty.
— Springfield News-Leader
— From “Birches,” by Robert Frost
The ice had accumulated on the doorknob like a coat of nail polish, slick and clear and thick. I pulled my coat sleeve over my hand for traction, turned the key, and stepped into the house, then moved to help my husband, who was on crutches after a second surgery on a second knee. Before I could say, Don’t slip, he was through the door, the sweats on his injured leg pulled up above the bandages, ice clinging to the light hairs of his shin.
