Happy 14th Annual International Robin and Donovan Friendship Day!

It's December 20th. Today we celebrate the 14th Annual International Robin and Donovan Friendship Day! Technically, Robin Kowal (see photo to the right) and I have been best friends for over a quarter of a century, but it was 14 years ago today when the "incident" occurred that turned us into blood brothers.

It was a dark and stormy night. One of the craziest blizzards Dauphin had ever seen. We'd really only had our drivers license for a year or so, so cruising Main Street (over and over and over and over and over and over again) in Robin's parent's Honda Accord was still considered thrilling, and in reality, it was the only bit of excitement the town could offer us.

Well, on this stormy freezing December night, the two of us decided we'd switch up the route a little bit and go cruising on the backroads.

(continued below picture)

So in short - we decided to go driving the unplowed gravel roads surrounding Dauphin, on one of the coldest, windiest, darkest, blizzardiest nights in memory with visibility at 100 meters and dropping.

We'd had a slight moment of hesitation before rushing headlong into the unlit Dauphin backwoods. Could the Honda make it through the rapidly piling snow? There was only one way to find out, and listening to common sense wasn't it. Robin put the pedal to the metal and entered the Danger Zone.

It went well at first. The roads were clearly visible and snow free. Well, for the first 90 seconds or so - until we saw a tiny, 10 foot long snow drift.

The Honda slammed into the drift like a bat out of hell, but escaped unscathed through the other side. Having conquered our first snowdrift, our naive cockiness and machismo increased exponentially, or fears of getting stuck were alleviated.

That is, until we got stuck.

The next snow drift came into view of the headlights. Looking to get a second snowdrift notch on our belts, Robin poured on the speed as we approached.

However, this snow drift was a bit bigger than 10 feet. Quite a bit bigger. We must have driven a good 50-60 feet into it, thinking that at ANY moment, we were going to see the road again, but it never came.

The car's front headlights and most of the hood were now solidly under 4 feet of snow. The lights from the highway were far behind us in the blackness, tiny pinpricks in the night that may only have existed as hope in my imagination.

Let me remind everyone at this point that this was in 1992, an age when cell phones weighed 200 pounds and had to be carted around on the backs of rented mules. And if you've ever been in a Honda Accord, you know darn well you can't fit a mule in there. Why couldn't we have been driving an El Camino instead?

(continued below picture)

Well, like any good friendship, we made a good team. With our only pair of mitts, I got out and dug the snow out from around the car, while Robin stayed inside and made sure that the heat still worked. The car had plowed so far into the snow, that I had to dig it out of the engine compartment.

After digging and chiseling, and pushing, we made it out far enough that the car could move on it's own. I got back into the car (which was still warm, thanks to Robin's hard work!), at which point we had to rely on Robin's excellent driving skills to get us back to the highway, driving in reverse, in a blizzard, in low visibility, and at a breakneck speed to ensure that we didn't get stuck in any of the new drifts that had popped up behind us in the 30 minutes it took us to free the car. This was the most harrowing part of our self-rescue, and Robin handled the car like a pro.

We made it back on to the highway. Already friends for 12 years, we realized that, through our teamwork and determination, along with the threat of severe frostbite and death, we had solidified our friendship for an eternity.

And that my friends, is why every December 20th, we celebrate Annual Robin and Donovan International Friendship Day.

On a related note, today is also my Mom's birthday! Happy 34th birthday mom!

Currently playing - Burton Cummings - Stand Tall
Now entering my two-hundred and fifty-first Cola free day!