Storms bring on the unexpected

We asked readers to share their stories with us about the Christmas storm.

Here's what they had to say:

Walking home with the wind

Deb Dinkelman reports that her husband, Gary, was scheduled to work at the lab at Columbus Community Hospital on Christmas Day.

He got up early to clear the driveway, and later realized his cell phone fell off his belt clip and was lost in the snow. So, as he made his way toward Columbus around 5 a.m., in the dark, he was without a phone.

Near the Bruno Spur, he lost track of the highway in the white out and ended up in a drift, stuck. With no phone to call for help, and no other crazy souls out on the highway, he walked back to town. Fortunately, he was dressed warm and walked with the wind, so his two-mile trudge in the blizzard was not unbearable.

The cell phone was found in the snow later that morning. Oh, and Gary didn't make it to work that day, Deb wrote.

Dog starts day early

Larry and Monica Polivka made it to Mass at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Bruno on Christmas Day, but not until after a routine chore - letting the dog out to pee -- turned into a real chore at home.

Monica let the Polivkas' dog out the patio door for bathroom relief at about 4:30 a.m. The dog went reluctantly into the cold, to well, go.

With the patio door open, snow blew into the tracks, making it impossible to close. Meanwhile a drift grew on the patio.

Larry had to scoop the drift away, and the Polivkas started a concerted effort to keep the door tracks free of snow.

"We would clean out the right side, only for the left side to get full of snow," Monica said.

Technology and electricity came to the rescue.

"So then we had to get a hair dryer and melt the snow," she said.

By 5:30 a.m., the door was closed and it was time for breakfast.

With the county road blocked, the Polivkas left their home  and drove through a neighbor's field.

"There were seven of us in church plus Father Homes," she said.

The Polivkas delivered Father Homes to services in Abie by 10 a.m.

"So, that is how we started our 2009 Christmas Day," Monica said.

Real Nebraska fans

Becky and Larry McPhillips did not expect to spend the weekend at the southeast Lincoln home of their son and daughter-in-law, David and Jodie McPhillips.

But the weather dictated they would have to stay.

"Also, our daughter and son-in-law, Jake and Sarah Kulhanek, and their two children, Morgan and Nathan, also stayed the duration. Becky's mother, Vera Hansen, and Becky's brothers, Bruce and Mark Hansen, were also there."

Like most everyone else, they were snowbound through Christmas, but on Saturday they needed some supplies.

"We decided to dig out and we only had snow shovels. As we were busy scooping, a neighbor came over with his big snow blower and really helped out. This neighbor was Nebraska's head basketball coach, Doc Sadler.

"We're fans forever," Larry McPhillips said.