How a ham drives: Keeping a bag of road salt in the car is important Some time ago, I posted about the ham at my workplace. His health insurance paid for an expensive weight loss program he deemed shit, sat though it, wasted other people's money and is now back at his usual 600 pounds. He also spent several weeks in hospital because of severe breathing problems; it looks like his lungs suffered permanent damage because he's huffing scarily since then. Last winter, I got to know how he deals with driving and icy or slippery roads. I swear, I'm not making this up. While driving, his legs swell so much that his normal shoes cut off circulation. So, before going out of the house, he puts on an old, worn-down pair of shoes that became very soft over the months/years. He wears them like slippers. He's already in trouble when the road is moderately wet because the driving shoes have no more profile to their soles. He can't even take one step without swaying and almost toppling over. His only option is to change the shoes IN the car, and for that, he has to get in first. There's this plastic grocery bag he always puts at the edge of the door frame because it helps sliding through it and onto the seat. Shoe change then happens, and completely out of breath, he has to fling the door shut with force, otherwise it won't shut anymore. When he wants to park somewhere, he has to find a parking lot with no obstacles to its left since he can't get out of the car otherwise.  He always keeps a bag of road salt and a bag of road sand in his car. In heavy rain or snow, it's impossible for him to get in or out of his car without them. Depending on the weather, he throws road salt or sand (or both) from his open car door and onto the pavement in order to prepare it for him. If he has to walk farther than two meters, he takes the bag(s) with him and spreads the stuff in front of him like a little desire path, one step at a time. In our region, road salt may only be used by private persons when the weather is extreme (sleet, for example) and not when there's a bit of snow on the ground. It's a sight I am ashamed to describe. How any adult person could let this happen to himself is beyond my understanding.