To the AMAZING front desk staff at the
Fairfield Inn/Hammond Drive: Anissa & Derek. Saying THANK YOU just doesn't
seem enough. I don't know that I have ever seen such giving, selfless employees
who cared so much for their guests, even those on the floor in the lobby. Not
only were they kind to all of us in the lobby, giving me phone charger,
mattress pad to use as blanket, but here's a story that needs to be on the
news. Hotel checked in a couple where the guy had just been released from St Joe Hospital after heart surgery. They
couldn't make it home & checked into hotel. Called down to front desk as
man needed medication & wanted to see where they could fill it. Nothing
open. Derek called over to St Joe to speak with staff about this patient
needing medication to see if they would send a shuttle or something to get him
the meds. They refused. At 3:00am, we all watched as Derek left the hotel on
foot and WALKED a mile and a half each way to go get the medication from the
hospital for this hotel guest. I was speechless....
After 10 hours of driving, praying and
watching cars/trucks slide and crash, I finally stopped for gas and decided to
head to a friend's home. Unfortunately, the surface roads were sheets of ice,
as I drove onto Paces Ferry Rd in Vinings I saw a group of men pushing cars,
feeding and comforting passengers. A man (Bob) approached my car to tell me the
road was shut down and after attempting to push my
car he told me to stay the night at his home. Now, anyone that knows me know I
watch a lot of Investigation Discovery and I don't deal with strangers and I
was hesitant. He then motion for his wife Ann to come and take me across the
street to another house, where a 91 year old woman was feeding stranded people
and giving them a place to sleep. She made me hot chocolate and we talked and
laughed. Ann then came back to take me to her home. Ann was amazing, her and
Bob's home was huge and amazing. They allowed me to stay in a beautifully
decorated room, gave me pajamas and just made me feel so comfortable. I slept
like a rock. This morning, she made breakfast and went back out to help more
people that slept in their cars. I cannot tell you how they made me feel, their
spirit and helpfulness was amazing. God will always made a way and send angels
to comfort you. These people and their sweet dogs are angels. I THANK GOD for
Ann & Bob Peterson; He touched their hearts to serve people they don't even
know. This has made a profound impact on my life. Life is too short to spend it
mad, angry, better, life is about finding God's purpose, love, family and most
of all service to others - impacting the life of others. I have learned a
valuable lesson and I will not hesitate to pay it forward. The Walker School
has a special teacher in Bob Peterson. Thank you again xoxo.
·
I teach at Dugan Elementary in Paulding County.
We had a Good Samaritan, Coach Joe Keller, who used his truck to transport over
100 students and staff to their homes. He does not have any children at our
school and spent 6 hours making sure all of our kids were able to get home.
Then I found out that it was his birthday. This was such a selfless act. It's
nice to know there are still people out there who care.
· As I drove past I-75 on the south loop I noticed
a tall kid pulling a wagon of supplies. "Hey, I know that kid." It
was my son, out pulling a wagon of water and food looking for stranded people
to help. I picked him up and, after helping a stranded motorist, got home.
· A big thank you to the group of people who were
helping cars stuck on Bolton road. I was exhausted and on the verge of breaking
down and crying when they so kindly offered to help! God bless you guys!
· Stars and Strikes would like to take a
second to thank one of our own. Our Sandy Springs GM, Adam Clark is truly a
special guy. Adam took it upon himself to walk down
frozen Roswell Road last night to open up our Sandy Springs location as a
shelter for people stuck in the area. Adam coordinated with the Sandy Springs
Police to bring over 75 stranded motorists to Stars and Strikes so that the
adults could warm up and relax and the kids could play games to keep their
minds off of their troubles. Being the father of a sweet little girl, Adam told
us that he couldn't sit by and do nothing while families were stuck out in the
cold. Adam would never brag about being so selfless, so we figured that we
would do it for him. Please take a second to like this post so that we can all
let Adam know that his actions are appreciated!
· This group resulted in the rescue of my mom. I
am forever grateful!
· Thank you to the guys who came out of their
houses when they saw my sis-in-law stuck trying to get up a hill. They brought
kitty litter and shovels and help her get some traction. She got home safely to
her 3 children.
· I want to thank the guys on Palmetto Hwy in
Fairburn who were out helping countless cars get up those hills covered in ice
on that stretch of rd, me being one of them. It took me 11 hrs. to get home to
my kids. Thanks to the good Samaritans God sent to help people out of a bad
situation.
· I want to thank the Good Samaritans last night
that took over traffic management on the very hilly stretch of McGuInness Ferry
Road northeast of Bethany Road just outside of Milton. They had one guy at the
top of the hill, one guy in the middle with a glow stick, and one guy at the
bottom, using their cell phones and letting one car go up or down at a time on
a particularly bad hill. Their good advice with keeping the car in first gear
and not stopping no matter what helped me get past the pileup of cars at the
bottom of the hill and up the hill, to get home safely after a six hour ordeal.
I never would have made it home last night if it wasn't for them. God bless
y'all for your kindness.
· Kroger on Cascade. BLESS YOU! They are feeding
the stranded kids from bus #502 as we speak. Thank You God! If you are ever in
their area, please stop by and say "Thanks!"
· OK, I finally made it home. I left work
at 2:30pm and just came home at 11:10. It took me that long to make it home in
the snow storm. By the grace of God, he sent Angels to help me along the way.
These Angels came in different forms. They were Pakistani Indians who help me
to navigate my car, it was a young Caucasian college student who help to give
me a push on my car to help me gain momentum, it was a two pair duo that put a
belt on the bottom of my car and pulled me over the
black ice when I could not make it, it was a young woman who went from car to car
and offered her open home to those who were stranded like me, and it was even a
pair of youth who offered me chips and a slim Jim beef jerky when I was hungry.
My God these strangers did so much for me and did not even know me that their
kindness truly restored my faith in humanity. You see no matter what faith,
religion, creed, sexual orientation, and/or national origin we are all
neighbors. This is what neighbors should do for each other - HELP. I needed
help tonight and my neighbors were my angels. I thank God for them and those
who have helped me along my journey. This would also include you.
· I would like to say thanks to the 3 gentlemen
who pulled over and helped push my car up an inclined on Fairground Rd in
Marietta. I thought I wasn't going to ever get moving again. Thank You, Thank
You, Thank You!
· The most amazing gift came from last night: an
outpouring of love and support. The true spirit of humanity was illuminated in
so many. So many people reached out to help and I am so thankful to all of you
for that. I found help for my father through this site. I found help through
the computer from Oregon. I felt helpless and scared for my dad and you people
helped us. This site and the people of Georgia were a blessing to my family.
Thank you so much for all of your love and kindness.
A special thanks to Hayes who, it appears, was awake through the night driving
residents to their homes or nearby shelter with his Suburban.
· Was stranded at work since yesterday. I am
thankful I was dry and warm. Ran out of formula for my 3 month old and thanks
to this group and my angel named April, we are now home and both safe. Thanks
to my bestie Emily and Neil and April for all helping us get home. There are
still good people in this world!
· I would like to thank Tune Ups Barbershop - ATLne
ups for providing shelter to us total strangers last night. I was about to
break down and gave up until I step in their door. Owner EZE provided us Wi-Fi
and drinks/snacks from his vending machine. He would not take money from us!
Everything is free! Barber Geoff stayed with us till noon today so that we
could wait till the road is safe. Anyone around that area, please go have a
haircut and support this wonderful small business! They have really cool décor
inside. You really have to go and check it out.
· Around 7 PM last night, GTRA finally
figured out they didn't know where in the hell any of their buses were. They
did know they had a whole lot of cold, scared and angry people on their hands.
So, they made the decision to start taking whichever bus it could find and
start making "sweep routes". This is where a bus picks up everyone
and anyone going in a certain direction, heads out
and makes its best attempt to hit every stop. Mine was the Eastern I-20
corridor. So, after humping it on foot from down town to the
Civic Center, around 8 PM, the dozen of us in the group finally got a bus going
our way. The driver of bus #5038, I'll call her Hannah because I can't spell
her real name, had been working her GTRA route since 5 AM. Yet, here she was 15
hours later taking on passengers for a trip none of us knew how long it would
take or if we'd even make it. As you've read from my previous posts, it was a
long, grueling and dangerous trip. While frustrating and scary to everyone, the
group made friends with each other, helped each other and made sure Hannah was
good to go. Hannah didn't know the route well, but we did. A DOT worker and
myself knew just about every nook and cranny of I-20 between downtown and
Conyers. So, she was relying on us to let her know about tiny things like
slight curves and inclines that were going to make a big difference. Which we
gladly did. Throughout it all, she remainder upbeat with us and
displayed a skill set for handling a bus that you just would not expect out of
a middle aged, 5' woman that is used to driving a primarily surface street
route. I was definitely impressed. After dodging disabled and abandoned cars,
navigating half mile long total ice patches and dealing with hours long sitting
spells, Hannah got all of us to our respective stops by 4 AM. From there, she
still had to go back to the south side to the yard and drop off the bus. Then
head back to her house in Lawrenceville. Under the conditions, a daunting task. So, this "shout out" goes to Hannah and
all of the workers like her, that went way beyond that extra mile to do what
they could to assist a lot of people that don't know and probably never will.
If I ever come across you again, a big steak dinner is on me. With every
trimming your precious heart could desire. Thank you, "Hannah"!
· My parents were stranded overnight at 1-285
intersection last night. There was a kind woman that gave them some food. I
want to thank that woman wherever she is, thank you truly
· An anonymous young couple in their early
20′s who were “walking down the exit ramp I’d already been sitting on for 2
hours, passing out free bottles of water and bags of food. I wouldn’t take it
for free, but I traded a can of Red Bull for a bottle of water in case someone
behind me needed the energy. After 11 hours of travel (of what ended up as 11
hours 43 minutes), the water was much appreciated!”
I
walked down to Veterans Memorial Hwy to bring food and water to stranded
motorists. We found a woman and her quadriplegic husband that were stuck
in her car all night. They had no food or water and couldn’t walk because he is
wheelchair-bound. These amazing men used their own chains on the woman’s
car. They helped the couple navigate to a complete stranger’s house so that
they could get in from the cold. The stranger opened their doors to this woman
and her handicapped husband. Gestures like this should restore everyone’s
faith in humanity.- Thanks
to the guy handing out waters and Coca-Cola on Cobb Parkway approaching Barrett
last night. It took me 10 hours to drive from Windy Hill Rd to Kennesaw, and I
had been without water for about 5 hours. The bottle of water was the
motivation I needed to make it home safely.
I
want to thank the Good Samaritans last night that took over traffic management
on the very hilly stretch of McGuInness Ferry Road northeast of Bethany Road,
just outside of Milton. They had one guy at the top of the hill, one guy in the
middle with a glow stick, and one guy at the bottom, using their cell phones
and letting one car go up or down at a time on a particularly bad hill. Their
good advice with keeping the car in first gear and not stopping no matter what
helped me get past the pileup of cars at the bottom of the hill and up the
hill, to get home safely after a six-hour ordeal. I never would have made it
home last night if it wasn’t for them. God bless y’all for your kindness.
-
· Yesterday my dad’s car slid off the road and
into a ditch on Tyrone Road in Fayette County. He was stuck and alone.
Thankfully, a man in a truck came along and helped to pull him out. He didn’t
identify himself, and would not give his name or phone number when my dad asked
him about sending him something for his troubles. He did mention that he had
already helped 20-30 people so far, and that he was just trying to help. After
he got my dad back on the road he went on to help another truck that was also
stuck. This gentleman is probably in his 30′s, brown hair, slender build,
with a southern accent. In hopes that he or someone who knows him may see this,
THANK YOU. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!
· Thank you Ellen for spending 9 hours in the car
with me after I had to leave my truck in a subdivision across from the school.
Thank you Niki for giving me a safe, warm place to stay last night. Thank you
to the teacher who gave me a ride to Paulding County. Thank you to a kind man
named Jeff for driving me to the front of my subdivision. And finally, thank
you to the three men on a beer run who returned me to my wonderful husband and
son. I am truly grateful for your kindness to me. Also, for the many other selfless
individuals who picked up strangers, provided people with a warm place to stay,
or food and water. People from the North may tease us, but I lived 22 years in
Michigan, and I have never seen anything like this. Today, I am proud to be a
resident of Georgia. Thank you everyone for you kindness over the last 24
hours.
· I could not get to my child yesterday because of
traffic, and there were no buses getting through anytime soon. I walked to the
school–about two miles– to bring my child home. Had a very nice gentleman give
us a ride to the end of the road, and then we stopped for pizza at Star Pizza
on the corner of Hwy 9 and Hembree Rd. There was ONE person there trying his
best to feed everyone that came in. God bless that man and all he did to help
out some tired, cold, hungry people.
· The real news story should be all of the people
who are helping people in need. KSU students were out pushing cars and inviting
people in. People were walking from their homes to the road and bringing water
and snacks to stranded motorists. Businesses were opening up or staying open
and housing stranded people. A manager at Kroger was cooking up breakfast for
everyone in the deli for free. Mattress Firm in Canton invited in people who
were stranded near their store. Several restaurants are serving free food to
those who can get there. People on the roads who still had gas were taking
others into their cars to allow those who were walking to warm up and charge
their phones. That is amazing! This is the real story!
· THANK YOU to the three young men who were
standing on Old Milton at 12 midnight pushing cars, including mine, that got
stuck on black ice. Also to Extended Stay Suites near North Point Parkway on
Old Milton who let people stay in their lobby and provided coffee. We the
people made things happen and it has amazed me how kind others have been!
· The St. Regis Hotel Buckhead very graciously
gave my husband shelter for the night in their lobby. He had a pillow and a
loveseat by the fire and food. We are grateful to them. He made it home safely
this afternoon.
· I wanted to take a moment to thank the
fellow whose name I did not catch who gave me a ride from in front of Allatoona
High School area to the end of Parks at Cedarcrest!
He offered to give me a ride all the way home, but I sent him back to help
more! Saved me 2+ miles of walking! You are truly an angel and I made it home to
my family after coming home from Chattanooga!
· I want to make a "Shout Out" for Mary
Wiseman Francis and her huge squad of volunteers from SnowedOutRoswell,
particularly Kat-y Royale, Sean Simmons, Tami Miller Mendez (and her husband)
Monica Ricci and probably two dozen others that I'm neglecting.
· I want to thank the three groups of guys who
anonymously helped push my car to safety along Old Canton in East Cobb
yesterday night. Also, thanks to the very kind woman who let me into her home
with her kids to use her restroom, provide water and offer food when several
others had told me no. I know where she lives and she will be getting a
heartfelt gift from me.
-
· Just wanted to say thank you to the people who
gave my husband some water and food him and a coworker got stranded last night.
And a big thanks to the National Guard for helping him move his truck, they
made it back to their office and are safe right now. I can't wait to see him
when he gets home. I hope to see him tomorrow its killing me not having him
here.
·
I am a teacher in the APS school system.
The middle schools were set to release students from school at 1:30 pm. On
Tuesday. At 2:45 I still had 15 students left in my classroom! I watched the
snowfall cover the football field outside my classroom window! One if my
co-workers insisted that I leave at 3pm and leave the remaining 3 kids with
her! I headed to pick up my kids on Lynnhurst drive around 3p.m. I made the decision to take M.L.K. Jr. Dr. to Fulton Industrial
Blvd. I traveled on Fulton Ind for 10 hours until I approached the intersection
of Campbellton Rd/ HWY 166 toward Douglas County. Trying to make a long
horrifying story short, my two kids were not able to get to restrooms and were
soaking wet! They were hungry and crying! My husband stayed with me on the
phone and traveled from Lockheed Martin in Marietta to Fulton Industrial to
trail me home. My car hit an ice patch and was down for the count. After
parking on the side of the road his car wouldn't budge. I was terrified! I
called 911 and was told there was nothing they could do. About 1a.m. a young
lady almost slipped on the ice patch as she passed my car. My husband caught
her and asked if she was alright. She said yes and told him that she had walked
from Fulton Ind to her subdivision across the street. She told him that we
could stay at her home for the night! She fed us, comforted us with
conversation, and washed my kids’ wet clothing. Turns out her mother works at
my daughter’s elementary school!!! She is truly our family's guardian angel!!
Big shot out to Ms. Tiffini Bell my Atlanta Hero!
-
· My wife, my 2 week old baby girl Madison
and I were on a road trip from SLC Utah to Orlando FL for a new job. We were
among the millions who were stuck in Atlanta at exactly the wrong time. It took
us 7 hours to drive from Chattanooga TN to Atlanta
(should only take 2 hours) after a light snow fall and then all hell broke
loose. We were stopped just outside Atlanta and didn't move an inch in over an
hour. By some miracle we were able to squeeze our way off of an exit via the
shoulder and stopped at a Dunkin Donuts to assess the situation. There was no
way in or out of Atlanta. There were no hotels with vacancy and we had a two
week old baby. An hour and a few donuts later we got in the car to head to the
hotel we somehow managed to book on Hotwire. I was stopped by a total stranger
asking if we needed a place to stay. Not yet realizing the severity of the
situation, I graciously took his friends number and let him know we had a
hotel. Shortly thereafter we found out that the hotel had been vastly
overbooked and that there were no rooms left anywhere in Atlanta. The guy we
met (still don't know his name) referred us to his friends who had offered to
let us stay with them. We reluctantly drove to their address to be greeted in
the snowy parking lot by Ansley Head. She immediately offered to help us carry
stuff up. We were met inside by Ansley Schoeffler and Christa Prince before
being offered homemade vegetable beef soup. Ansley Schoeffler offered up her
room, bed and bathroom and they even set up a pallet on the floor which was
perfect for the baby. We watched movies and enjoyed the company of our new
friends before crashing in Ansley's room early. We left early the next morning
and found both Ansley's curled up on a small couch together having offered up
their beds to their guests. I am in awe at the kindness that these four have
shown to total strangers. They are inspiring to my wife and I. We've decided
that we need to pay their kindness forward and find ways to help those in need
around us. Ansley even continued to text us after leaving to make sure we made
it out ok. (Took six hours to move 15 miles) I also found out that the guy who
originally approached us (what's his name???) spent over 8 hours outside
helping push stuck cars to safety in the freezing weather. These four are truly
doing the Lord's work and their parents should be very proud. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts and please
stay in touch.
· I wish I had the names of the good people who
rescued and helped me thought my journey on Tuesday where I was in my car for 9
hours only to end up back where I started back at work. At one point, about 6-8
guys just parked their trucks at the top of a hill on Northside Dr and pushed
every car up the hill one by one. They were calm and encouraging as they
physically picked up and pushed cars. I just made it home today. The human
spirit was alive and well over the past few days. Thank you! Thank you! Thank
you!
· I was Extremely Overwhelmed with the Kindness
and Graciousness of my Fellow Atlanta folks! I was stuck in my car on Holcomb
Bridge for 23 hours spending the night Tuesday night there! Would say it was
definitely not the greatest day of my life, but with a lot of prayers and some
really Awesome Good Samaritans who offered food and water and were even putting
salt on the roads themselves, I was finally able to make it home! Without the
page SnowedOutAtlanta, I have no doubt that there would not have been so many
success stories! Thank You from the Bottom of my Heart!!!·
· I'd like to send out a huge thanks to the
people at Hyatt House, who were incredibly gracious and accommodating to the
folks who were stranded on 75 at Cumberland. They
opened their hotel to all who needed to escape the freezing temperatures. They
provided pillows, blankets, restrooms, free hot breakfast, etc. while allowing
everyone to camp out in their lobby, fitness center, and anywhere they could
find a spot. As soon as I walked in, I was given a tour by the manager on duty
(wish I got his name!), and was made to feel at home. They were AWESOME! Thank
you to all the hotel staff for your amazing courtesy!
· Exceptional job Zach Akers of Douglas County for
transporting people home! A lady at the hospital who had broken her shoulder
who couldn't drive herself, numerous children who couldn't get home, and for
getting supplies for schools that needed them with children who had to spend
the night away from parents! honored to call you a friend!! Upstanding citizen
award!!
· I just have to say thank you to all the
people who left the comfort of their warm home, or maybe even just got out of
their car to help or comfort others. My husband spent 14 hours in the car on
Tuesday night - 5 hours alone to pick me up and then we spent another 9 trying
to get home from Howell Mill / I 75 N. Thankfully we decided to try the back
roads down through Vinings by the river which took us 5 hours to get from W
Paces Ferry to the top of the hill in downtown Vinings.
Let me just say the people who live on that road between the river & the
fire station in Vinings are ROCK STARS! They were out with food, water, sweet
tea, blankets, offers for bathroom breaks, hugs, and just anything that would
help make being stuck a little better. A special shout out to those men &
teenagers about half way up that hill that was helping cars up one car at a
time. My husband is a diabetic, I had a protein bar we had shared but he did
not have his insulin so we REALLY needed up that hill to have a chance to get
home. We finally got over the hill around midnight. Fast forward an hour we
were finally on Veteran's at Oakdale and there were a group of truck drivers
who were stranded on that hill. Since there was no hope for them to get
themselves out of trouble they were out getting cars up one car at a time. I
was lucky enough to sleep in my bed after a 14 hour commute but only because of
the kindness of total strangers willing to help out. I can never thank those
people enough. I just pray God will bless them many times over for their
kindness!
· I want to thank the young man who brought my
sister in law, my niece, and my nephew home this morning. They were stranded
all night at all different locations. But by the grace of god along with the
rescuers they all met up again as one. Please people don’t take life for
granted. Just because you leave out that door, doesn’t guarantee if or when you
will walk back in.
· Thank you to Terry C who showed tremendous
leadership and expertise to systematically get some 8+ vehicles out from the
ice rink that was Heards Ferry/Northside Drive just outside the top of the
perimeter last night at around 3am. Some of us were almost out of gas, and if
it weren't for your knowhow, we may have had to stay the night. You had a
further journey to go than any of us, and you certainly could have taken care
of only yourself and moved on, but I am so thankful that you didn't!! People
like you renew my faith in humanity and make me want to selflessly help others
as well. Bless you!
· Thank you to Residence Inn
Atlanta/Buckhead Lenox Park. This hotel served as a stable in a city of
literally full inns Tuesday night. Between 9 and 12 people, including two
little girls, were allowed to spend the night in the lobby rather than sleep in
our cars. I have several food allergies, and was ecstatic to find the hotel
store was stocked with lots of very healthy snacks I could munch on to make a
dinner! Vernon, the desk manager, worked at least a 24-hour shift, got sheets or blankets for those who needed them, and he
invited us to join the paid customers for free breakfast the next morning. The
hotel wouldn't take any payment from us, either. I plan to make a commemorative
donation to a good cause in the hotel and Vernon's honor, and will be taking
brownies or fudge or something to the hotel to show my thanks. I also will book
Residence Inns whenever possible for future travel. I love my city!
· The guy on the picture is name is William, I
never met him but thanks to this Amazing group we are now friends... I wrote
Tuesday night here that my twin sister (the one on the left picture) was stuck
on 285 with no gas... he responded Wednesday around 5 and went to pick up my
sister to take her to the shelter. He sent checked to see if she got home, I
said yes. He offered to come get us and go retrieve her car. He came this
morning, paid for gas to put in her car, jumped start her car and followed us to
make sure the car was fine. He is one of the many Angels of this group. Thank
you again William, you are now our brother.
