In an effort to be positive, I will say that the snow was pretty right after it fell. All of my other comments about the past week are negative. Well, no, that is not quite right. There were some good things about that record snowfall and maybe I should just surprise all of you by being optimistic and upbeat for a change.
I did appreciate the effort by city crews to stay abreast of the snowfall. I hope you appreciated them as well — they worked hard with the equipment they had. Also, I’m grateful to the city for giving the go-ahead to hire the staff of Middlecreek Inc. to assist with moving the snow. They all had long hours in the saddle trying to keep the streets at least passable for all of us. And, yes, they got paid, as well they should have and I am glad I was not one of them. I don’t want that job and apparently you don’t either since you weren’t out there doing it.
Several people helped me bust out of drifts I had no business thinking I could navigate in the first place. I have good thoughts about them as well. I saw that same scenario happen over and over again with people just as ignorant as I. Maybe when this is all over I will interview them and just see what it is that makes us think we are special and can do astounding things against Mother Nature!
What really amazes me is realizing that I grew up in places that had snow like this all winter long and I can remember only one or two “snow days” when the accumulation and temperatures were so bad, school was just canceled. Times have changed and I am not complaining, just commenting. We used to play in the snow for hours on end, go sledding from lunch until supper, and then want to go out the next day and do it all again because back then, that is what we did with winter snow.
It wasn’t so much to be avoided as enjoyed. We went to school daily because that was expected of us and snow was always part of the winter months. In addition, the areas in which I lived had the equipment and personnel to handle whatever hit the ground.
Another good thing is that I was able to hire the best snow-shoveling kid in town! He knocked on my door after the first big snowfall a couple of weeks ago, asking about shoveling my sidewalks. We settled on a price and he set to work; did a wonderful job. I asked him to check back if it snowed again and he has been at my door every time since then. I don’t know if his parents would want me to publish his name, but he is good and if you need someone, give me a call and I can put you in touch with him. The postal service gives me high marks for clean sidewalks and he is the reason.
The best part of the past week is that it is over. The next best thing, although it kind of tugged at my heartstrings, was the robin sighting in my yard at mid-day Friday and then several times since then. Spring! That signified that there is a daffodil just below the earth’s surface ready to pop up and call my name. I wonder though, what those robins thought when they woke up last week in a record-breaking blizzard this far south? Mrs. Robin to Mr. Robin, “I TOLD you to stop and ask for directions … I bet this is Michigan, not Kansas!”
And one of my most positive snow experiences is being blessed with a guy who pulls his tractor blade through my driveway and alley because I was blessed with a guy who asked him to do so. It doesn’t get much better than that.
— Susan Marshall