The heavy snowfall came as predicted. It took me 50 minutes to get home from a 14-minute drive. Count part of that as knocking off the snow piled high on the car. The plows had not come through yet, the curtain of snow still falling made visibility a little uncertain, so 22 miles an hour felt comfortable. Then I passed the expected police car behind the pickup truck for the inevitable skid accident. After that traffic barely moved.
I had chatted on the phone with Art just before leaving the shop so I knew he must be anxious by now. I was waiting for a break in the traffic so I could make that left turn into my neighborhood. Yes, I'm anticipating my move when the cell phone rings. I know if I don't answer, he will be thinking of going out to look for me, so I say, "Hello, I'm making a left turn, I can't talk," but the opportunity to make my move is gone. It is minutes before this creeping line, again, has space enough for me to pass through.
I pull way up to the garage doors (park inside? It's only a two car garage, so no room for the cars). We had signed a contract with a snow removal service. One fee for clearing the driveway of snow for the entire winter. Then weeks ago we got a letter from them saying they will plow only when the snow is at least 4" deep. Obviously we weren't the only ones who didn't read the fine print and called after the first snowfall to say: Where are you?
What happened to all the youngsters carrying snow shovels who would ring the bell to ask whether you wanted your driveway cleared? I haven't seen one in years. Did the snow-blower make the entrepreneur obsolete? I'd love to see a team of young shovelers when the snow is less that 4" deep. True, my husband goes out with the shovel (snow blowers are for sissies) and does the job, feeling empowered by his success.
But, really, where are the young wage-earners? I wonder whether that new site, Myfirstpaycheck.com, designed especially to put some money in the pocket of young people has such a listing. Not that it would help me - they service Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and NY. Maybe snow is not a big issue in those cities. Disclaimer: two of my grandchildren own that website, and yes, they each went out with their shovels when they were little kids. Now that they are bigger kids, they put their shovels away, and moved on to working on the Internet. I hope it's all sunshine for them.
--- Florence
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