on 12-27-08 23:42: Ardith Hinton to James Bradley re: Insights...

 JB>  Now, to suit up and clear even *more* snow from the walks...
 JB>  I just wonder how many of my neighbours even OWN shovels.

 AH>          We do... and so do our neighbours on both sides.  Not

Looks like this was a recurring theme for me last month. 

 AH> everybody does, though.  Last Dec. 17th I was amused to see a guy
 AH> from a local shop attempting to clear snow off the sidewalk
 AH> with a long-handled squeegee obviously designed for washing

Let him know, the stick can be used to shake the snow off the awnings too! If
he does that first, clearing the walks has to be done once. Funny you should
mention a squeegee though, as I used to use a hard rubber one to clear most ice
build up from my windshield, until it got a touch too much use one day. )-: I
since found a silicone rubber "broom head" with a squeegee on its
flip side,
but it seems to be sturdy enough to only clear the snow from glass. 

 AH> windows.  And we have a photo taken several years ago of
 AH> two girls from Nora's school skiing up the middle of the
 AH> street with their Mom when many of the sidewalks were
 AH> impassible.  It's not always quite so amusing when folks
 AH> like you & me take responsibility for certain things which
 AH> younger and/or more able-bodied folks apparently can't be
 AH> bothered with.  But I guess there's some gallows humour
 AH> here too.  What made the first incident amusing for me was
 AH> that Nora had to go somewhere... and not knowing what to
 AH> expect along the way I had decided to go with her & was
 AH> carrying our snow shovel on my shoulder, while he had the
 AH> befuddled look of a recent immigrant from southeast Asia
 AH> who had never seen snow before & was led to believe we
 AH> don't get it in this area.  What made the second incident
 AH> amusing was that when Nora was a toddler I'd also given up
 AH> on the sidewalks & pushed a stroller along the same
 AH> route... [wry grin].

Lucky, he didn't see an "ice" breaker strapped to the front of
her chair! 

 AH>          Another factor is the indomitability of the human spirit.  In
 AH> both of the above situations I saw people making creative use of
 AH> what was available to them at the time.  As for your own
 AH> neighbours... there are various reasons why some folks may
 AH> not be making a noticeable contribution toward the common
 AH> good. Although it doesn't seem quite fair that you should
 AH> have to take up the slack, it's probably better for your
 AH> mental health to do what you can to help without making
 AH> negative judgements regarding these people.  Besides... if
 AH> you want the job done you may have to do it yourself.  And
 AH> there may be an added bonus too, as long as you're doing
 AH> what you think is right without regard for what others may
 AH> think of it.  Later, when you tackle your neighbours on the
 AH> issue of young children riding tricycles in the alley, they
 AH> may be more receptive to what you have to say because you
 AH> shovelled their sidewalk for them last winter....  ;-)

I have a vacant house beside me, owned by mom. It seems sacrilegious to not do
her walks until she finds a renter. Next to me on the other side, I have a
older guy with a bad back. Next to moms' another bad back, and three doors away
is two rotator cuffs in need of surgery in the same guy. 

The two bad backs, I don't so much mind. We'll see how fruitful a siding
proposal comes from one, but the other is quite tolerant. Still, they would
have to be major jerks for me to stop anyway. Mr. rotator cuffs himself was
seen on a shovel a couple of times, and he is one of the nicest guys. His son,
when there, picks up a lot of that load, so I consider my part as a goodwill
gesture. It just always seems to be the welfare mom on every block that
considers herself entitled, that gets my cockles in a knot.


 AH>          BTW... we've had about 28" of snow in the past two
 AH> weeks.  Today it's raining, but more snow is expected
 AH> Monday.  Still snowing in Calgary...??  :-)

I've heard on The Weather Channel! Now that you have frozen slush filling the
storm sewer, kayaks might be preferred over cross-country skis? 
Our cold has subsided with a bit of Chinook winds. Even when those missed us
this past few days, -17C seemed like a respite from the minus 40 wind chill.
I'm still worried about letting the cat out for any length of time, but with
his cabin-fever, it seems to bother him little.

I'm running out of cold weather under-ware from my skiing days, but the ski
goggles are still coming in handy for the really cold stuff, so the drudgery is
at least tolerable. I've since found some good fleece and Thinsulate to get me
through. My shell could use more ventilation, with all the sweating I do
dragging the hip around, but life *could* be worse. 





... James
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