on 01-30-09 22:12: Ardith Hinton to James Bradley re: Let It Snow...  1.

 AH>            Same here.  We had over three feet of snow in as many weeks,
 AH> and a lot of people who shovelled the first few inches either abandoned
 AH> the idea or took off for warmer climes when the stuff just kept on
 AH> coming.  I appreciated having some "down time" at home... but I was
 AH> beginning to get fed up with not being able to use the wheelchair
 AH> because others ignored the snow in hope that it would go away
 AH> momentarily.  Sometimes it does.  Sometimes it doesn't.  ;-)

I imagine - like anti-freeze and tires *with* treads - snow shoveling muscles
might be rare in your local. Like Grand-Uncle Roy used to say, "Whoever put it
there will take it away." I heard from my sister that
"someone" removed your
snow for you lately, so there he might have a more pertinent point. 

Now that my vehicle issues are at a dull roar, and I've almost stocked up
the pantry again, I can start in on the backlog again.


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

 AH>            Not yet, but we're working on it!  Best idea
 AH> we've come up with so far is to bring along a folding
 AH> shovel we use for camping trips... [chuckle].

A flap of carpet sure helped me get off a ridge of ice this weekend. Sure more
portable, and less lethal than slivers of wood spitting out the rear. 


 AH> [re shovelling snow for various neighbours]
 AH> done.  But the thing is, people like you & me & Mr. Rotator
Cuffs think
 AH> of others less fortunate although it's not easy for us to do our bit.
 AH> On behalf of all the "mobility challenged" I salute you....  :-)

Right back at ya! Like the saying goes, "You have to be a good neighbour, to
have a good neighbour." 

For how many years I've been begging for casual help around here, and I even
called a "Snow Angel" campaign to no avail. Now, I'm waiting for a recovery
facility to call, so I can hopefully get a hand with some heavy items in the
yard. I can't hold my breath over it. 

 JB>  It just always seems to be the welfare mom on every block that
 JB>  considers herself entitled, that gets my cockles in a knot.


 AH>            Dallas & I noticed a gaggle of young able-bodied females
 AH> living in a rented house just down the street from us playing in the
 AH> snow one day.  Did they shovel any of it?  Of course not!  They have no
 AH> compunction about asking me for the loan of a hand blender when they're
 AH> having a party.  We would have lent them a shovel if they'd asked, but
 AH> they said nothing about it... (sigh).

Did they at least invite you to the party? 


PS: I have since seen a TV-news spot about PTSD, and you nailed it. I have only
one symptom of their top three. Early onset ({at}28yo) mid-life crisis could
explain a lot, certainly toward the end of my career.

... James
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