Hi, James!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

JB>  I imagine - like anti-freeze and tires *with* treads -
JB>  snow shoveling muscles might be rare in your local.


           I think most people around here probably use antifreeze.  But
tires with treads... what a revolutionary idea!  Others couldn't figure out
why they kept getting stuck in the snow, while we didn't....  :-)))



JB>  Like Grand-Uncle Roy used to say, "Whoever put it there
JB>  will take it away." I heard from my sister that "someone"
JB>  removed your snow for you lately, so there he might have
JB>  a more pertinent point.


           Well... we still have patches of snow hanging around, especially
in parking lots & next to driveways where it was piled up.  We also got
more snow on the 3rd & the 10th, but that didn't amount to much.  A
week or so ago I was amused to see a fellow working in the garden on one
side of his driveway while there was quite a bit of snow remaining on the
opposite side.

           I agree with Grand-Uncle Roy insofar as it does go away
eventually. Meanwhile, I reckon someone could use a little help from human
hands too.  :-)



JB>  Now that my vehicle issues are at a dull roar, and I've
JB>  almost stocked up the pantry again,


           And now that we're not busy shovelling snow... [chuckle].



JB>  A flap of carpet sure helped me get off a ridge of ice
JB>  this weekend.


           Hmm... I hadn't thought of that!  We've been using the kitty
litter which was left over when the cat died & we sold our rear-wheel
drive car.  But I'm sure we have a few odd scraps of carpeting around here
somewhere....  :-))



JB>  Like the saying goes, "You have to be a good neighbour,
JB>  to have a good neighbour."


           Yes.  Or in other words, "Be what you want to attract."  :-)



JB>  I've been begging for casual help around here, and I
JB>  even called a "Snow Angel" campaign to no avail.


           While it sounds like a good idea to have a local registry of people
who need help & people who are offering help, it may not work quite so well in
practice!  Years ago we routinely had kids knocking at our door trying to make
a few bucks shovelling snow.  Eventually, I suppose, they grew up & moved away
... to be replaced by a homeless man who had borrowed a shovel from one of the
nearby churches.  We haven't seen him for some time either... [wry grin].



AH>  We would have lent them a shovel if they'd asked, but
AH>  they said nothing about it... (sigh).

JB>  Did they at least invite you to the party? 


           Nah, we're too old & boring!  I doubt we'd enjoy it anyway. 
And we also have to get along with another neighbour who objects to the
noise some of the guests make in the wee small hours, when they are drunk
& disorderly.  ;-)



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


           It's been known for years that many schoolteachers suffer from what
was once called "battle fatigue".  There are various similarities
between PTSD
& mid-life crisis as well... but in this case one descriptor focuses on why it
happens whereas the other focuses on when it most often seems to happen.  IMHO
a major stress or an accumulation of minor ones can have similar results.  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+