The Big Blizzard of 2013 will be remembered for many years or decades to come.
Natural disasters are often used as yardsticks. As I shoveled my driveway, a neighbor asked me “where were you in 1978?” He was referring to the last big blizzard of this type.
There is a story for every person who has endured record-breaking bad weather, from Superstorm Sandy to last weekend’s blizzard.
Hardship can bring out the best in people. In my case, a neighbor stopped by with his truck to plow snow that was 5 feet deep and 30 feet long in the driveway. That was after I had spent 8 hours laboring with a snowblower and shovel. While he did that, I crossed the street to help an elderly neighbor clear a path 40 feet long from his home to the road.
Unfortunately, not everyone with means is so magnanimous as my neighbor with the plow.
When I got in to work this morning, a colleague of mine recounted how her elderly parents were trapped in their home, and grateful when someone came along and offered to plow their driveway. For $200. And it was a small driveway – only long and wide enough to hold two cars. Nonetheless, the helpless couple was grateful.
This is a reminder of how little it takes to help someone out of a jam. It is also a reminder of how some people have no compunction about preying on the most defenseless of individuals.
Perhaps the man who did the $200 snow job on the seniors was pleased with himself for “helping out” as he counted his cash and drove on to the next victims’ homes.
Would he have done the same if his parents were in the same situation? What makes someone like that tick?
While we prefer to remember the kindness of most people after a tragedy, one can’t help but see an image of one’s parents or other friends or relatives at the mercy of an unscrupulous individual.
Websters dictionary Winds with speeds between 32 and 63 mph.
You are a real piece of work. Just because someone thinks that the cost of a service is too high doesn't Mean that only older people complain. BTW I am the person who paid 450 to have their driveway cleaned and I didn't complain. I paid since it was a big job and well worth the price. I will say that you sound like the person who would rip people off and not be concerned. Get your head on straight buddy, you will also be there one day. NOPE i think my TAXES are to high and i cant do anything about that can i. With that i am willing to bet you never plowed an inch of snow in your life. So once again get out a shovel or buy a real 4 wheel drive vehicle or stay home and watch reruns. I made a joke and all you RAGS jumped on it. By the way if you paid 450 bucks a loader must have been used. I have seen drifts well in to the 5' range. I have moved more snow than anyone can imagine. With that i could care less who gets out and who does not. The fact is i am not going to waste my time the diesel wear and tear on my vehicle so some BMW YUPPIE has to go out to get a PAPER. With that anyone that is an experienced plow operator knows not to plow a heavy snow after the storm passes. If you do not understand this then 200 bucks is CHEAP.
Or higher when the winds are are blowing GAIL
Get a sense of humor and move on. I'm serious....move on. As in go somewhere else. Your blood pressure can use a break from all the liberals around here.
How did people ever get by owing a home in the early 20th century before snow blowers?
If old people have done a lot for others over their lifespan I am sure the good they have done will come back to them and the people they have helped when they are able will also help them when they need it. Otherwise, we're all on our own. It's sad if old people have done a lot for their children and then when the parents need it the children don't help out. Years ago families took care of each other (both with financial and physical support) but now a lot of old people are on their own.
Cosmo P is correct in one sense. There is the correct tool for every job. A kitchen knife is not a substitute for the correct size screwdriver. A 3kw generator cannot power a complete house and even a diesel dump truck can't plow 30" of snow at one time. In this part of our state the 30"= snowfall is rare so that it does not pay for our government to purchase hugh payloaders and keep them on standby. The same holds true for the individual homeowner. Owning a small snow blower just will not do the job. For now my sidewalk will have to wait until the sun reduces the job and I can afford the snow removal cost.
That was a time when toy stores the 5&10 and department stores had 50+ types of cap-guns for sale and Daisy BB guns were sold to kids. Boys payed as Cops and Robbers or Cowboys and Indians. As for the weather in winter 12" of snow was normal and cars weighed at least 2000 pounds so they went in the snow. Car Registration fees in New York was based on the weight of the car and not its value school girls wore dresses or skirts except when it snowed and only then could they wear slacks. No-one at anytime wore jeans to school. . Yes TIME MARCHES ON if you can remember that at the movies.
- $0.32 for a gallon of gas corresponds to about $3 today - so yes we're paying more but not that much. - all cars stll weight over 2,000 Lbs, in fact you'd be hard pressed to find one under 3,000. However tires have gotten wider and lower and that's not good in snow. The smart drivers have winter wheels.
That's a LOT cheaper than hiring someone on the spot after the fact. If you don't want the person to show up after evey snowfall, that's negotiable too. The guy who plows my driveway doesn't show up for less than 4" per our agreement because I can plow this myself or drive over it (both our cars have winter tires). Over 4" the price varies with the amount of snow but is prenegotiated and a lot less than $200. I also have him sand when it ices. The best way to save money is to prepare ahead of time. I negotiated a rate for plowing, bought a snowblower for less offseason, saved for a replacement boiler and now save >50% on heating oil. Waiting for the last minute will cost more every time.
30" is unusual and we should expect some disruption. I see some kids help their parents clean the driveway, but not many. Even fewer help their elderly neighbors. That comes down to parenting. I help my older neighbor within the limits of my snowblower and my bad back if I happen to be at home because that's the way I was brought up but I seem to be the exception on my street. That's pretty sad.
9:14 am on Sunday, February 17, 2013 Cosmo, besides voting once a year, what do you do to try and change the laws and actions of our present government? For the past 52+ years I have been on the inside working on the grass roots level trying to seek change by who is a candidate for office. I don't vote in CT. But i do vote in my legal juristiction. There is no point in voting in a liberal state like CT. A republican cant win other than good people like John Fry. All the Dems in this state have it locked up. Question just look at the caliber of the newly elected brain dead politicians just elected to this state and honestly tell me my vote actually means something in CT. So my voting state is not CT any more. Thank GOD!!
It's federally mandated.
No wonder the kids are getting fat. They can't even walk 2 blocks to a bus stop like we used to do IF we lived .5 mile from school in elementary school or 1.5 miles from school if in junior high / high school. The question is, why does the federal government mandate it? Because of law suits? I no longer have kids but I would have no problem with my kids having to walk a few blocks home from the bus stop. Parents who do have a problem should be there to meet them (and walk themselves). I was one of 7 children and had to walk a little under .5 miles to elementary school. My mother didn't drive so my father took me to school on the first day of school and after that I was on my own walking with other children. We were all none the worse for it -- maybe better.