6:30 AM Block Party

Woke up this morning to 3-4 inches of fresh snow, and a nice drift at the end of the driveway from the plow. This was not unexpected, as the weather forecasters had been predicting a nice snowstorm, and we'll probably get another 3-4 inches before it is all over.

So, I asked She Who Puts Up With Me to take care of getting the kids dressed and breakfasted, so I could go out and shovel the driveway before we had to leave. She moaned once, and pulled the covers more tightly over herself. I took this as agreement with my plan, and went out into the fresh blanket of white armed with my shovel to do battle with the forces of nature.

All up and down the block, the roar of snowblowers could be heard. The scrape of my shovel was a muted counterpoint to two-stroke engines muffled by the falling snow.

"Hey," called one of my neighbors as he walked to pick up his morning paper, "when're you gonna get a snowblower?" This neighbor is one of those people who believes that any problem can be solved through the application of either more horsepower or more firepower. He's also our state legislator. Frightening thought.

The truth is, I already own a snowblower, but I stopped using it after one season. It was too hard to get started, too noisy and stinky when running, and didn't actually clear our smallish driveway much faster than the old-fashioned way. Plus, when I clear my driveway, I get to count it as exercise. Everyone else on the block only gets to count it as cold.

There are many places in this country where the idea of enough snow to cancel school and work is unheard-of. A little further North, and you start getting snow days after an inch or two. But in my neighborhood, asking "Why are you clearing your driveway at 6:30 AM?" would yield a quizzical look and the straightforward answer:

"Today's Monday. Gotta get to the office."