Buzz off Nemo!

Nemo came, dumped a couple of feet of snow on us, then left.  For many it was a cause of panic, partially because of the timing (the 35th anniversary of the Blizzard of '78 was a couple of days ago) and partially because we are a nation of wusses nowadays.

Me, I was out there with the shovel early yesterday listening to Floggy Molly (yeah, still kind of on a jag from last week's show).  Here I am, waist deep in snow digging away and singing loudly to the song "Drunken Lullabies" when the plow driver goes by and I waved to him.  As I'm digging, I take a second to pogo to the line, "Then the rosary beads count them one, two, three as they fell apart on the floor..."in the song "What's Left of the Flag," the driver went past the other way and I waved again.   The next time through I was singing along with "So May the Living (Be Dead in Our Wake)" he pulled up and told me I'd be plowed back in before long as there were about 10 more passes scheduled for our street.

I shrugged and said, "I guess I'm at that age where a little exercise wouldn't kill me.  I'm out here with Flogging Molly so no biggie."

He laughed and said, "Let me give you a hand," and then plowed a foot of the plow sludge up to form a barrier to protect the driveway from oncoming plows.  He then pointed up the hill saying, "Here's one now, let's see if it works."  Sure enough, the big plow came by, went around the barrier and my driveway was still in tact.

I thanked the driver and told him to be safe out there.  He smiled and drove off with a final wave.

Sure enough, after every pass, my driveway remained without a new wall of plow crud and my hour or so of effort remained.

Later, my son went out to shovel the walkway from the driveway to the stairs but, a few feet in decided that it would be more fun to create a snow tunnel.  While he was right, it was more fun, the adult in me began to think about the killjoy things adults do like what happens if it collapses or how do I get the groceries up the front steps and those sorts of practical things.  So I went out to clear the walk way and found and he left a message for me.  One was a sign that simply read "Alive Inside" (in case the health department was checking for zombies) and the other was a message on McGreevey the Wonderbug.


It made me smile every time I looked over and saw it.  He was trying to make the Twin Berlin logo to suggest my car loves the band Twin Berlin.  Given my car's musical proclivities - as I am convinced McGreevey does let my iPhone know what is and isn't acceptable play in shuffle mode - I wouldn't doubt that he does indeed prefer Twin Berlin to Kathy Mattea, classical music, George Harrison or something more appropriate for a woman my age.  Given how often punk comes up in shuffle instead of other stuff, I can see where my son and McGreevey were trying to send me a message.

While my back was a little sore last night, it was nothing a little ibuprofen and heating pad couldn't cure and my biceps and abs feel like they are stronger than ever.

The moral of my story?  Does there have to be one?  I suppose it's being kind is often appreciated.  If you're digging out or own a plow or snowblower or something, make someone's day and give them a hand.  You never know, they may really need a smile.