Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Shoveling Snow
I am a novice when it comes to politics. I follow several blogs and political commentators and try to educate myself. One of my favorites is John Keller the political analyst for WBZ Radio and Television. He strikes me as fair minded, honest, witty and doesn't appear to show any bias towards a particular party. I often comment on his blog, but rarely in disagreement.
Tonight he will be hosting a debate between the Senatorial candidates, Martha Coakley, Scott Brown and Joseph Kennedy. Most of you Wahey Boys are like most of the general public in that it is doubtful that you will watch the debate. I hope you do, so that you can educate yourselves as to which candidate you prefer based on their opinions on the important topics. Even if you don't, I hope you do get out and vote on January 19.
So what does that have to do with shoveling snow? Nothing, I was simply building up to share my opinion about something I am not a novice at. John Keller had an opinion piece on WBZ Radio today about people who don't shovel the sidewalks in front of their homes, among other snow maintenance related complaints. I'm not sure where Mr. Keller lives or how much shoveling he does but chastising others because of their laziness is as cold as the snow. Shoveling snow is not an inconvenience, it is allot of work, even when the snow is light. Maybe his focus was on neighborhoods such as Dorchester and Southie, where perhaps there is less snow removal to do, but here in suburbia, shoveling the sidewalk on top of shoveling everything else is out of the question.
I have seen some of my neighbors cutting a swath down the sidewalk with their snow blowers and if I owned one I would surely consider it. As it is, I shovel off my rear deck, front steps, front walk, parking area along the street and my driveway as well as clean off 4 vehicles. From time to time I have done some shoveling for my elderly neighbors, depending upon the amount of snow and my heart rate. I'd be lying if I said that 20 years ago I shoveled the sidewalk, but honestly, I didn't do it then either. The way I look at it is my taxes, which just went up, should cover sidewalk shoveling.
Do I feel bad for the kids walking to school? Not really. These days school gets called off when it rains hard, never mind when there is a foot of snow and quite frankly, I don't see many kids walking to school anymore, but that's a commentary for another day. Children who don't take the bus are usually driven to school even on sunny Spring days.
Do I feel bad for seniors that have to walk in the street? Well, kind of, but when they can have milk and bread delivered in this day and age, I say stay in until its safe to walk.
And how about those dog walkers? Sorry, no sympathy there. I come from the school of thought that all domestic animals should be outlawed. Mr. Keller will most assuredly put me in the "nut-job" category now because I'm pretty sure he's a dog lover. I've got nothing against dogs, cats or any animals, its their owners I have a problem with, especially when they let their dogs bark, defecate and urinate in places where people live. Animals belong in the wilderness, free to run and hunt and do what animals do.
Lastly, the snow on the roof thing. I push the snow off the roof of the cars because its relatively easy. My van is another story. Too high and too difficult to push the snow off so I don't. This past storm I drove to the coffee shop, less than a mile away, and the snow had fallen off by the time I got there. Not a big deal, so why make it a big deal. Is it any different than driving in wind driven snow or rain? If people get so stressed because they have snow blowing in their face from a passing vehicle, then they should stay in the house.
Opinions, like the one Mr. Keller offers on this subject are an example of media going beyond their expertise in order to create controversy and justify their existence. Media such as this, is why everyone rushes out to the supermarket to stock up on water and milk whenever we get snow. Let's not make something out of nothing, its just snow and we New Englanders love it and hate it.
Incidently, I added the word "honest" to the first paragraph after I noticed somebody had informed Mr. Keller of a past mistake, and he owned up to it in his blog, "Mea Culpa".
POSTED BY STAN on December 22, 2009
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