Snow way that’s right

/ February 2, 2015

My dear wife Karen took the day off from work today, so she scheduled a nail appointment for Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle for 10 a.m. Yeah, our beloved rescue mutt does not like getting the paw nails clipped, so we take her to the vet every couple of months for the chore. It’s better if we’re both available, for Ellie B’s nerves and our own.

When we awoke on this post-Super Bowl morning in our Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, the snow that they’d predicted had come. Every inch of it.

But Good Neighbor Tim had run his snow blower through the bottom of our driveway, so all I did before we took Karen’s all-wheel drive Mazda CX5 the couple miles to the vet was start both the cars, run the defrosters and brush off the snow. The plan was to drop the dog off with her clipped nails and head right to Wegmans for the weekly food shopping that we’d put off this weekend. Upon return, I’d shovel the driveway.

Which I did. The snow had continued falling during our journey. I figure we’d received about a foot’s worth of fluffy white stuff since the Patriots had defeated the Seahawks the night before.

Bottom of our driveway, shoveled.

Bottom of our driveway, shoveled.

I cleared the bottom of the driveway, which had been plowed back in. More to come about that.

The top of the driveway, done.

The top of the driveway, done.

I cleared the top of the driveway and the side porch, our preferred entrance to the house, which takes us into the kitchen.

Front steps shoveled.

Front steps shoveled.

I shoveled the front steps, even though we don’t use this entrance to the Little Bitty, which takes you into the living room.

Front walk to nowhere.

Front walk to nowhere.

I even shoveled the walk to the front stoop because the post man uses it every day, stepping into the deep snow when it ends and hustling himself across the empty lot to the neighbor’s house. Talk about being wedded to a short cut. If you look hard, you can see his footprints from this morning.

Now this looks cut-and-dried. And it should have been. I asked Karen to park the Mazda in front of our house because before 6 p.m. on an even-numbered day, that’s the proper side for alternate-side-of-the-street parking. I volunteered to lug all the packages to the side door myself.

This left the bottom half of the driveway empty for my shovel work. When I was finished, I hopped into my Chevy Cruze and backed it up into the cleared area so I could work on the top half of the driveway.

And just when I started there, down our hill came the city plow. The driver stopped his truck short of Karen’s car and a snow-covered car parked across from it. Again, I had made sure our vehicle was obeying the law.

Illegally parked car on my Syracuse street.

Illegally parked car on my Syracuse street.

The plow driver looked at me and rolled down his window. He didn’t want to attempt to fit the plow truck between the two cars. That’s the very reason why the city has alternate side of the street parking. I told him our car was on the proper side of the street. He suddenly looked even more tired.

I told him I’d go get the keys to my wife’s car. He said he was going to turn around at the bottom of my street and come back in the other direction. I told him I’d move my car back up our driveway and pull her car in behind it. He smiled and looked less weary.

I ran in, got Karen’s keys, did as I said, and waved as he made the second pass. He blew his horn a long toot of appreciation, and swung wide left, trying to put the least amount of snow back into my driveway as possible.

Still, I had to shovel a few feet more out into the street to clear it all.

And I had to rejockey our cars a third time to finish shoveling.

The illegally parked car is still in the same spot, plowed in. It’s 3:05 p.m. At 6 p.m., she’ll be on the proper side of the street for the next 24 hours.

Who says crime doesn’t pay?

Would you have moved your car, or made the plow driver blow his horn to try to get the other car owner out to move her car? Would you play the car-jockeying game to shovel, or just do the best you could around them? Would you consider throwing that extra snow at the end of your driveway toward the illegally parked car instead off onto the lawn as a matter of spite and principle?

Related posts

92 thoughts on “Snow way that’s right”

  2. I feel your pain, Mark, but it reminded me of a snow tale that is even a bit more infuriating (if that’s even possible). My buddy, Bruce, lives in the metropolis of Hicksville on Da Island. As the population of the town ages and taxes continue to rise, many of the older homeowners have taken in tenants (which is illegal, but loosely tolerated) to help offset expenses. The problem is, many of the homes in Bruce’s neighborhood have driveways that can fit a maximum of two vehicles during inclement weather. The neighbor directly across from Bruce’s residence has a tenant (did I mention he lives there illegally?) with an ugly habit of parking his car in the street, right against the driveway apron of Bruce’s house, the evening before any snowstorm. When the “snow” morning arrives, Bruce is obligated to shovel the area in front of his driveway apron in order to get his own cars out to the road. Invariably, as soon as he’s done shoveling, the tenant (who lives illegally in the house across the street), pops out of his domicile and simply drives off to his appointed rounds, having lifted nary a shovel. Is there a book called, “Snow Etiquette for Dummies?”

    Like

    Reply

    • You’d think that the (illegally living there neighbor) would volunteer a shoveling turn. But that would be our generation, not his. Grrrrrrrr. Dagnabbit, Jimmy Johnson, what has our world come to! We were nicer back in Sno’ville. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  3. I would have moved my car. I would not have shoveled snow at the parking criminal (unless maybe if they a butt to me frequently). I would definitely have moved for the snow plow driver – no reason to make his job harder – and perhaps have him retaliate on me later! And I do not understand why your parking changes daily. Why is that? 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  4. we have ‘snow emergency’ declarations here, where no one can park on the street to leave it open for the plows. they do tend to plow us in at the end of the driveway, though and it is so frustrating when coming or going, but know it has to be done to clear the neighborhood –

    Like

    Reply

  5. Ahhh, the winter wonderland. We got it last night and more this morning and tonight. It’s not heavy but it is continuous. The worst part is the cold. We have a cold temp warning today with a temp of -24 right now with a wind chill below -30. I do whatever I can to help plow drivers -they have saved my derriere too many times to count. In a lot of rural settings plow drivers will chain up and pull you out if you are stuck. When you drive for a living and are out in all weather, the only guys consistently out there too, especially in the winter, are the plow drivers – they’ll still be there even when the police have stopped patrolling. I’ve gotten into some interesting situations with plows. One really bad winter storm I was following a plow outside a small town in Nova Scotia – at about 2 am. Visibility was almost zero and it was close to whiteout conditions. I was quite happily following along at a safe distance and just watching the flashing lights on the plow and not paying any attention to the road, which I couldn’t see anyway. Suddenly there was a bright blue flash and a big ball of light in front of the plow, followed by a huge crashing sound. Then eveything went dark – and I mean everything – including the whole town and the traffic lights and the street lights – nothing but blackness. I threw on the parking brakes, grabbed my flashlight and struggled through the storm up to the stopped plow. The driver was sitting there with the cab door open and he looked like he had just seen the second coming of Christ – totally befuddled. I asked him if he was OK and he responded that he thought so. I walked carefully around to the front of the plow and checked it out. There was a very thick electrical cable under the plow blade that must have been hidden in the snow. I looked to either side and could see the shadows of a transmission tower on each side – where the cable must have fallen from. They would carry about 30,000 volts. The strenghtened steel blade on the plow was still sitting on the cable and had a hole melted out of the blade that was about a foot around. The cable must have been the main line for the town as every light was out.

    We waited for the power company and police to arrive and then left. I saw the plow driver turn into the Highway depot. I guess he was going to take the rest of the night off. Ha! I would.

    Anyway, plows and I have a long history and those guys are the best. I wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to help them Mark. I wouldn’t bother with the illegally parked car – he’ll come to a bad end all by himself one day. Generally i will move the car out to shovel unless I’m in a hurry and then i’ll let it warm up while I clear the minimum amout to get out.

    Like

    Reply

    • I’m in agreement that the plow drivers need all the cooperation we can muster, Paul. And that’s what I consider following the parking regulations at this time of year: Making sure that the plows will be able to fit down the street without pausing and delaying a job that’s already going to take them all of their working hours and them some, all to keep the populace safe. The scofflaw parkers are short-sighted, ignorant, uncaring or all of the above.

      Thanks for this great tale of your Canadian plow driver who almost was lights-out for hitting a fallen wire powering an entire town. That is scary!

      Like

      Reply

  7. Hey, did you know that our Little Biddy here in W MA is the same color as your Little Biddy??? It’s a very similar blue! Ha! 🙂

    That’s a lot of work and shuffling around for you, Mr. B. I’m exhausted just reading everything you had to do! I hope for your sake February and March are relatively snow-less.

    Like

    Reply

  8. That sounds like an unnecessarily complicated parking regulation to me. Why not just declare one side of the street the proper side to park on permanently? Whoever’s on the even side of the street is still getting screwed anyway since there are far more odd days every year. I know in my old hood, a lot of cars wouldn’t get driven for days (Including mine on my W-Th weekends)… and that would be a pain to have to go out just to move it to the opposite side of the street every day. Just my two cents for your local street regulating authority…

    Like

    Reply

    • I don’t make the rules, ESN, I just dwell and stew over the situation haughtily like a dude with a driveway to clear of snow. I remember they’d have these in New York City when I was growing up, too … The one-side only would PO the folks whose side was chosen, they’d scream their property values went down … Oh, what a tangled web we’d weave. I like the idea of a new idea, though. Then it hits me that people can’t even follow the old idea!

      Like

      Reply

      • A lot of people around here have trouble remembering which day the trash gets picked up, and that’s only an issue once a week. Daily changing parking assignments… I think that would drive me up the wall.

        Granted, we don’t get the amount of snowfall you do up there, but I think the program around here is that anyone living on a designated “snow route” (generally, the city’s main arteries) is forbidden from parking on either side of the street in the event of an accumulating snow. Everyone else is on their own…

        Like

      • But you only have to learn this once. Starts at 6 p.m., match the house numbers and calendar date, odd or even. Ah, well. I know it’s a giant pain. But our street is so narrow, when people are parked on both sides, driving down it ‘s like a pinball machine. Or a video game, pick up points for sideswipes!

        Like

  9. Our predicted snow on Sunday fell in wet puddles of rain, with more falling today. It’s been colder today, but back in the 40’s tomorrow. I can handle that. Even better if the sun comes out. We don’t see much of that lately, but with the warmer temps I can adjust. Not sure if I could handle living up north Mark. Snow was fun when I was a kid, and we had snow back then, but as the years pass the snow is prettier in photos and uglier in real life. Also glad I don’t have parking problems, because I park my wheels in my living room, close to an electrical outlet. Gina and I were talking about our blizzard of ’77, and while it was one of our favorite times ever, we don’t want a repeat. 15 feet of snow in Kentucky just isn’t something we can deal with, but we did have fun that one time. Lived like the pioneers, all in one room.

    Like

    Reply

  11. It all gets very complicated. Sorry for the snowy mess. We are blessedly low on snow. Seems east coast is winning the race this year. Very good exercise is shoveling. And I wish Karen could get HER nails done on her day off. Hope Ellie B realizes how lucky she is to have two such dedicated owners.

    Like

    Reply

  13. Ah, another member if the Age of Entitlement. I doubt it would do any good trying to reason with her like an adult. I bet the plow guy you helped out would be happy to redirect some heavy slush if he knew the history.

    Like

    Reply

  14. I think it is hard to say how someone handles their matters of snow, neighborhood and people. I would always agree with YOU, since you have an open and kind heart, you can only do so much with situations. I am lucky to be ‘done’ with others in this regard, only have the landlord’s lack of shoveling or salting to complain of, Mark!

    Like

    Reply

      • You have such a great memory, Mark! I hope I don’t complain too much… ha ha! I wish the fairness of things would result in neighbors particularly being nice to each other.
        Just in case I don’t get back here, after work on Thurs. I am heading to my Mom’s to enjoy time with her, by myself for one night and day, sh-h-h! Don’t tell the brothers we have less work so I am off a day ahead of when they expect me. I mean, I don’t want to share my Mom all the time! Anyway, I wish you a lovely weekend, sunny while the snow melts and you get some sunshine to enjoy a walk with Ellie B. and an evening and dinner out with your wife, Karen. Or maybe you will go bowling? I will surely read about any excitement going on in ‘your neck of the woods,’ my friend!

        Like

  16. I would have done what you did Mark. It makes it easier for the guys doing the crappy hours on these long days. And I wish the snow plow guy would have put more snow her/his way. Following rules just makes life easier for everyone. By the way….we got a breath of snow. Then rain. Then snow went away. Now it’s just cold. 😦 No snow days for us adults. 😦

    Like

    Reply

  17. Bury the car, Mark! Oops, my mild manners just went out the door. FYI… we have MORE snow then you! Yup, dumped on again, about only 2 feet this time, if not more. Thank goodness it is NOT 7 feet. We need Spring, cousin to the east. I am fed up with snow. I need GREEN and flowers and SUN and warmth. (((HUGS))) cousin to the west

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. You did the right thing. But i feel annoyed for you. If only people tried to keep to the rules we would all be happier and less stressed.

    Like

    Reply

    • Yes, stress does play a role in this game, too, Rachel. They have less of it because they leave the car sit there for days at a time, and I have more of it moving mine around to clear my driveway. 😦

      Like

      Reply

  19. Like you Mark, I would have moved my car… well I hope I would have, not 100% sure as I was pretty sure I’d give a restaurant a second chance the other day… 😉

    Anyway, I think it’s poetic justice that the car across the street was plowed in. Having said that, I hope that the reason they didn’t park properly has nothing to do with some kind of tragedy, you know, like that saying, ‘be nice to everybody because you never know what they’re going through…’ ❤

    Diana xo

    Like

    Reply

  22. I didn’t even know they had rules like this, but this is why I staunchly believe in everyone following the rules. You did the right thing, which is often not fair.

    Like

    Reply

  23. I would have moved if I was already outside. What an inconsiderate owner of the other car.

    Snow’s gotta go somewhere, right? maybe even on the other side of the street….

    Like

    Reply

  24. And that dear friend is why we moved to Florida. I was crazy with the shoveling, the cold, and the algebra needed to keep track of which day of the week it was and which side of the street to park on when! LOL! Here’s hoping that spring will come soon! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. You were kind to the driver. I likely would have done the same. Regarding the illegally parked car – I would be irked and want to bury it in snow…….but also curious if the owner had a REAL reason or inability to move the car. I try to give the benefit of the doubt cause Lordy knows I have screwed up or needed and not found help on many occasions.

    Like

    Reply

  27. Sounds complicated. Don’t have snow problems here, but had a lady come and tell me I was watering on the wrong day once when I first moved in. I was. I found out which days I was supposed to water and started following the rules, only to see her watering on the wrong days. I guess the rules didn’t apply to her, just everyone else.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I hope you went over and told her she was watering on the wrong day, S.K. What’s good for the goose …

      I’ve seen this driver park and leave her car in the same spot from Friday after work until Monday morning every week, not caring about the law. When the plow comes at 2 a.m. and can’t get through, it blows the horn. If nobody comes out, it bangs the blade on the street. Not pleasant. There have been times when the plow has just not plowed our street because nobody came out to move the illegally parked cars. The woman is a true nuisance. I wish her car would get towed.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.