Thursday, January 20, 2011
Shoveling Snow
Maybe it is because I am not a native Minnesotan that I am able to see what it is like to be Minnesotan. When someone has always lived in one place, they do not necessarily see the uniqueness of what is around them. Or maybe it is because when explaining to my family in Texas what it is like to be living in Minnesota I am forced to evaluate traits that other Minnesotan just accept. But I think the real reason I am able to see what it is like to be Minnesotan it is because I am from Texas and Texans too live with an understanding, an understanding that, above all else, we are Texan and unique in this world.
On my birthday it snowed eighteen inches. Not the lights stuff that you can just push aside with little effort, but the heavy stuff. I decided to classify snow falls by the amount of shovels need to remove a square foot. Any snow that could be push to the side wouldn't count as snowfall. There would then be "One Shovel Snow" which would take one shovelful to clear a foot, etc. This storm was a "Three Shovel Snow".
As I was outside making little progress clearing our driveway, I was amazed to see all my neighbors doing the same. I mean every neighbor. Neighbors that I had not seen for months were outside throwing snow. Most had snow throwers.
After spending almost an hour on this project and being about one fourth of the way done, my next door neighbor wheeled his snow thrower over to my driveway and proceeded to methodically clear the path. After he was done, I thanked him and we talked a while about the amazing snowfall. He was excited, almost giddy describing past snowfalls. He compared this winter with other winters, mentioning cold as well as record snow falls and I noticed that it was not him who was thriving, it was the entire neighborhood. There was an energy and excitement all over.
As I tried to figure what was going on, I realized that it was days like this that Minnesotans felt different from the rest of the country. This was our identity, what makes us unique. Though there maybe big snows throughout America, we Minnesotans know, in our hearts, that ours snows where heavier, our cold is colder, and our winter is really winter. No one else knows what it was like to survive here in the frozen north.
On my birthday it snowed eighteen inches. Not the lights stuff that you can just push aside with little effort, but the heavy stuff. I decided to classify snow falls by the amount of shovels need to remove a square foot. Any snow that could be push to the side wouldn't count as snowfall. There would then be "One Shovel Snow" which would take one shovelful to clear a foot, etc. This storm was a "Three Shovel Snow".
As I was outside making little progress clearing our driveway, I was amazed to see all my neighbors doing the same. I mean every neighbor. Neighbors that I had not seen for months were outside throwing snow. Most had snow throwers.
After spending almost an hour on this project and being about one fourth of the way done, my next door neighbor wheeled his snow thrower over to my driveway and proceeded to methodically clear the path. After he was done, I thanked him and we talked a while about the amazing snowfall. He was excited, almost giddy describing past snowfalls. He compared this winter with other winters, mentioning cold as well as record snow falls and I noticed that it was not him who was thriving, it was the entire neighborhood. There was an energy and excitement all over.
As I tried to figure what was going on, I realized that it was days like this that Minnesotans felt different from the rest of the country. This was our identity, what makes us unique. Though there maybe big snows throughout America, we Minnesotans know, in our hearts, that ours snows where heavier, our cold is colder, and our winter is really winter. No one else knows what it was like to survive here in the frozen north.
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Well said, Charlie. And Happy Birthday! Your post reinforces a small air of superiority I feel when I hear my coworkers complaining about the cold. It never even drops below 50 here! (Then again, they handle the heat and humidity with grace and professionalism while I sweat like a fat kid and complain to no end.)
What a cool post. To me it seems like a kind of hell that massive cold and snow. It's a bit of the triumph of the spirit, must be how those lizards feel living in the Sahara dessert.
You remember that lady from MN in Hawaii we met that was running the ice cream shop? I remember that conversation well, about how all her family said she'd be back. And there was a little bit of her being looked down upon now. Really fits with what you are saying. Next Xmas I'm going to chip in with mom and dad and get you a snow blower!!
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You remember that lady from MN in Hawaii we met that was running the ice cream shop? I remember that conversation well, about how all her family said she'd be back. And there was a little bit of her being looked down upon now. Really fits with what you are saying. Next Xmas I'm going to chip in with mom and dad and get you a snow blower!!
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