The Nor'easter storm that took a city hostage

This is a very large, bustling city, usually.

Right now? I can't hear much beyond my barely

opened window, ( which took 10 minutes to open,)

The news last night said to expect quite a bit of snow.

They said, " Possibly 8-10". Understatement of the year,

in my opinion. That 's why I tried & eventually was able to

get the window open. Of course, once I did, blustery, freezing

snow blew right into my face.

My eight year old son " Little man," comes rushing out of his

room, P.J.'s still on & holding his big tabby cat. "Hey mom

did you see how much snow is out there? I won't have to go

to school and you can't go to work right?"

I tell him that he's right. That the Governor was saying on the

news that all non essential workers were to stay home, and since I'm not considered " essential" I can stay home.

Of course, this make little man so happy. What he doesn't realize is that for him it's an extra play day. For me it's another day with no pay. Not to mention all the shoveling I'll end up having to do, which

he will also find fun. I wish I was a kid again. But first things first,

I must feed little man and the cat. Iv'e already had my 3 coffees &

a half bagel so I'm set.

Three houses down from her house is an older woman, ( who says

she's 86 but she looks and ACTS like she's 50.) Always out there with her ice pick to jab at the ice at the end of her driveway & her shovel. She's originally from Greece & this neighborhood was, a long time ago, one of diverse ethnics & languages. Mostly Greek,

Armenian and some Syrian & Lebanese, ( who had just come here as refugees.) Even now most of the small one way street is full of

home owners who have lived in there homes for over 50 years.

But as with all neighborhoods, things change. People die, the family sells the home and new people move in.

The "old time" home owners take pride in their homes and properties and are hardy New England people who usually aren't bothered by these fierce Winter storms. It usually brings out the good in people as they help each other shovel & pick at the ice.

But the young woman with her little boy and his cat who just bought their house & moved in just the past 2 years haven't really had to deal with these kind of what can be called, " isolating" storms. Though she also is from N.E., she has never seen so much snow & never expected any help in any way with the tasks that lay ahead for her on this very cold, windy day with, so far, 18" of wind swept snow. She owns 4 " adult" size shovels & so knows her son won't be much help. She makes 4 huge thermoses of different warming drinks to take outside. Two have hot cocoa and 2 have hot coffee.

After she gets her son and herself dressed in so many layers of clothes, she just hopes she can tell it's him out there with her.

All she can see are his eyes, it's so funny. He moves as if he's slogging through marshmallow. She gives him 1 of the smallest shovels & tells him as she makes piles of the thick & heavy and very wet snow to use his shovel to push it way over to the side.

But of course, climbing up the tall mounds of hard packed snow & then sliding down are so much more fun. Sighing, she just keeps her head down against the fiercely blowing snow/sleet/whatever, & shovels. After 2 hours, they go inside, have a warming lunch of soup & then head back out because lo and behold, another 1 foot of snow has fallen.

Meanwhile the woman down the street has been joined by many of her well known neighbors. They are enjoying this time to catch up on their lives and of the ones they love. As they do so, they help each other. One man even has a fairly new snow blower and decides to go down the entire sidewalk to clear it for all the ones out there breaking their backs shoveling over & over. He then crosses the street to start on the other side. He actually sees 1 of his more crazy male neighbors starting a grill under cover of his garage door, and so asks him," Beside being nuts, what are you doing?"

He said, " with all this snow we will all be out here all day no doubt & I want to make sure everyone is fed." The snow blowing man nods & thinks, 'what a great idea.' There has to be at least a few out here who didn't get to the store in time even for the basics like eggs & milk. And so he decides to talk to all the neighbors who he knows & even a few he doesn't and let them know to bring something to eat or drink to the other man's garage.

He eventually meets up with the fairly unknown woman & her son, tells them the same thing. But the woman tells him " we don't have much to give but I will do what I can."

Hours later, after much shoveling & lots of sniffling noses, they all meet up at the man's garage, which thankfully is heated.

It is here that they all introduce themselves to the woman and her boy. One man gives the boy a child size shovel, " better for your back & this way you can help more." The boy hugs the shovel and thanks the man. As they all eat and drink and chat, they all wonder at how all this snow, this sleet, these fiercely huge mounds of white have brought so many different people together. This would never had happened if not for the Nor'easter. She now knows what the old timers already knew long ago, that storms as these, can be isolating, lonely and that some probably don't have anyone to check on them or make sure they're fed. She and her boy are now part of a renewed feeling of caring of and for others in a time of need.