Bev

Snow Removal

Friday, 16. February 2007, 23:40:00

It was nice being off from work due to a snow day. I t was the first one for the Philly school year. Of course snow removal is the big draw back. My sister was happy that I was home to help with clearing the snow from around our house. Since 2003, I have worked at other centers that did not close, and she was left to do the snow removal along with her then elementary age twin daughters. Snow removal at the old Philly row house had its challenges, but not like our present Lansdale home. One thing that is true about the old Philly neighborhood and now Lansdale is that my sister, nieces and I were and are the for the most part the only females doing snow removal. My elderly parents live with us here in Lansdale. My 87 year old father has tried to help, but we tell him no. Not only does he suffer from cancer, but he has heart health issues (which required surgery) that have plagued him since the early 1980s.

This time my sister took it easy because she had to leave for work in the evening to do a 12 hour shift; thus she would not be home until at least 8:00 AM the next morning. The snow and icy rain did not stop until late afternoon; therefore, I and my twin middle school age nieces were responsible for snow removal on our corner property, which include the drive way, deck, front path entry and two sidewalks. Back in Philly, the row house had many steps, a small patio and a top entry area shared with the house next door. Shoveling all those areas plus the sidewalk took sometime (but not like now). I could pretty much count on a male teen or an adult in the neighborhood looking to make some extra money by asking to do our shoveling for us, but not so in Lansdale. It would also cost considerably more to pay someone to remove snow on the Lansdale property. There is so much more to be removed. Thankfully I do have the help of a snow blower. It would take me all day if I just used a shovel.

I do not desire to have a lot of snow days as in what is happening in upstate New York. I really feel for the people who live up there. I could not envision having to get on the roof of my house to shovel snow to protect my home from a roof collapse. The Philly/Lansdale area has never had continuous heavy snowfalls. Back in 1996 we had a snow fall of 30 inches, which crippled us pretty good. A lot of people received half a pay check, because they could not get to work for almost a week. We have not seen a snow fall like that since. This winter season there are people dealing with one snowfall after another similar to the one big one we had in 96. If I have any readers from upstate New York and similar areas, they are probably ready to ask me if I want to switch living areas.

Snow Blower photo from Seniors Foundation
Roof photo from Jewish World Review