There’s something comforting about sitting indoors watching the snow falling gently in the woods. Perhaps that is one perk that maintenance workers do not — of necessity — appreciate.
Every season has its strong points, and winter offers many of us the opportunity to linger over morning coffee, immerse ourselves in a good book, or wrap up on the sofa and take a nap.
Sadly, for those charged with safety, there is no such escape from Mother Nature’s bitter temperatures and biting winds. Venturing forth on drifting country roads or icy city street, we take it for granted that the pavement will be as safe as possible.
For all of our hopes, often the weather puts an inordinate strain on street departments and highway workers — not to mention the utility crews who must struggle with restoring power to homes cut off when lines go down.
I cannot remember a day set aside to honor those who take their own lives in their hands to keep our roads and streets passable. Perhaps we should. Oddly enough — and true to human nature — the only response that these hardy souls get is when things go wrong. Nobody bothers to thank them when things go well. It figures.
Daily responsibilities weigh heavily on each of us, and we shouldn’t have to worry about driving conditions. What a shallow attitude.
Public safety on the roads is paramount for every driver. Truckers earn their living on the road, emergency crews including fire fighters, EMTs and policemen put us first every day. If terrorists interrupt the power grid and compromise the life afforded us by electricity, we will find our society plunged backward to the 1800s.
This kind of threat eclipses what snow and ice portend for us. We go about our daily activities oblivious to what could be around the corner, and I’m as guilty as anyone else in that department. There are things we can do — easy things, but they take prioritizing and discipline, two character traits that many of us lack in spades.
Many urge us to stockpile a year’s supply of food. Bottled water, powdered milk, canned meats and vegetables, bread mixes, powdered eggs could determine basic survival. The grocery stores emptied, their automatic doors inoperable, coolers thawed, and deliveries stopped, we will be at a threshold of life or death. Gardens will be important, so I cannot fathom why nobody urges us to stockpile seeds. Growing your own food isn’t that difficult and can be done in pots as well as in outdoor plots. Dim as this scenario is, it might not be all that far-fetched.
The next time you consider spending money on entertainment, hit the grocery store and start accumulating necessities. I began this a few months ago, but I must admit that I haven’t done as much as I should.
If you are in the same boat, take a hard look at the prospects of going without food after two or three days. It’s sobering. Think about it.