Snowmageddon, Artic Vortex and Snowpocalypse are among the more creative monikers I heard used for the bone chilling winter event we experienced last week.
While I couldn’t help but marvel at the natural beauty from the fluffy white snow as it piled up Sunday and into Monday; it was clear Mother Nature was going to cause havoc for many. Yet, as the thermometer registered negative temperatures outside, the neighbor-helping-neighbor meter blazed with great warmth.
I will use Mark Mallare as one example of what was happening in many Carmel neighborhoods from the east side to the west side in various degrees.
Mark has a small garden tractor outfitted with a blade on the front. He started out Sunday afternoon pushing snow off of his driveway. But, he didn’t stop there. He proceeded to clean seven more driveways just because that is the kind of guy he is.
He said, “I knew one of my neighbors was in Pasadena with the Carmel High School Band for the Rose Bowl Parade. I didn’t want them to come back to a driveway full of snow.”
In that neighbor-helping-neighbor spirit, he said, “By the time I finished the seventh drive, it was time to start on mine again.
As a matter of fact, all seven driveways needed it again … and again.
Dale Brosius lives next door to a Carmel family which recently suffered a tragic death, leaving behind a wife and two daughters. Dale took it upon himself to make sure not only their drive was clear, but that the four feet of snow piled at the end of the driveway in front of the mailbox was gone.
His wife, Sally Jacobs, couldn’t help but brag about her husband.
She said, “Dale is the kind of man who ‘does good’ because it is the right thing to do. I am proud of him.”
Dale’s entire neighborhood is looking out for that Carmel family.
I heard one man say, “I have spent more time with my neighbors during the snow than we might otherwise do on a sunny spring day.”
When the next snowsaster strikes, be assured there is plenty of Carmeltude to warm things up.