Oh Canada, I wouldnít have you any other way.
Hopefully this is the last weather-related column that I write for a while, as Iím sure youíre all just as tired of reading and hearing about it as I am of writing about it.
Wasnít that blizzard something though? I spent my last two winters north of the 55th parallel and in that time there wasnít a single day that sticks out as being as harsh weather-wise as what I saw on Dec. 2.
Sure, we had some days where temperatures dipped down below -50∞C, but at that point itís too cold for snow to fall and the only affect it has on driving is whether or not you can actually get your car started to begin with.
What the winter does, however, is it brings to the forefront so much of what makes Canadians the way we are, and Iím not just talking about our unbridled passion for hockey.
Iím sure weíve all heard the ìstereotypeî that Canadians are all so nice and polite, and I truly believe that much of that comes from our ability to get through our toughest season, together.
In a land where many of us spend upwards of five months battling the snow and sub-zero temperatures, itís this clash with a common foe, Mother Nature, that unites us and shows what Canadians are all about (aboot?).
It goes without saying that reporting is not a typical 9-5 job, so on the day of what I will now affectionately call The Blizzard, I sat staring out my office window, crossing my fingers that an Airdrie City council meeting would be postponed and I wouldnít have to drive any longer than necessary.
No such luck; I bundled myself up and headed out the door. Not two minutes into my trip my car hit a pile of snow that had yet to be cleared from the road and I was stuck.
A truck pulled up behind me and I flashed my four ways on and waved them through to let them know I wasnít going anywhere any time soon.
The driver and his passenger hopped out of their truck and proceeded to push me free, no questions asked, not thinking twice. You have to love Canadians.
I arrived safely at City Hall after what was an admittedly unnerving drive, seeing as my car is not equipped with four-wheel drive or chains on the tires. I was just about to park, but as I entered the parking lot, I hit another pile of snow that was just a bit too deep for my car to traverse.
Stuck again. Oh well, at least I made it there. I walked the rest of the way to the front doors, my car stuck, looking as if it was abandoned in the middle of the parking lot.
At the conclusion of the council meeting, I joked to Mayor Peter Brown to put in a phone call to procure a snow plow to clear the way for my car so that I could get home.
He did me one better; the mayor himself, along with Deputy Mayor Ron Chapman, Alderman Kelly Hegg, and aldermanic candidate from this yearís election Richard Herdman all teamed up to push my car free and set me on my way. (See story on page 5.)
The next day, I had to make a trip to Walmart to purchase a fuse for my car, as my heater was not working. I arrived to a snowed-in parking lot, that was littered with abandoned shopping carts, many of which occupied parking spots. I hopped out of my still running car, and cleared about 20 carts to make room for other motorists to park their cars.
When I returned to the office, I was informed that Brown was at it again, this time him and Alderman Allan Hunter were out shoveling snow so that people could get their cars free.
Canadians, what can you say?
Keep at it everyone, if we all lend a hand to one another, weíll get through the next three months no problem.
