Snow Excuses

Though we're in one of the mildest winters we've seen in western Pennsylvania for some time, every once in a while, Old Man Winter rears his ugly head and forces me into the garage to fire up my tractor.
Not that my arm really needs twisting to do this.
I hate snow, but I don't really mind going out for the cleanup.
Because I have the tools to do it well.
I have a 12 horsepower Gravely tractor.  Anyone who's heard of the name Gravely knows exactly what these tractors are and what they can do.  After the last of the grass-cutting season, I pull off the mower deck and hook up the snow blade.
So I don't have to come up with excuses to not clear the snow.  In the event the tractor doesn't work, I have a snow blower as backup.
And I know my neighbors aren't as fortunate as me to be this well-equipped for western Pennsylvania winters, fickle as they may be.
So I share the love.
My next door neighbors are a great example.  The teenage boy is usually in the driveway trying to dig his family out by hand.  I learned of this one Saturday morning after coming back from breakfast with my wife and daughter after I had plowed our own driveway just a few hours before while it was still dark.
There was Brian, struggling with the shovel as we were pulling in the driveway.  Margie and I looked at each other.
"Should I go bail him out?" I asked her.
She nodded.  "That would be nice."
I put the truck in the garage and shouted over to him.
"Hey Brian...go in and get warm.  I'll dig you out."
You would have thought I saved him from the electric chair right then and there.
He quickly rests the shovel against the porch.  "Thanks!  Thanks a lot!"
Don't mention it, kid.
I fire up the tractor and make my way next door, plowing out the driveway lane and what I can get of the area in front of the garage.
I still have gas in the tractor, and the neighbor on the other side of me has his cars strategically placed where I can get the tractor around them.
Not sure if that's by accident or design, but I take care of him too.
I don't do it for money or reward.  It's just what you do.
Neighbors helping neighbors.  The strength on which communities are built.
When it comes to snow removal, my dad's no exception.
Only he does it better.
He's got a skid-steer loader...what some call a Bobcat.
Don't have room in the garage for that.

NEXT WEEK:  Yellin' for Ellen