let it snow!!

snow beetle, originally uploaded by impactmatt.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

...and snow it did! This past weekend Montreal got dumped on for our 7th or 8th snowstorm of the year. We have had record snowfalls and we have so much snow, we dont know where to put it! You would think that it just melts, but nope... it sticks around to bury everything. Its quite nice... if you're not shovelling it.

Anyhow, so Saturday we got around half a meter and ridiculously strong winds. Mother Nature was whipping around snow pellets. They stung and actually cut and there was nowhere one could duck for cover. Polar bears who had come down south for their March Break cursed their bad fortune and immediately climbed back on their dog sleds and headed back to the north pole! Regardless, even in the middle of the world's largest freezer miracles happen.

With the winds and ice it was impossible to make it up any kind of hills without a ski lift. Cars couldn't move. Traffic was complete chaos... it was armageddon if Jack Frost was the anti-christ. My car was buried in a snow bank and after an exhausting day I had to try and push it out. I couldn't... yes I know... even with all my rippling fat... i mean muscles I couldn't push it out. Until two random university students all of a sudden were next to me helping push the car out. I thanked them profusely and they were happy to help. Although they looked pretty numb by the end of it.

So I kept pushing the car up the hill as my wife drove. I could see other cars slipping and not making it anywhere. But these random acts of kindness continued. People from everywhere were getting out and pushing cars up that hill. People in other cars would climb out and push the cars ahead of them. And then once those cars got to the top of the hill, they would get out and return to help the cars lower on the hill!

To see people sacrificing their time, energy, and exposed skin was more than special. No one did it grudginly, no one had to ask for help. People just understood the situation and dove in with winter-parka-covered-hearts!

(the picture above was from a smaller snow storm 2 years ago... nowhere near last Saturday!!!)