08-Feb-15 & 09-Feb-15
This time, I was in Medway for the storm. My mom flew out of Logan early on the 8th, early enough to dodge the storm that started hitting sometime around 4:00. This was a problem, because my Stepdad had cracked his rib earlier in the year, and couldn’t shovel out the walkways… usually not a problem with my mom around. But without her…
So, I drove out Sunday evening, to stay a few days and help keep the yard at least moderately clear and walkable.
Thankfully, that was a very easy task, due to the fact that the new Mayor of Boston accidentally installed a new snow-magnet, which seemed to be pulling all the snow away from the usual snow-belt, and into the city. Seriously – 12-14 inches in Boston/Cambridge, and 4-6 in Medway. Usually it’s exactly the opposite… but sure! Why not? Bostonian’s are tough.
So I pulled into Medway late on Sunday, thanks to poor planning on my part, and heavy snow on the road’s part… a bit too late to join Steve for dinner, but early enough that I could quickly beast out some shoveling before sitting down to the rest of the spaghetti and meatballs that Steve had made for us. Then some videos were watched, and sleep was had… since why would my office be closed tomorrow? It was only a blizzard…
And in the morning – yep. The office was open! Ploweda, even, from what my boss said when I gave him a call ’round 7:00. I’d actually already shoveled out by then, so it was a quick drive into work… Unfortunately.
See, I say “unfortunately” because my boss has an SUV. So his idea of “plowed” means “the snow plows haven’t touched it yet, and there’s 4″ of snow in the lot”. Snowtires prevailed, thankfully, and my poor Mustang found itself parked in the lot, and I found myself sitting at a desk getting stuff done.
Then, I found myself being told that everyone else had been sent home, and that I shouldn’t be in the office anymore. I guess I missed the memo, since everyone else had already left by the time I heard at around one in the afternoon, and the place was being locked up.
So I cleared the car, and drove back to Medway… where I found yet another unplowed piece of pavement. This one though, I sort of expected… so a quick 45min later, my folks driveway was mostly shoveled, and the walks to and from the garage were cleared. Roar. I am Ben, see me annihilate snow. And to celebrate the annihilation? Beans, carrots, and watching Machete Kills on Hulu, and waiting for the rest of the storm to pass…
The next day was barely even shoveling, with just a dusting left overnight. Of course, when I got back to Cambridge that evening there were horrid neighbors (Excuse me? You can’t park here while you shovel your own spot. I have GUESTS coming in four hours. No, I know you’ll only be 20min. But you don’t understand. I have guests. GUESTS.) and massive berms of snow… but those were dealt with quickly enough, thanks to my roommate being back home to help me clear it out.
And, of course, I continued my tradition of running around the semi-deserted streets, body-slamming myself through snowbanks and sliding on all kinds of ice. It was a bit tougher this time, since there wasn’t a driving ban in place, but it was still possible. And regardless of how silly it was, it was still very enjoyable! One could argue that it was even enough to make me enjoy the winter again…
