How a storm can break the ice (Washington Post)

Original Article.

Despite all the traffic, power outages and inconveniences, last Wednesday’s snow broke the ice between many people.

On Thursday morning, I was able to make rounds in the hospital where I’m a doctor, thanks to the help of three children, two shovels and one neighbor with a snow blower. My co-workers shared similar stories of neighbors pitching in, volunteers driving medical personnel to hospitals and heightened civility on the road.

On Thursday night, after we delivered a hand-made thank you card to our lovely neighbor, we lost power. Our family paused to feel the pain of millions who survive without heat on a daily basis. The children even contributed to our home “charity box” before going to bed.

On Friday, I was surprised to find two footprints, 1-foot deep in the icy curb, next to my mailbox. The postman had literally broken the ice to deliver the mail!

In a data-driven world, it’s hard to quantify the impact of such goodness. In case you are wondering, we promptly shoveled off the area around our mailbox.

2011
02
01
15
08

By Faheem Younus, Baltimore  | February 1, 2011; 3:08 PM ET



Comments are closed.