[nfb-talk] THOUGHT PROVOKER 119- Shoveling Snow Blind

Mon Mar 12 19:54:12 CST 2007

My brother in law comes with the snow blower and does the major stuff.
But I do take care of the steps and the back step gets the snow from the 
roof.
If we don't get it rite away then we can't open the back door.
Not a good thing, since I have to take a dog out.

--Dar
wishing a
backTpack
call me at
406-259-1124
Every Saint has a past,
Every sinner has a future ,
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
To: "nfbtalk" <NFB-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 4:51 AM
Subject: [nfb-talk] THOUGHT PROVOKER 119- Shoveling Snow Blind

> NFBtalk listers
> RE:  Shoveling Snow Blind
>
> The newest THOUGHT PROVOKER has as its issue the carrying out of one of 
> the
> many responsibilities of owning a home.  It is one that is potentially 
> very
> physical, uncomfortable and possibly dangerous and some of us do it and 
> some
> do not.  If you have not read the PROVOKER, it follows.  Recall that I
> collect responses and post them upon my web site for all the WWW to read 
> and
> learn from and that URL is- Http://thoughtprovoker.info  If you wish to
> receive THOUGHT PROVOKERS sent directly to you, just write me and ask, at-
> newmanrl at cox.net
>
> THOUGHT PROVOKER 119
> SHOVELING SNOW BLIND
>
> Snow shovel in hand I stepped out my front door.  "Burr."  It was late
> afternoon and the latest winter storm of ten to thirteen inches 
> accumulation
> was winding down.  I had stayed home from work like most of the city.
> Digging out after a paralyzing blizzard starts at your front door and I
> wanted to get my walks and driveway cleared before the night's temps
> hardened the new snow.
>
> "WOW!  Knee-deep!"  The snow always drifted up my front steps.  "This is
> going to be work."  I breathed in the frosty air, enjoying the clean 
> taste.
> "Oh well, it all starts with the first scoop."  Truth be known, I looked
> forward to the challenge; I was in good physical shape, enjoyed this type 
> of
> chore, and it chocked up a mark in the "responsible homeowner column."
>
> My first scoop was straight ahead on the top step.  Lifting the blade, I
> began throwing left over the waist-high bushes.  Three more scoops took me
> down to concrete.  Stepping into the cleared space, pivoting left, 
> touching
> the blade on cement, thinking, "Might be able to get this strip in one 
> go."
> Jamming the blade forward to the grass line, lifting, pitching; feeling 
> lose
> snow cascading down onto my feet.  "Nope, too much."  I began scooping the
> right-hand side of my trench. Two red cheeks later, the width of the walk
> was clear and I had to remove my neck scarf to keep from overheating.  I
> repeated this drill along the short walk that ran across the front of the
> porch to where it met up with the driveway.
>
> While I scooped and tossed, I was thinking, "Interesting, shoveling snow 
> as
> a blind guy is one of those activities that usually brings about either
> amazement or negatives in people's heads."  Recently, at my monthly 
> meeting
> for blind consumers, I took a poll.  Out of the five blind homeowners, I 
> was
> the only one who regularly shoveled.  Two were elderly women; one of them
> shoveled when younger.  Two were younger than me; one of the guys had no
> clue how it could be done, and the fifth guy had shoveled some, but had
> orientation issues about getting lost.
>
> If you've got your health, shoveling blind is just another alternative
> technique.  The shovel is not only a tool for moving stuff; it's also a
> travel tool.  And then there's your feet, just as the shovel tells you
> tactilely and auditorially about the surface you are clearing, your feet 
> do
> the same; clear cement is different than cement that is snow-covered, 
> which
> is different than grass-covered ground.  Knowing when your blade is full
> comes from the weight and amount of resistance that you can feel through 
> the
> handle.  You clear your area by scooping in an over-lapping pattern, just
> like you cover the surface when using a vacuum sweeper, or clearing your
> kitchen table, or mopping your floor.
>
> The driveway was next.   It is about 10 foot wide and 50 feet long from 
> curb
> to garage.  So after a short rest, and throwing a few snowballs, I started
> shoveling on across the front of the garage.  Now the snow got deeper, 
> above
> my waist.
>
> Facing down the drive toward the street, I listened around, taking a read 
> on
> the auditory landscape, getting oriented.  Left was the distant sounds of 
> a
> busy street and across from me and down two houses someone started up a
> snowblower.
>
> Starting at the right grass line, I dug in at the level of my belt buckle,
> pitched right, continued to cut down into the drift, widening my 
> excavation
> in order to clear out the snow that slid into my deepening hole. 
> Shoveling
> the average snowfall, if you viewed the snow as a long ribbon, I worked 
> back
> and forth across its end.  I'd start from the right side, scoop straight
> ahead, pitch right, take a half step left, scoop, check to the right with 
> my
> foot for snow that had come off the blade and clear it, then half step to
> the left and at midpoint of the ribbon, pitch left.  Nope, there was no
> pretty choreography to today's job, it was just dig and throw, dig and
> throw.  And so I kept with it until I detected the slant at the end of the
> drive as it slopes down to the street.  "At last, here's the turn."  I got
> to the sidewalk running across the front of my property and, after opening
> up my jacket because I was really working up some internal heat, I cleared
> that too.
>
> "Alright! I'm finished."  Walking back over all that I had cleared, 
> checking
> for little landslides, I heard footsteps coming from where the snowblower
> guy had been working.
>
> "Hi, I'm Daniel, your new neighbor.  Hey." His voice moved from side to 
> side
> as he looked around, "Good job."  Then he added something I had to digest
> before answering.  "If you want, I'd be willing to blow out your drive and
> walks for the rest of the winter.  Interested?"
>
>
> Robert Leslie Newman
> E-Mail- newmanrl at cox.net
> Web Site- thoughtprovoker.info
>
>

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