Dear Editor,

That’s what I thought on Sunday. Y’see, I’d spent three days shovelling my driveway and digging out what remains of my firewood supply, only to awaken Sunday to see my hard work erased. I could have imagined that I’d never actually done the shovelling, but I had a very sore back to prove that I had.

The first storm came in from the east, which is quite unusual for this location. I could tell because the snow drifted up four feet deep and eight feet long on the west side of my car. So I dug all that out, taking breaks every couple of hours to avoid creating a heart incident on the street. Then, Sunday’s storm came in from the west, as if to mock my shovelling efforts. After an hour or so excavating my car, I gave up on the idea of going anywhere – not necessary, and therefore unwarranted.

To console myself, I checked to see what YouTube had to offer. The video that came up was natural disasters around the world: floods, mudslides, rock slides, avalanches, tsunamis, creeping masses of volcanic lava, tornadoes, etc. I began to feel better about a snowfall, living in a town with big machines at work, and knowing that I can deal with it, however reluctantly. No hot lava for me, thanks.

Once more, I’m grateful to be where I am.

Robert Wills, Shawville and Thorne