A Silly Little Ray Of Sunshine Cutting Through The Chill

This morning, the city’s snow plow loader did my street right before I went to work. By the time I came back from work, the snowbank it created across the edge of my driveway had had time to freeze. We had rain a couple of days before, so it was a real mess.

I started on it with my metal shovel to break the snowbank into manageable pieces when the handle broke. I then grabbed the axe we had in the entryway — not a small ”felling” axe but a big one meant to break logs into smaller pieces. Its handle is at least two feet long, one side is a hammer, the other is the axe, and it weighs ten to fifteen pounds.

Hacking at the ice was hard work. I had been at it for a while when a small sedan slowed next to me. It was full of young men, averaging in age from late teens to early twenties. I didn’t know what to expect.

Young Man #1: “H*** yeah!”

Young Man #2: “Woohoo!”

More approving noises came when I raised my axe triumphantly in the air. They continued to shout excitedly as I continued. The shouting stopped when they were out of sight. It was unexpected but a welcome encouragement.