By Allen Hamrick
The heavy hand of mid-winter has settled on us like the ice on a cliff. Outside our frost-bitten windows the world has changed and transformed into an icy grey kingdom; it is beautiful but bites like a mad dog. While the trees still have ice clinging, the reality of this icy existence has put a damper on the rhythm of everyday life as we know it. The simple acts of going to work or even walking to the mailbox have become an enduring struggle against the wind chill.
However, even as the cold tries its best to isolate us into a huddle around the stove, there are those that work tirelessly in the worst of the storms. While we find warmth anywhere we can find it, the department of highways workers are out in the darkest of the storm clearing icy stretches and dangerous curves which are the veins of any community. Because of their efforts, our roads have been passable and manageable. These men and women have ensured that we have never been truly cut-off from the outside world or each other for any length of time.
Also, we must give gratitude to the power company workers who have done their best to keep the fires burning in our meter boxes. Since this harsh part of winter has begun, there have been outages, but they have done a good job of keeping the grid alive.
We sometimes forget the sacrifices of the linemen who get out in the strain of winter with freezing gusts and blinding snow in order for us to have power. When the deepest freeze hits, it’s easy to think that the world will never be bright again, but as the saying goes “this, too, shall pass.”
Winter will come and go, and the warmth we once felt on our faces will return with the golden breath of spring. The long days of summer are just waiting beyond the horizon to wake up. Until that day breaks, we have to rely not just on the agencies that keep us running but also on the deep sense of survival that dwells within the human spirit that makes each of us a silent hero.
We must be the ones ready at a moment’s notice to be there for family and neighbors when a driveway needs cleared or someone is stuck in the grips of the ice. It is a humbling experience when we realize that no matter how much we prepare, nature will still make us count every stick of wood and every drip of gas as often as she can. The only thing that can temper her tenacity is our human drive to stay alive.
Though white is the road and powerful is the winter blast, the shadows fall, but they will not last. Beneath the sheets of ice and rime, the seeds await their waking time. The fireside stays bright and the spirit strong to greet the sun with a morning song.
