How a storm can break the ice

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.