Mike Farwell

I was out shovelling early this morning (for the fourth time since the flakes began to fall yesterday — but who’s counting?) and it gave me the chance to chat with my neighbour, who was also enduring another bout with the snow. He travels often for business and had just returned from a trip to China. You may have heard about the snowstorm that recently devastated China, just in time for the Chinese New Year. Turns out we’re luckier than we sometimes realize, despite all this snow.

As we took a break from all the shovelling, my neighbour explained to me that, in China, many people don’t even have something as simple as a shovel. Instead, they were using what essentially amounted to a shovel handle to try and push and sweep the snow out of the way. And forget about the rural roads. While there were trucks that could carry salt, there was no system of delivering it to the ground like our mighty machines can. Instead, several people would walk beside the truck with dustpans and spread what salt they could by hand. Something to remember the next time the plow caves in the end of your driveway.

I’m just looking for the bright side in all of this because 570 News Weather Specialist John Wilson is calling for a few centimetres more this weekend. Can’t wait.