Neighborhood/Working together

Love Thy Neighbors — Especially During Ice Storms

Never waste a crisis

With permission from a family member.

Last week an ice storm walloped Texas.

(I can’t believe I’m living through ice storms in Texas, of all places. And for the second time in as many years.)

The storm gave us its most popular hits —

Black ice on the roads leading to crashes and multi-vehicle pileups. Frozen water pipes. Downed electricity lines. And much, much more.

It was especially bad where my daughter lives.

The grandkids wanted to build a snowman but it was unsafe to step outside — even when the wind quieted down. The trees were so burdened with ice that mature branches snapped off like matchsticks and crashed to the ground.

After the storm abated, there was debris everywhere. My son-in-law talked to neighbors, comparing quotes from professional clearing crews. Even the lowest quotes were high enough to take a bite out of people’s monthly budgets.

Then one of the neighbors arrived at a plan.

Why not help each other?

They would need professional help to lop off the branches leaning at drunken angles from tree trunks, but they could reduce their clean-up…