It would seem upon waking that the storm of 2013 may have not fallen short of the blizzard of 78. My father corrected my inclination though with a description from his childhood. The snow reached a little over three feet in our back doorway and standing aside of it you could easily see it was half the size of me. That being said my father said it was no comparison to the storm of 78. He said he could jump onto the neighbors four way pitched roof and he and his friends would tie a rope around each other and dive straight down into the snow. The ropes you see were quite necessary as the snow was halfway up the highest point on the roof.

Needless to say Nemo still took its toll, especially with the news reporting thousands without power. I think the most exhilarating, and interesting part of the storm was the snow lightning and thunder. It makes one think what would have three feet worth of rain looked like? I guess that’s sort of the benefit of snow. It’s dense and slow melting. Unless we get hit with a major heat wave all in all it’s easier to manage on the extreme weather front.

I think there is something to be learned regardless on the home front. With so many without power National Grid should start looking into educational, an financial assistance programs on the east coast. One’s that will provided homes with generators, or create one themselves that allows them to identify the weakest areas in their grid and supply back-up power. After all they are the power experts, and with 60 mile an hour force winds and three feet of snow these sorts of contingency plans are imperative. If they haven’t got the resources to do so then make use of the incredibly talented logistics available in the Army National Guard, and work together ahead of time to prepare outside the box. It always seems like those guys are. Take advantage of their talent. 25 degree conditions in homes where elderly and maybe even small children may live are not safe. Shelters are also necessary to keep people warm. It shouldn't be conditions like these that promote city officials to think outside the box. With the way our economy is they should be a constant thought on how we can help out neighbors.

Speaking of neighbors I have to say our neighborhood is one to be proud of. Someone recently just said to me that it only seems that in times of crisis Americans know how to pull together. They said it like it was a bad think guaranteed Americans do need to learn to pull closer together. Our technology has changed the way we interact with each other so much we forget how to be good neighbors and look beyond ourselves and aid our community. I cant say that this was the case in my neighborhood. 

Gearing up to capture the aftermath of the storm I prepared to brave the three feet of snow with my dad to see if we could make a dent in the white caps cascading over our town. ME in my of course ever fashionable attire; three shirts, a sweater, knee high books, flap side hat, scarf (mittens today- yesterday frost bite was harsh), and my all time favorite bright turquoise jacket I headed out in the wind wiped, white dusted scenery where our yard and vehicles were sure to be. You can see from the images in the slide show below our cars attempted to make an appearance, but the snow and drifts won in the end.  You can also see the difference in the accumulation from yesterday's street images to today's. Unlike in the evening where I was braving the force winds and snow alone, sine everything had quieted down my neighbors and friends ventured out on the same task of reclaiming their homes, vehicles and yards from the snow. I even convinced my friendly neighbor Kyle (who mind you in approx. six feet tall) to jump in the center of one of the sidewalk mounds to show everyone a snow height comparison. As you can see its about half of him. Thanks Kyle.

Looking around though an outsider might see a street full of people just trying to clear the snow, but our neighborhood, well we work together. My father, well you can call him the snow blowing king. He always goes the extra mile to help those who aren't as fortunate in this area. My across the street neighbor was quite lucky, as were we since his snow blower as hard as he tried kept dying with the density of the snow. No worries dad to the rescue, while his daughters and I got to work on pushing and shoveling the excess that the blowers could not remove. We worked as an integral team. Although put a tool with gas and power into any mans hands and they get that take charge he-man mentality; leaving us girls twiddling our thumb at certain points (Not complaining. The less snow the better). IT was a site to see at least six home owners all switching back and forth between houses and their families to help where they needed it. Making sure the older neighbors who were either out of town or unable had walkways cleared free of snow just like the rest of us. At the end of it all its always inspiring to see the way a community can come together in times of need.