WARNING! Don’t Shovel Snow in Idaho When You Get Old

It would be best if you stopped shoveling snow at age 47.  I heard that number on Coast-to-Coast one morning a couple of years ago.  It was a weekend, and I was up early and listening to one of the show’s weekcited  She was citing a study she had seen, where the authors picked 47 as an age when most people should stop shoveling.  The number may seem arbitrary, and the report made it clear some people are heart-strong for much longer, and wouldn’t have any trouble.

Later that day, my sister called and told me she had cleaned her walk and driveway after a moderate snowfall.  She used a shovel.  She’s in her 60s, has suffered from asthma her entire life, and has had both knees replaced.  I shared a warning.

She explained that all the neighbor kids she knew had grown and moved away, and she didn’t like waiting when she needed the job done.

When I was a young guy working in newsrooms, a local street commissioner lamented the lack of people willing to clear walks for elderly people.  As he told me, it was something everyone did when he was growing up, and he still made an effort, when he wasn’t being called to the highway garage during a storm.

We tend to look at younger generations with the idea they’re worse neighbors than we were.  I’ll only say that many of the young people who live near me always look to be pressing the easy button.  It pains them even to make eye contact and respond to a hello.  But last winter brought hope.  After the January blizzard, I heard many stories of strangers showing up and doing the work.  Let that spirit grow!