CHAPTER 15: SNOW BUSINESS
Tess Williams lived with her family
on Highland Avenue, on the edge of a small town about 70 miles north of New
York City. When it snowed, she and her brothers, Rick and Tim, would go from
house to house offering to shovel walks and driveways for money—not a lot of
cash, but enough to make it worthwhile.
That February, an especially heavy
late-winter snowstorm hit, so heavy that some trees were knocked over by the
wind and the weight of snow on their branches. Overnight, the entire
neighborhood lost power when fallen trees brought down power lines.
For Tess and her family, it was a
bit of an adventure. None of their electric clock alarms went off, so four of
them got up late—not a problem for Rick, Tess, Tim, or their mom, since school
was cancelled. Mr. Williams, though, was awakened by a call on his cell phone
and left for the fire department before everyone else was up. A fire had
started in a home a few miles away, caused by a kerosene heater being used
during the power outage. He'd be gone all day.
Breakfast was blah, all cold. How
long would the electricity be off? The longest outage the kids could remember
was 95 hours a few years earlier, but usually the power company restored
service within a day or so.
"Let's make some dough
shoveling snow," Rick rhymed.
"I think money is sweeter than
honey," Tess rhymed back.
"I'll help, too," Tim
chimed in, not up to rhyming this early in the morning, if ever.
They spent much of the day walking
along Highland Avenue, knocking on doors and ringing doorbells, getting many
neighbors to pay them to shovel walks and driveways. They didn't stop at the
house at the end of the street, though. Mr. Taylor, elderly and sometimes
grumpy, usually shoveled his own walk and driveway. He seemed proud of it—or
maybe he just wanted to save money as a retiree.
Evening came. The Williams kids
split the money they'd made shoveling snow. The family had sandwiches for
dinner by candlelight, as the power was still off—no TV, no radio, a bit
boring. Flashlights let them read, awkwardly. They went to sleep early, without
worrying about getting up the next day since it was Saturday.
The following morning, there was
still no power. The adventure was getting to be a drag. The Williams kids
decided to go sledding, and all three bundled up and headed up Highland Avenue
to their hill.
"Tess, you and Tim go on. I'm
going to check on the Taylors. Their walk and driveway still aren't
shoveled."
"Okay, Rick, see you there
later."
Rick rang the Taylors' doorbell. No
answer. He knocked. No answer. Knocked again. This time, the door opened, and
Mr. Taylor invited him in, putting his finger to his lips to indicate Rick
should be quiet.
When they reached the kitchen, Mr.
Taylor said, "Sorry to shush you, but my wife is sleeping. She's not well.
You're the eldest Williams boy, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm Rick Williams. We
noticed your walk and driveway weren't shoveled and wondered why. Usually, you
do it yourself."
"Thank you for your concern,
Rick. My wife's health is very fragile. Our power's been out for over a day,
and I don't want to leave her. Our telephone is out, too."
"We have the same problem, Mr.
Taylor, but we can use our cell phones until they run out of power. Don't you
have one?"
"No. We try to watch our
expenses and don't want to pay extra for a cell phone. I think we were
mistaken, though. I want to be able to call a doctor or the hospital if my
wife's condition gets worse."
"Is that why your walk and
driveway aren't shoveled?"
"Partly. My back is sore
lately. Also, I didn't want to leave my wife alone. If we have to get to the
hospital in my car, it'll be difficult. I could call 911 if necessary, but what
they consider an emergency might not be what I would. They might not want to
come."
"Mr. Taylor, I'm glad I came.
I'm going to do two things. First, I'm lending you my cell phone right now.
Second, I'm going to shovel your walk and driveway so you and your wife can get
out if you need to."
"I couldn't accept all
that."
"I insist." And so it was.
Late that afternoon, power returned
to Highland Avenue. Not long after, the phone rang at the Williams home.
"Hello."
"Hello, this is Geoffrey
Taylor. Who is this?"
"Tess Williams."
"Are you Rick's sister?"
"Yes."
"Please tell Rick my wife and I
greatly appreciated his help this morning. She's feeling better, and we didn't
have to go to the hospital after all. Tell Rick I'll be down to return his cell
phone within the hour, and please tell your parents they have a son to be very
proud of."
"Thank you, Mr. Taylor. I'll
come to your house right now and get Rick's phone and save you the
trouble."
"Very nice of you, Tess. I see
the Williams family has two very good children. I'll be waiting at the
door."
When Tess met Mr. Taylor, he tried
to pay her for Rick's work. She refused his offer, with thanks.
Sometimes, Tess thought, it's better
to give than to get. We made enough money shoveling…it's a nice little
business. In fact, there's no business like snow business!
Moral: Good help makes good neighbors.
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