Mobility. Ice storms and negative wind chill factor temperatures have made getting around Mason City a challenge. Today I started at Kiwanis Park on 14th St. NE. I walked North on North Carolina Pl. I had misread my Google Map, and it turned out there was a dead end on 15th St. NE off of North Carolina Pl. That, cold weather which made my thumbs burn in my mittens, intermittent ice slicks and a loose dog all made this an adventuresome walk. (The loose dog, by the way, was a beautiful, white Labrador Retriever without a collar. If he had continued to walk along with us, my husband might have come home to 2 dogs.)
People were out with shovels. People were out delivering papers. Kids were getting off school buses on their way home. People were mobile. As I walked and prayed, I thought about the treasure of two legs, good ears, good eyes, and a body still youthful enough to bruise instead of break.
I thought about all the fragile people who have to venture out to get groceries on roads covered in ice. I thought about the treachery of parking lots and snow drifts for people who cannot lift their feet more than a couple inches off the ground. I thought about people in wheel chairs and people without cars. I thought about mail carriers and delivery persons and I reckoned that I am truly blessed. I get to choose when it is worthwhile to dig out or hunker in.
Iowa winter can get pretty tough. It can lock you indoors. It can trip you on your way to get your mail. Maybe that is why card games and grandparents are such important parts of the culture here. I prayed for this neighborhood, for the people who maybe still haven't gotten out since that last big storm and for those whose work, school, church, and family commitments have led them out to brave the weather.
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| Those ice skates could come in handy. |
View Feb. 4, 2012, 14th St. NE in a larger map
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