I LIVE ON A CUL-DE-SAC STREET IN THE TOWN OF TONAWANDA LOCATED IN THE WESTERN NEW YORK AREA.  AS I AM JUST MILES FROM BUFFALO, NEW YORK THE SNOW CAN BE OVERWHELMING AT TIMES.  OFTEN, WHEN THE WEATHER GETS TOUGH THE PEOPLE OF MY COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER THROUGH THESE EVER TRYING TIMES.  I HAVE IN THE PAST USED A SNOWMOBILE TO HELP THE SMALLER DRUG STORES DELIVER CRUCIAL MEDICINE TO THE ELDERLY AND HOUSE BOUND.  I HAVE BEEN HERE THROUGH THE BLIZZARD OF '77, '80, '00, '01 AND OCTOBER SURPRISE JUST A FEW YEARS BACK.  SO I CAN SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN PRIVY TO SOME OF THE WORST THAT MOTHER NATURE HAS TO OFFER THE GREAT FOLKS OF ERIC COUNTY AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS.

I HAVE LIVED IN NEIGHBORING CITIES SUCH AS: WILLIAMSVILLE, CHEEKTOWAGA, BUFFALO, DEPEW AND KENMORE.  NOW BACK IN TONAWANDA WHERE I GREW UP I HAVE SEEN MANY CHANGES.  MY MOTHER FOUGHT THE TOWN TO FORCE THE SHOVELING OF OUR SIDEWALKS SO US KIDS COULD HAVE A SAFE PLACE TO WALK TO AND FROM SCHOOL OR THE BUS STOP.  OUR ROADS WERE REPAVED IN 1977 THROUGHOUT THE SHERIDAN PARKSIDE VILLAGE COURTS.  SINCE THE REVAMPING WHICH CONTRIBUTED IMMENSELY TO THE TONAWANDA HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS IMPROVED SNOW PLOWING PLAN.  PRIOR THERE WERE DAYS THAT WOULD GO BY BEFORE WE WOULD SEE ANY SNOW PLOWS OR SALT TRUCKS COME DOWN OUR LITTLE DEAD END CIRCLE. 

SINCE I MOVED BACK TO BE CLOSER TO MY 84 YEAR OLD MOTHER THE SNOW PLOW DRIVER HAS BEEN SMART AND PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO HOW HE PUSHED THE SNOW SO IT WOULD BE EASIER FOR THE RENTERS AND HOME OWNERS TO KEEP THE ENTRANCES TO EACH DRIVEWAY CLEARED FROM MOUNDS OF SNOW.  THIS CONSIDERATION HAS LASTED THE PAST FOUR TO FIVE YEARS UNTIL THIS WINTER.  I AM NOT SURE WHO THE DRIVER IS OR IF THEY HAVE A LARGE ROTATION AND WE JUST SEEM TO GET THE SAME GUYS WITH NO LOGICAL BRAIN IN THEIR HEADS.

IN THE PAST THE DRIVER HAS PUSHED ALL THE SNOW FROM OUR DRIVEWAY SIDE INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FIRST.  HE WOULD THEN MAKE A SECOND PASS AND DRIVE ALL THE  SNOW INTO THE CENTER CIRCLE WHERE THERE ARE NO PRIVATE DRIVEWAYS.  IN DOING THIS, MOUNDS OF SNOW WOULD NOT BE PUSHED INTO THE DRIVEWAYS WHERE PEOPLE LIVING IN THE HOUSES WOULD HAVE TO SPEND HOURS SHOVELING THE HEAPS OF SNOW THAT HAD BEEN PUSHED INTO THE DRIVEWAYS AND BURYING THE CARS. 

MY DRIVEWAY IS VIRTUALLY SHOVELED RELENTLESSLY BEFORE I PULLOUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AND AGAIN BEFORE I PULL BACK IN.  I CAN HONESTLY SAY MY DRIVEWAY IS OFTEN THE ONLY ONE DURING A SNOW STORM THAT HAS LITTLE TO NO SNOW IN MY PARKING SPOT.  SO I FIND IT EXTREMELY ANNOYING WHEN AFTER I HAVE CLEARED MY DRIVEWAY TO LOOK OUT MY WINDOW AND SEE THE NOT SO SMART SNOW PLOW DRIVER, THAT IS NOT THE SHARPEST PENCIL OR THE BRIGHTEST CRAYON IN THE BOX BULLDOZING MOUNTAINS OF SNOW WHERE I JUST SHOVELED.  I, OFTEN, PUSH ALL THE SNOW ON THE ROAD IN FRONT OF MY DRIVEWAY ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE STREET TO MINIMIZE THE DAMAGE "MR. (DUMB AS A NAIL) PLOW DRIVER" WILL DO.

THERE IS NOTHING IN THE CENTER OF OUR LITTLE CUL-DE-SAC EXCEPT PUBLIC PARKING.  MY MOTHER YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS YOUNG WOULD GO OUT AND SHOVEL A SPOT ACROSS THE STREET AND PARK OUR CAR THERE.  THEN SHE WOULD SHOVEL OUR ONE SPOT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE SO MY DAD WOULD HAVE A PLACE TO PARK WHEN HE GOT HOME FROM WORK.  OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THE SUPER SNOW PLOW DRIVER WOULD GO AS FAR AS MAKING ONE PASS THROUGH EITHER SIDE OF THE PUBLIC PARKING AREA.  WHAT HAPPEN TO THE SMART PLOW DRIVERS THAT HAVE PUT SMILES ON THE FACES OF THE RESIDENTS OF OUR STREET?  WE ARE ONLY ONE OF TWO CIRCLE DEAD END STREETS IN SHERIDAN PARKSIDE VILLAGE COURTS SO WHO HAS BEEN HIRED IN THEIR PLACE? 

WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR 4.0 COLLEGE GRADUATES JUST DRIVERS WHO ARE LOGICAL AND CONSIDERATE.  WE APPRECIATE THOSE WHO APPRECIATE US.

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