Lori Falce: Helping hands and the art of snow shoveling

I talked to Bob on Tuesday.

It was the day after snow fell for almost 24 hours, piling up around the area to the delight of kids who got to build snowmen and go sledding.

The problem for Bob was that he isn’t a kid anymore. He’s a senior who uses a cane. That makes walking on snowy sidewalks precarious if not downright dangerous. It makes shoveling all but impossible. And Bob knows he isn’t alone.

Bob didn’t call because he wanted to complain about the inability to find someone to help him with his shoveling. Commiserate a little, sure, but mostly he was worried about all of the other people who couldn’t find someone to do their shoveling either.

Bob wasn’t asking for charity. He wasn’t asking for people to do the work for nothing. He was more than willing to pay to get it done. He just had trouble finding someone to do it.

When I was a kid, a snow day was a chance to pad your bank account if you were willing to get a little cold and drag a shovel around the neighborhood. But parents can be a little more careful about where their kids go these days — and that’s when people aren’t keeping their distance because of the pandemic.

On my NextDoor app, there were plenty of people looking for help and likewise willing to throw a $20 bill or two at someone for doing the shoveling. They just couldn’t connect with someone to do it.

Bethel Park High School football coach Brian DeLallo canceled weightlifting on Monday, instead directing his players to get their workout by lifting snow.

“Find an elderly or disabled neighbor and shovel their driveway. Don’t accept any money — that’s our Monday workout,” he tweeted.

Forty players — as young as eighth graders — cleared the paths at more than 100 homes.

Bob would like to see other groups take advantage of the idea as a way to make some cash. Fire companies always need money, he said, hoping there could be some way to link the manpower of the first responders to the needs of the community with a little fundraising thrown in for good measure.

That would be great.

But it’s also great when we just notice what is happening around us and lend a hand.

On Monday, I had no choice but to go to the bank, despite bald tires and a sketchy shoveling job by my kid. The combination left my car cockeyed and wheels spinning, half in my driveway and half in the middle of the road. After about 40 minutes, my neighbor came home and pulled into his driveway. His front door opened and his daughter came to the door.

“Help her, Daddy!” she said.

He did. Without a word, he grabbed his shovel and some salt, and my son and the two of them solved the problem. He then pushed me free so I could get to the bank and showed my kid the right way to finish shoveling.

There is still a lot of winter left. There is plenty of time to look around and see what neighbors need a shovel or some salt or a push out of a snowbank.

Get out there. Do it for Bob.