And now the latest installment in the New Jersey Winter saga... After the first four storms this season, I stopped digging out our sidewalk. It was taking me two hours just to clear the driveway, I didn't have time to do the sidewalk most days. And I wasn't alone in this: with the last storm, everybody on our block said "the hell with it" to the sidewalks, even the folks we (and some of the other neighbors) call "The Joneses" (as in "keeping up with..."; they have the nicest house, the best landscaping, the most meticulous yardcare, etc. on the street -- including the best and most powerful snowblower, of course). And you know, it's not the first time I've blown off the sidewalk in winter. We've been here 10 years, it's never been an issue.
Until this afternoon.
When a cop knocked on my door and handed me a little notice delineating the township snow removal ordinance and telling me that I have 24 hours to at least dig a path through the snow that the plow dumped three feet deep on our sidewalk yesterday, or face a $500 fine. And I'm not alone in this -- the cop car (with full lights blazing, I might add) is slowly crawling down the street as the cop hits every house, one at a time.
So I spent most of my afternoon digging, and now I have a host of annoying little body aches and I am not a happy camper, because the time used on digging was intended for other tasks that now will be crowding our Saturday. Gah.
Okay, that's enough of me whining. I just had to get that out.
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Until this afternoon.
When a cop knocked on my door and handed me a little notice delineating the township snow removal ordinance and telling me that I have 24 hours to at least dig a path through the snow that the plow dumped three feet deep on our sidewalk yesterday, or face a $500 fine. And I'm not alone in this -- the cop car (with full lights blazing, I might add) is slowly crawling down the street as the cop hits every house, one at a time.
So I spent most of my afternoon digging, and now I have a host of annoying little body aches and I am not a happy camper, because the time used on digging was intended for other tasks that now will be crowding our Saturday. Gah.
Okay, that's enough of me whining. I just had to get that out.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.