Beauty and the Beast
We all knew it was coming. The local Kansas City weather folks could hardly contain themselves.
January 11th, 2019: My wife and I walking home that evening after visiting with neighbors and it had begun to snow. A silent night and all is calm, the snow falling through street light beams and the warm window glow of our community.
Morning, and there is little to rival the beauty of a freshly fallen snow. Nature covered in a heavy white blanket- a good eight inches by my reckoning, and snow still coming down.
One quickly discovers; however, that there is a not so pretty side to this winter wonderland. One begins their day like any other day only to find this will not be like any other day. A lack of electricity will do that to a person’s daily regimen. I can’t tell you how many times I flipped a switch only to be reminded yet again that this beautiful snow was becoming mighty inconvenient.
Turns out, we were not alone. Neighbors in our Johnson County, KS new homes community were in the same boat. We shared tips on keeping warm and gave encouragement seasoned with a healthy dose of humor via phone calls and texts. We got out and shoveled driveways together. The hours went by, the house became colder, but I felt a sense of community that made our predicament seem not so bad.
Eventually we got our electricity back and life returned to normal. The snow and its terrible beauty remained, a reminder that our home should be more than an island. Difficult times invariably confirm most people are good-hearted. Given the chance, we are well-intentioned and neighborly, and there is where the real beauty lies.