There is a delicious foot of snow on the ground here in the Twin Cities, and the nice people on the radio tell us that more is on the way! So why are we excited? The simple (and unproven) fact that winter storms, while cold in a strictly physical sense, have a way of lighting the fire of volunteerism and community involvement that is sometimes absent from our neighborhoods.

This could be because:

(a) All of the snow reminds us of the greater Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa holiday season, which is also a time to extend random acts of kindess.
(b) Snowstorms are often an occasion for missing work and school, which can lead to increased feelings of child-like wonder and excitement.
(c) Minnesotans love to shovel - it brings out the pioneer spirit in each of us that lies dormant for most of the year.

Driving around the city this weekend, we saw dozens of motorists in the act of randomly helping others who were stuck or stranded. In several of these cases, so many kind strangers stopped to help that some of them had nothing to do but offer encouragement (which is still very important).

One-half of this blog recieved some much appreciated assistance from a friendly, shovel-wielding neighbor in freeing her car from its car-shaped snow tomb, while the other half, after dutifully shoveling the sidewalk, engaged in unbridled snowball warfare with his roomates and passers-by (not volunteerism, of course, but he makes the argument for enhanced community spirit).

Did you give or recieve some winter assistance during this weekend's storm? Write to us (jack@handsontwincities.org), and we'll send you a pretty certificate (decorated with snowflakes) to commemorate your participation in our state's unofficial pastime - community involvement! We might send some candy, too, if your story is particularly moving/hilarious.

Or maybe you didn't get a chance to get in some good on-the-spot volunteerism during this weekend's storm. It's not too late! As February is Meals on Wheels Month, we should remind you that delivering Meals on Wheels in the midst of a blustery snow storm is nothing short of a cinematic adventure. Why, only a crazy person would deliver meals with this much snow on the ground!

You can be that crazy person - crazy about helping your neighbors.