We’ve had the first snowfall or two of the year and even though it’s almost January, which means it’s really close to spring, people complain. They complain about the plowing. Main Street is plowed really good, but Dubbah Lane, the dead end street that I live on, along with two other people, is not getting the same attention. People complain just because it snowed. The Facebook posts that say I really hoped it wouldn’t snow sound really dumb to me. The other ones that make me scratch my head go something like: “I don’t mind the snow, but I wish it hadn’t come on Tuesday. Wednesday would have been much better for me.” How can you live in Maine and not expect it to snow. There have been many winters where the snow and cold arrived around Thanksgiving and stayed until almost Easter, so this seems pretty good to me.

I don’t understand why we as a people always look for the negative. Maybe it’s the news. I haven’t watched TV news for so many years I couldn’t tell you the last time. I pick and choose the stories on the online news that I do follow and only open the stories that I think can positively influence me. That’s just my choice. Sorry I got off track, but that happens to me a lot. Back to the snowplowing thing.

Timing is everything when it comes to snowplowing. Getting going early and keeping up with the weather will make you a hero every time. If you get started an hour late for whatever reason, you will work three or four or maybe more hours later at the end of the storm.

All the people who complain about snowplowing have no idea what they are talking about because they have no idea what snowplowing is all about. First, it takes a special kind of person to give up their entire life during the winter to be available in case it snows. That’s before we even talk about the actual plowing. No vacations. No concert tickets. No weekend getaways. None of the stuff that the rest of us take for granted are possible for the snowplower. I realize that there are some people who plow snow and hate it. I get that. It came with a job that they were happy to get but should have asked more questions about. For the most part though, the people who plow and sand do it out of a sense of dedication to provide safe travel for the rest of us. There was a person whom I used to socialize with who complained about hearing the plow truck on Route 17 coming for miles in the middle of the night and it woke him up. My answer to him every time he brought it up was that you were in your bed and that guy was working.

Some people who read this will get it, and many will not, but for me, plowing snow was a challenge that I enjoyed. It was about me and Mother Nature and when I was highway foreman in Union it was about the crew and Mother Nature. I always respected Mother Nature, but I always knew in the back of my mind that in the long run, my crew and I would win. I actually looked forward to plowing much more than wondering when it was going to snow. Back in the day, Dale York was a trooper in the area and he never seemed to sleep. He had my phone number and knew that I wanted him to call when travel became treacherous. That was a big help to me because I could get a good sleep, knowing that I would be called early to get out on the roads. Early is important. Timing is everything when it comes to snowplowing. Getting going early and keeping up with the weather will make you a hero every time. If you get started an hour late for whatever reason, you will work three or four or maybe more hours later at the end of the storm.

So you plow and you plow and then you sand and people are unhappy because after they have cleaned out their driveway entrance you come by and plow it in again. They take it personally and complain to the town office like yours was the only driveway that got plowed in again when the reality is that the snow needs to be pushed back to make room for more snow and that needs to be done when drivers are rested and can see what’s out there in the way. You are out there to provide safe travel for the motoring public and nobody ever says thank you. Never ever. No matter how good a job you do. No matter how much you feel you got the best of Mother Nature, nobody ever says thank you. Sometimes, you can’t see anything. You can’t tell where the road is. You don’t know if you’re on the right side or the wrong side. Sometimes you can’t get the truck to move for the ice. You’re sitting on flat ground with seven yards of ice sand on your truck and you can’t move for the ice. People don’t ever think about what the drivers go through again and again every storm to do their best to make the roads passible for you.

When I was highway foreman in Union, Bud Savage showed up at the garage one day in the early winter. Bud had been town manager in Searsport and Camden and served on the board of selectmen in Union. He arrived at the garage with winter gloves for the crew. Three pair of winter gloves were very special to us. Here was someone who understood what we were doing and showed his appreciation. That pair of gloves was very special to me and I know it was to the other two guys. I wore mine until there was nothing left of them and every time I put them on, I thought of Bud.

You could do something nice for the people who work their asses off to do the best they can to insure that your winter travel is safe or you can continue to complain. I think you should go buy some gloves. or cookies, or something for your highway crew. And if your reply is “It’s just their job”, move to Florida.

 Bill Packard lives in Union and is the founder of BPackard.com.  He is a speaker, author, small business coach and consultant. 

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