Digging Out on Super Bowl Sunday with the Spirit of Community

The big snowstorm hit the Washington, DC area this past weekend with a wallop!  I was really fortunate, because I didn't lose power like so many people did.  I am so appreciative for that. I decided to wait until the sun was good and out before I ventured to my parking lot to shovel snow off my car and dig myself out.  
What a surprise to see so many of my neighbors in my condo community out digging out their cars, too.  Now, as a single woman, I thought it would take me two or three days to get all that snow off the car and out of my parking space.  For the December snowstorm, it took me two days to be able to get out by myself.  

So, you can imagine my delight when I walked to my car and one of the men grabbed the shovel from my hand and started getting 18 inches of snow from the back of my car, while I started to the fromt of my car in snow up to the tops of my boots to remove snow off the front windshield.  Then I look up and there are two more men with shovels and a woman with a broom--mine had "died" in the Decemnber snow-- getting snow off the roof of my car.

Then, someone had me move my car out of my space to the middle of the lot, so they could dig out the snow and finsih getting the bulk of the heavy snow off the car.  I had very little to do.  That operation had been apparently going on for a few hours with nieghbors helping neighbors.  It was great, quite a bonding experience and a fun time talking and laughing together.  So, whem I finished my car, I naturally went to help someone else with her car and space.  It took half the time with someone helping.  The spirit of community was evident yesterday.

It reminded me of the story where someone goes to visit people in two separate locations. In the first place, there is a scene with abundant sumptuous food of unimaginable varieties spread out on the table before them.  However, they are all starving because their eating utensils are so long, they can't get the food to their mouths to eat.  So they sit in the misery and agony of Hell starving, angry and craving the food they cannot reach.

In the second locale, the scene is the same.  Great food, piled high on the tables, and the same long utensils; too long to reach their mouths, yet these people are laughing and happy.  They are really enjoying themselves.  What made the difference?  A closer look reveals that the people in that second place used the utensils to reach across and feed each other.  So everyone got to eat and sustain themselves.  Neighbors helping neighbors.  That was the experience I had yesterday.  If we had all tried to clean our own cars individually, it would have taken forever.  However, when people work together, they create an atmosphere that is beneficial for all.

So after only a couple of hours, I went back inside to prepare to watch the Super Bowl and movies.  I rarely watch a game straight through.  Too boring.  In any case, I decided to fix some smothered chicken in gravy; something I had not cooked in awhile.   I checked on a neighbor down the hall to make sure she had food to eat.  Then, I pretty much watched my Saints all the way through to victory. 

What a great Super Bowl day!  The chicken was great and I had gravy and refrigerated biscuits for breakfast this morning.  Got to get back to my fitness schedule.

Get great chicken recipes inspired by the menus at Applebee's, Olive Garden and Boston Market and cook them at home.  If you are on a tight food budget, invest in the Americas Secret Recipes cookbooks and save some cash.  You will love these recipes as I do.  They are indispensable to see if you can make them taste like the restaurant offerings.  You will be amazed at how close you can come and right in your own kitchen.