The Season of Peace and Goodwill!

More snow. And a dead battery to boot. I woke up early (07:30) this morning to take my car into the garage to get a few minor problems, including an incontinent battery, sorted out. I had to be in by 08:30 to get a lift in to work. Unfortunately the 20cm of freshly fallen snow took a good half hour to clear off and around my car. Also, treacherous driving conditions and some dumbasses who haven't put on their winter tyres on yet made for a slow trip in. End result, no lift to work after I dropped my car off at 08:45.

It was a fresh morning, -7C, with plenty of snow lying around from the nights fall, but clear skies. So I decided to walk into work. I won't bore you with the details of why walking 5km along snow covered roads is a bad idea; I just want to relay a brief happening along the way.

About 40min and 3km into my walk I was winding my way through St. John's suburbia. I passed a house with an old lady trying to clear snow off her front porch and stairs, and then presumably on to clear the pathway out so she would be able to leave her house. It was painful just watching her pitifully poking at the huge deposit of snow. I was obviously tired from the walk so far, but nevertheless I decided to commit a blatant act of goodwill, 'tis being the season and all.

"Would you like some help with that?" I'm not sure what I was expecting, but maybe something along the lines of a smile and: "Why, thank you young man." Instead a got a look suggesting that I may well be slightly insane, as if I'd asked her: "What colour is Tuesday?" I took it for misunderstanding. "Would you like me to help you shovel your pathway clear of snow?" A little bit of fear appeared in her eyes, as if she thought I was going to stab her and steal her Peppermint Nobs (traditional Newfoundland Christmas candy). "No. No I don't." And she went back to poking pathetically at the snow and I resumed my trudging journey.

I told this story to Peter and he gave me a bit of insight into the Newfie psyche. He reckons that if you were off the road in your car, stuck in a ditch, there would be a whole heap of people pulling over to gladly help you out. However, if you are in less immediate danger, not a soul would bother helping you out, unless they knew they were going to get paid. The old lady had obviously assumed I would want to get paid, so refused the assistance I was offering despite that fact that she clearly needed the help (she's probably still out there now trying to clear that pathway). Seems a shame that you can’t offer the simplest of help, even during this season of goodwill, without having your motives doubted.

And that’s my story.