A Hard Working Man

Looking out at a Snowy Day

We were back in the Chicago area to visit my father-in-law who is currently in a rehabilitation facility due to a serious fall he had at his home back in December.  He's 86 years young and wants so much to get back to his home again.

There had been a major snowstorm the day before we came to see him and he had spent the night looking out of the window of the facility at the snow plows cleaning the parking lot and worrying about us as well.  He always worries so much about the weather. He wants us all to be safe!

When we got to the facility to see him he said he didn't sleep well....he said "I was worried about ya!"

We told him we were fine and that the roads had been well-cleared.  As we were talking, he spoke of a memory from the past that had come to him during the night of continuous snow...of a blizzard in 1967 that had literally shut down the city of Chicago.

My father-in-law, Herb, used to work for the United States Post Office prior to his retirement.  He was a desk clerk and used to arrive at work very early in the morning to get started on sorting mail and taking care of business.  Everything was done by hand back then...no computers for logging in on the time clock, no electronic weighing of packages or immediate calculating of the costs to send a package, it was all done on paper and hand recorded.

Back in 1967, the morning of the blizzard, Herb woke up early. He usually left for work at about 2:30 am. He knew it would take him a long time to get to work and saw that the snow was completely covering his driveway and the door to the garage was buried beneath a snow drift so high he couldn't get his car out of the garage.  Being determined to make it to work, he thought to himself, "I'll walk to the bus stop on 111th street, and get to work on the bus." Now, mind you, this was in and of itself quite a distance as they lived at 104th street.

He started out walking to the bus stop, in the cold, blizzard filled night, hoping to get to the bus stop. When he arrived there, he was informed that bus service had been shut down due to the blizzard.  So, instead of heading back home to take a "snow day", he set out on foot to try to get to work on time.  He had no cell phone to call home and let his family know that he was alright, no bus to get him to work...he just walked through the storm and was one of only a very few that made it in to work that day. From my estimation, it was about 2.5 miles to walk which would have taken a good hour or so in good weather.  He made it there somehow.  He couldn't remember how long it took him but he worked hard as usual that day.  I'm not sure how he got home, but he did make it home safely.  His only comment was, "Do you want to know what they did to us? They paid everyone that day, even if they didn't make it in to work!" Somehow, that just didn't seem right! 

All I can remember is that in 1967 there was a big snow storm and although we lived in the suburbs, none of my family made it to work that day! The drifts were close to 4 feet tall and it took everyone a while to dig out from the storm.  

My father-in-law was a hard-working man.  His  jobs were important to him and he supported his family well by working hard and saving.  He had the attitude that his work was of consequence and that many were relying on him to be there.  He also trusted that you would get paid for your work.  (He still didn't think it was fair that everyone got paid that day. The concept of taking a paid "snow day" was somehow unjust.)

But, when all is said and done, he's a good man.  I am so fortunate to have him in my life. He taught my husband well.

I'm praying he continues to work hard to get stronger and more independent again! It's hard to watch him struggle at times to do the little things. So today, I send out prayers and hopes for a special man in my life as he gets stronger and healthier.

"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;

And confirm for us the work of our hands;

Yes, confirm the work of our hands."

Psalm 90:17