Snow makes people generous

Today I learned that snow makes people generous.

A normally busy parking lot abandoned due to the snow.

While I appreciate the constant stream of news updates regarding the weather and condition of the streets, it becomes exhausting after day three. The stories I do like are those of people helping people through hard times.

Thousands of people were without power in Indianapolis and surrounding counties, many warming centers were opened for people to stay the night. With the roads as bad as they were, and temperatures very low, many people could not get to the warming centers at all.

Residents were encouraged to call the Mayoral Action Committee, which, was manned by volunteers who risked their lives to be there and help others, as did those staffing the warming centers themselves. Then there was the team of Marion County Sheriff Deputies who used their personal vehicles and volunteered their time to drive around the city picking up families without heat and delivering them to the warming centers. That, to me, is heroic.

On a smaller scale, I noticed it at my apartment complex as well. As neighbors ventured out into the cold to dig their cars out, residents shared shovels and checked in with one another to make sure they didn’t need anything.

The beauty of this generosity paired with the quiet stillness the snow brought, created a special moment before the city goes back to its normal hustle and bustle on Wednesday. Though I look forward to when the snow melts, I hope the generosity I discovered in people remains under the sunshine’s warmth.