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February the third, two thousand ten was the first night I slept at my new place in Baltimore’s quirky little Hampden. There were many things I knew I would love about my wonderful new neighborhood prior to moving in; however being here for “snowpacolypse 2010” as some are calling it, has invoked in me an entirely new appreciation for my surroundings. Here are just some of the reasons why I feel this way, as well as a brief description of the somewhat unusual but pleasant sequence of events that have taken place these past few days.
After work on Saturday, my roommate and I passed the time watching the snow fall out the window as if it were a TV show (this is partially because we don’t have actual TV yet; or internet for that matter and are still waiting for Comcast to be able to make it out to our house). After watching the snow come down in droves for awhile and getting a bit restless, my roommate texted a friend of hers who lives a few blocks away. We got ready, bundled up, and set out to her house. It was at this time that I was first taken by (pleasant) surprise.
Right outside our house, were a couple of kind, dedicated, neighbors plowing out a walkway on our small, one-way street, to the entire street’s benefit. We were now able to walk the one hundred feet or so out to 36th street (“The Avenue”).
When we reached the avenue the sight was other-worldly, but again, lovely. Not only was everything just covered in mounds of white, but people of all ages and families were happily meandering in what would have been the middle of the road. Kids were running around, groups of friends were laughing, and people were taking pictures or asking you to take their picture right and left. The spirit and wonder of it all was definitely not just something that only I noticed. As we neared the end of 36th St, a local news reporter and her camera man bounded up to us, and asked us a few predictable questions, the most memorable of which went something like this, “You must be the tenth person we’ve seen taking pictures..Why take so many? Is it really such a big deal?” To which we responded, “To us this isn’t just a memory of 2010’s huge snow storm.. We just moved in to the neighborhood, and seeing nearly the entire community out and about and in such wonderful spirits is truly a beautiful sight to see, and one that we’re not too used to seeing, having always lived in and around larger suburbs where neighborhoods were never too closely knit”.
We were elated to be able to share our thoughts to the “watching world”. Needless to say, that night and the entire next day, I got an influx of texts, calls, and even points, from everyone who saw me on WBAL’s 11:00 news (apparently they replayed the clip multiple times).
Our time at our friend’s house was a blast playing Taboo and drinking bottles of wine. It was time to make the trek home. As we rounded the bend to 36th and began walking, we were shocked at the amount of restaurants still open, and bustling! What would have ordinarily been a dark and quiet walk home, was interrupted by people laughing and chatting, and glasses and silverware clinging merrily, whenever a restaurant door would swing open. It was such a wonderful and amusing sight to see. We couldn’t get over it.
As I was curled up in bed that night, I thought about how the rest of the suburban world was stuck inside bored to tears, and then felt luckier than ever to be among a friendly neighborhood of people who used Snowmagedon 2010 as an excuse to relax, eat, drink, and be merry with the people around them; we were truly all in it together.
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