Plowed

Dexter

That about says half of it.

It was snowing like crazy when I got out of bed yesterday morning.  I made a quick check and was delighted to see that the town HAD NOT plowed the back drive.  FINALLY, they got the message!  I went out after breakfast and started phase one of the big clearing out.  The snow was wet and heavy and really hard to shovel, especially where the plow had gone by out in front.  I shoveled out my parking in back and the back drive so that I could get my truck in and out.  The backdoor neighbor came out with his snowblower and finished off removing the plow-by at the intersection with the road (Dodd's Lane).  All was neat and tidy and I was very pleased.  I went out front to finish clearing the last half of mom's parking.

It was then that the little articulated plow started up the neighboring drive.  Oh, Nononononono!  He backed out.  Phew.  Then he got a running start and went up and around!  I dropped my shovel and ran through the snow to the back drive and caught him just as he paused at the bottom.  He opened his window.

I yelled over the engine noise, "You're not supposed to be plowing back here.  It's a private drive!  I was just down at the office on Monday reminding them."

"The director told me to be sure to plow this," he replied.

"It's private property and it's getting all torn up, if you insist on plowing it the town will be getting a repair bill."  He shrugged and continued on leaving clods of driveway macadam in his wake and huge boulders of frozen snow strewn throughout the previously cleared and neat drive.  The drive was now impassable as he also piled tons of snow across the majority of the intersection with Dodd's Lane.  I was fuming and went inside to ask my mom to call the DPW office.

No one was manning the phone...no surprise.  But either they have caller ID and noticed 4 phone calls from the same number, or more likely the plow driver went and told the director that he'd met up with resistance in the form of a crazy lady who didn't want her driveway plowed, because within a half hour I had a phone call from the director of the DPW.  He asked a few questions and claimed that the driver had misunderstood his directions...whatever...I asked that since they had plowed, could they neaten up the mess they left behind.

Within 15 minutes two DPW trucks arrived, one with a plow.  The first truck was evidently driven by the director who surveyed the situation and spoke to the adjoining neighbor.  The plow was driven by the foreman(?), a nice guy who was muttering, "We aren't supposed to be plowing this," over and over as he walked down the drive to meet me at the bottom!

When he met up with me he repeated it, "We aren't supposed to be plowing this...but that neighbor that the director is talking to called and asked if we were going to and..."

"You can go ahead and plow her driveway if you want!  I don't care.  But don't plow this, it's getting all torn up with the blade!"

"I don't want to plow her driveway!" was his response.

So no more plowing of the back drive.  The director's excuse was that he told the plow driver to be sure to plow between house numbers 3 and 5 (Dodd's Lane)...which he did.  But he mistakenly thought the director meant also between numbers 5 and 7...or mistook them for 3 and 5.  Doesn't matter.  Only two things matter...they won't be plowing my back drive any longer...yay!  But even after they 'cleaned up' the residual mess that they had left behind, they still left half my drive blocked with a frozen solid, four foot high, pile of snow.

Spring is coming...