Ab SchFor the amount people complaining about the chilly winter months here in our fair city, I think that they bring out the best in a lot of Edmontonians. More than any other place I’ve lived, people here are genuinely nice in the wintertime. Last year, my car slid in some ruts behind the house I live in, getting turned around so that it was thoroughly stuck and directly perpendicular to the alleyway itself. I had some issues with my AMA membership card and was unable to get a tow truck, so I was sitting in my car, lamenting the fact that I’d be late to work, and then one of my neighbours, whom I had never met, drove up to me in a gigantic pickup truck that had a chain fastened onto the front. He immediately offered to tow me out and within minutes, I was well on my way.
I have experienced and witnessed this kind of random kindness from strangers many a time, from groups who band together in the moment to push a stranger’s car that’s stuck in some snow, to others who see a car pulled off to the side on a rural highway and, one after another, slow down to ask if everything’s okay and offer whatever assistance they can if it’s not. Honestly, while I dislike the cold and sometimes dread driving on the icy roads typical to this time of year, living in Edmonton with the people around me in our fair city warms the cold cockles of my heart anytime I start to resent wintertime.
