We had snow in Chicago this weekend. In advance of the “storm” on Friday, schools were closed, and many people elected to work from home. I use the quote marks because this was a heavy snowfall, not a real storm. Even so, we got a lot of snow in a short time — from 9 to 14 inches in one go. It’s Sunday now, and still snowing, but the heavy accumulation has stopped.
Snow is not unusual here, although the last few years we’ve seen changes in our climate. Last year, we did not get one measurable inch of snow in all of January, typically the month we get the most snow. This year is more typical, with snow and cold.
The accumulation of snow brings its own traditions. We don’t have to worry about most of the streets getting plowed, but there is often a delay before all the side streets are cleared, and some of the neighborhoods don’t get plowed because the streets are too narrow. In a city with extensive street parking, dibs is an honored tradition in many neighborhoods. Dibs is the practice where people put household items in a cleared parking spot, reserving it for their personal use after they worked to clear it out. The city has tried many times to crack down on dibs, but it has survived many mayors, and doesn’t look to go away.
There are different sides to the idea of dibs. Some people see it as a selfish action — kind of a “I got mine, too bad for you” attitude. Others support dibs as valid payment for the effort of cleaning out the spot. I love dibs for the quirky items people use to claim a parking spot, but I can see how it can be selfish.
One new tradition that is entirely unselfish is a volunteer effort started by Jahmal Cole of My Block My Hood My City. Jahmal’s biography is nothing less than inspiring, and I can’t even begin to list all the good he has done, and his many accomplishments. Here’s a brief biography.
My Block My Hood My City (or MBMHMC) provides opportunities for teenagers from under-resourced parts of Chicago to travel outside their neighborhood and obtain new experiences. They’ve taken trips to different neighborhoods, like the ultra-hip Wicker Park, or Edgewater, or other cities like Traverse City, MI. They spent a day at Northern Trust to teach the kids about alternatives to expensive currency exchanges and techniques for financial wellness. They went to a Vietnamese restaurant and learned how to eat with chopsticks. MBMHMC is currently fundraising to take 10 kids from Lawndale for a trip to Ghana next summer.
Chicago law requires that owners are responsible for clearing their own sidewalks, which means they can be liable if someone gets hurt if the sidewalks aren’t cleared. This can be a big problem for anyone who is elderly, or maybe disabled, or for any reason not able to clear their sidewalk.
Since Friday morning, Jahmal has organized snow shoveling crews to shovel the walks for Chicagoans in need on the south side. Volunteers meet at the 79th Street Red Line station and supplied with shovels, hats and most important — coffee! They fan out across the south side in vans, stopping to shovel walks for people who asked for help (Jahmal collects the names via e-mail). Over the last three days, more than 100 volunteers have shoveled walks and found a way to help people in need. Chicago can be a very segregated city, but I was heartened to learn that many of the volunteers came from the north side, which is much whiter and wealthier than the south side.
I would have joined the shovel crew, but I spend my Saturdays preparing tax returns for low-income families with Ladder Up — another example of people finding a way to help.
Stories like this make me proud of my city, even though it sometimes make me crazy. Congratulations to Jahmal and all the volunteers!