Baltimore (nay, the east coast) has been whacked with back-to-back Nor’easters that have closed schools for at least a week, and moved the MKCREATIVE staff to work from our home satellites (power permitting). Today’s entry is just a small praise for a big community.
- A Baltimore City street on 9 February, as the second “tsnownami” was approaching.
But we will keep the blog up-and-running, no matter the state of the streets. And we are ready to work with our clients via conference calls, email, and IM for the duration of this winter event.
The impact on our fair city has been stunning: schools closed means many parents stay home to be with children, stock can not be moved to stores, and many businesses lose what precious income they have in the midst of a recession (Yea, sure, we know what the Bureau of Economic Analysis has to say about the recession having ended.) Unlike a botched fiscal or employment policy, a series of snowstorms can be overcome fairly quickly. Indeed, many businesses will thrive (My own efforts to secure more ‘Ice Melt’ is testimony to the sales boost my local hardware store has enjoyed.).
But so too have the efforts of folks in neighborhoods throughout the city got us wondering about the interplay of government and its citizens, especially those organized to act to fulfill needs.
- Neighbors plan to clear a street in Baltimore City
The dedication of local groups, neighborhood committees, and concerned citizens can do much to alleviate short-term problems like snowstorms. We should be thankful we live in a country and a culture that values neighbors and community betterment (Garrison Keillor put it nicely in a Lake Wobegon story years ago: America was the first place that could put together ‘howdy’ and ‘stranger,’ because we didn’t need to assume strangers were a threat.)
In our area, in the midst of the storms, we are glad to have good neighbors and nice strangers to help us out of a snowdrift or into a warm home to pass a snowy evening. Economic recovery will come, but let’s not lose sight of how we have helped – or have been helped by – others whose situations might be as precarious as ours. At the local level, once the snows begin to melt, the real cleanup will begin. Those same neighbors and stranger, I am hopeful, will be there.
