When you are young, you probably don’t pay much attention to the “snowplow guy.” But, the older you get, the more important he gets.

This past Thanksgiving weekend was a good example. We had been out of town, at one of our kids’ homes for the holiday. We drove back on Saturday in good weather and found two feet of snow in our driveway.

Fortunately, it had been plowed thanks to the snowplow guy.

We tend to forget about what winter around here is like. We have had some easy ones, and, with four-wheel drive, you begin to think that you can drive through anything. Then comes the lake-effect snow. Thank God for the man who plows our driveway!

Think though about what his life is like. He can’t take off for the week-end, unless he has a buddy who will fill in for him. He has to be ready to go at almost a moment’s notice. The weather man/woman is better at predicting the weather than they were years ago…thanks to the predictability of computer-generated weather modeling. But, still, around here, in snow country with lake effect snow…a lot of it can fall in a short time without a lot of notice.

Then, think also of the investment. Snow plows today are not just an “up or down” relatively cheap mechanical machine. They have hydraulic controls which can collapse the plow into the form of a “V”, or direct on which side of the road to push the snow. And, the plow must be ready to go all winter even if there is not a lot of snow.

Then, there is the “time of day” question. Who wants to get up at 3 or 4 a.m. and start plowing driveways so that others can get up and go to work at 6 or 7 a.m.? That takes a special kind of person.

You can’t stay up ’til midnight and watch the late show, and then think you can jump in your truck and start plowing three or four hours later. Like everyone else, the snowplow guy needs his sleep.

I grew up on a dairy farm and got used to getting up early to milk cows. On snowy days, after milking, we would plow the driveway. In those days we had a tractor with chains on it with a simple “up and down” plow to push the snow. The driveway needed to be plowed so that the milk hauler could get to the milkhouse to pick up the milk cans.

I don’t milk cows anymore, but I am still an early riser and need to be plowed out. I know that Hogan’s Hut will open at 6 a.m. and I want to be there soon thereafter to buy the morning paper.

So sorry, Mr. Snowplow Driver. I am one of those guys that probably makes your life miserable in the early morning hours after a snowy night. Yet, I do appreciate what you do. Thanks for sticking around town, getting up early and doing your work so that the rest of us can travel and go on our way!

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.