Watching storm from his Schaumburg window

It is Feb. 2 at 2 a.m., and like hundreds of thousands of people in Cook County I am looking at the weather out the window.

My health isn't what it used to be and I dread the thought of eventually having to go out where the snow is blowing sideways instead of down. I happily live in Schaumburg and find the services to be outstanding.

Although both of the streets I live next to are completely closed I see a young lady trying to get home. with her small car stuck in the middle of the intersection. I am not able to help so I call 911 and speak to an overburdened dispatcher who says it might be hours.

Not five minutes later a brave man in a giant plow stops. He was probably dressed warm enough to be in the truck but is now being pelted by 50 mph winds while trying to help this young lady. He finally gets her out and gets back in his truck to spend countless hours helping the people of Schaumburg dig out from this terrible storm.

About a half-hour later another car is abandoned in the middle of the intersection and covered with snow. Again, a public works employee stops his truck, brushes all the windows and peers inside to make sure no one is stranded or sick and needs help.

All over the state countless municipal and state workers were out in the storm making it easier for people like me. Many of us have complained their pensions are too high, they work too little and their lives are too easy. While this might be true of many people in offices, it's probably not true of the hardworking men and women who take care of the infrastructure of the communities we live in each and every day.

The next time you are thinking about blowing your snow into the street blow it off to the side and make sure you wave to the brave men and women that work in our cities each and every day. 

Michael J. Victor

Schaumburg