When things don’t fall apart

While mishaps and misery can make great storytelling fodder, let's practise telling tales about the local stuff that's working too

A beautiful-but-boring snow-removal machine heads to a job on Dec. 10

It was just after 1 a.m. and just below -18 C on Monday night when a man in reflective winter gear came tromping up to my front porch.

He was there because I’d called in a weird smell. Rotten eggs? And there was a worrisome hissing sound coming from our gas metre. It couldn’t be a…gas leak? Like, not on a frigid December evening, way past my bedtime?

That number highlighted in red on our Enbridge bills - 1-866-763-5427 fyi - connected me directly with a kind and steady emergency operator immediately. An hour later, this well-bundled guy was the result.

“Good evening!” he called out cheerily, like we were meeting on a sunny afternoon and a would-be crisis wasn’t in our lives. “There is indeed a problem. A crew will be on their way within an hour or so.” He smiled, wished me well and was gone. There were two other homes in our area with similar problems who needed him, he said.

Sure enough, about an hour later, two Enbridge trucks carrying two more yellow-clad workers lugging tools came along. They set out their gear, made some mighty banging sounds and stopped the leak. Also great: they repaired the metre so we’d been able to turn the furnace back on that night. Two big wins.

To recap: there was a problem. (A potentially, ahem, explode-y one.) We called for help. Folks answered and came to the rescue. They were professional, kind and almost cheery. A would-be catastrophe was averted and my family and I were warm again. The process was all so smooth and effective it was almost…dull?

We humans love to regale each other with horror stories about the things that don’t work out. We’re prone to dwelling in negative stuff. If you’re a generous storyteller, you might play mishaps for laughs. Or shake your head and seek out the story’s lesson.

But tucking myself in at 4 a.m., the trucks gone my furnace happily blowing, I realized how beautifully boring the story of my night was. Yes, the words “gas leak” suggest an epic tale might follow. But instead, I had an “everything worked, nothing to see here” story. A story featuring local people serving their community by doing their jobs. And this kind of story isn’t just untold, it’s unappreciated.

Laying there that night - my brain now very awake - it didn’t take me long to start listing off other professional and effective humans I’d crossed paths with over the past week. But because my encounters with them or their work had been…drama-free?…I’d not properly noted them. Or shared them. Or expressed gratitude.

So I will now. Researchers have found that people who write down “three good things” they actively did over the course of a day to help themselves or others experience increased happiness. (Say, for example, exercising, making a donation to a charity or walking a neighbour’s dog.)

But let’s flip this exercise the other way. Let’s raise a toast to the essential work good people are actively doing in our community every day to support us all. Here goes:

-To the fabulous team at the Ottawa Public Library who created and maintain the the auto-renewal system. I am a slow reader. Your assumption that I need more time is correct.

-To my fellow drivers at Baseline and Greenbank roads who are coping - mostly - with our the changes in our lane reductions. Every day over the last week has felt like a new adventure, but your collective patience and merging skills grow. (Here’s a reminder about how to endure it.)

-To the Tim Hortons staff member in Bells Corners who put care into getting us all the flavours in our mixed box of Timbits en route to MacGowan’s Christmas Tree Farm. (I argue the filled ones should be banished, but that’s just me.)

-To the maintenance team at the Walter Baker Sports Centre who keep the women’s second-floor bathroom so clean. In fact, a shoutout to the Minto, Sportsplex and Pinecrest teams too. Your respect for your public facilities is much appreciated.

-To the snowplow operators who are out there right now doing their thing. (The snow is really coming down tonight, friends.)

-To the Canada Post worker at my door who patiently took my payment for duties on a package while her poor gloveless fingers froze. I appreciate you.

The work these folks do may not turn into a stories that are told around the dinner table. But they matter. Thanks, neighbours!

If you have a kudos to share too, let me know?

Mabel the yellow Labrador weathered our furnace-less temperatures under a soft blanket. However, now that she’s lived blanket-life, she’s never going back.