Posting by:  Geoff Brown
Date: February 8, 2010

For those of you who get snow but don’t live in the mid-Atlantic region, it’s hard to understand how paralyzing a two-foot snowstorm can be.  But the area governments simply don’t have the resources to cope and these storms are so infrequent, that the result is that many areas stay unplowed for days.

Our Family’s Weekend

So, we’ve sat here at home this past weekend, well prepared with lots of food and firewood to “enjoy” the snow as best we can.  The storm began on Friday, February 5, and at 2 am Saturday morning we lost our power.  We were very lucky though because it came back on at about 2 that afternoon.  We did lose one of our heat pumps, though, and have had no heat in the downstairs since.  As a result, the fireplace has gotten lots of use.

We ventured out today (February 8, 2010) and went up to the store for a few things, and on the way back I saw a heating and air conditioning truck in a neighbor’s driveway.  I stopped and asked my wife Susan if she thought they might come to our house and she said she’d go in and ask.  When she came out after talking to the technician, she called his office and scheduled an appointment to check our heat pump for later today. 

What Family Businesses Did This Weekend

So, what’s the connection?  That encounter with the heating and AC service got me thinking about how, when we are in need of help at home, we more often than not rely on a family business for that help.  The HVAC truck was Somebody and Sons.  They had people in their office and techs on the road, out helping people get their heat back on.  Across the street, my neighbor’s cousin and his father own a landscaping business with eight trucks.  All eight have been out plowing people out of the snow for the last three days.  I’m sure there are many other examples that each of us can think of.

Family Businesses Helping Who They Know Best - Families

As I think back to the many people who have come and done work at our house, many of them have been family owned businesses.  The electrician who worked on our addition, the stonemason who did the front walk, the company that put in new windows, the list goes on and on.  Family businesses are the backbone of this country’s economy and always will be.  It certainly is never more evident to me than in my little time of need, without heat in the biggest snowstorm in many years.  

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