sure. wait. what?

I LEARNED about “heart attack snow” during a long drive for a work trip.

I was sitting in the back of an SUV while two coworkers, both very nice ladies, were in front having a casual conversation, one that I was tuning in and out of like a radio playing the background until the phrase “heart attack snow” caught my attention. 

Apparently it refers to snowfall that is so heavy it makes shovelling too strenuous that it could cause a heart attack. 

“It’s an old people problem,” one of my coworkers said.

“Or a BC problem,” said the other. “It rarely snows that bad over there so people are not used to shovelling snow in extreme cold.” 

Not much else was said about the subject, and the conversation shortly pivoted to a different topic, as most road trip convos do. 

For the rest of the 5-hour drive I learned about numerous random things, including the traits my coworkers look for in a good manager. “Someone who’d bat for you” in the context of fighting for annual raises was one that stood out, mostly because it’s something that’s never bothered me, at least not in my current position.

At my level, I just want a manager who’s technically skilled. They have to know their shit. Thankfully the managers I work with, including my direct boss, are knowledgeable and technical. “People skills” are important, fine, but I personally value technical know-how more than, I dunno, your networking skills? Bruh. I despise personality hires.

Another topic we – or mostly my coworkers – talked about had to do with how people, in general, have gotten a lot more isolated and less…communal, I think, is a good word for it.

“People no longer greet me back when I pass them on the street. They don’t even look me in the eye. I bet they won’t even stop and offer to help if they see someone on the side of the road with a flat tire. Maybe because I came from a small town, but these are the things I was taught and am used to,” said my coworker.

“Oh it’s definitely different now,” said the other. “Even in the mountains, it feels different.”

This coworker went on to share a story about her recent backpacking trip with her father. Due to unexpected trail closures on their way back, the hike ended up longer than they had anticipated, and her senior citizen father started showing signs of heat stroke. White dots were popping up on his face, et cetera et cetera, so instead of encouraging her dad to power through, my coworker decided to just run the rest of the way to the parking lot by herself and drive back to pick up her dad.

As she was about to leave, she saw an elderly couple in a parked pickup truck. She kindly asked if they could give her and her dad a ride, but the old man on the driver seat quickly shut her down. 

“Absolutely not,” the old man said. “You didn’t plan well, and that’s your fault.”

This, after my friend had explained that her dad was not feeling well and that they would’ve made it all the way back if the trails weren’t closed. She also said she didn’t mind leaving their bags behind if that’s a concern, and they could even just take her and drop her along the highway. She really just wanted to get to her car as fast as possible.

Long story short, the couple didn’t help her at all. Unfortunately for that couple, the only vehicle-accessible road was the same narrow road that my coworker needed to take to get to her car. 

On purpose, my coworker got in front of the couple’s pickup truck and walked her normal pace the rest of the way. The truck didn’t have a choice but to trail behind her. The old man yelled at her, of course, and even called her the c-word. My coworker got to her car eventually and picked her dad up, who thankfully was okay.

“That would’ve never had happened years ago,” my coworker said. “The mountains used to feel like a community. Everyone was willing to help each other. Now everyone’s just out for themselves.”

We pulled over to a gas station around this time, so the conversation took a pause. I also took a pause: Would I have given a complete a complete stranger a ride? Would I stop if I see a car with a flat tire on the road? Did the influx of immigrants somehow poison the culture of openness and whatever-the-opposite-of-Stranger-Danger-is Canadians have? Did the rise of social media cause this isolation from/discomfort with human interaction? Did the pandemic?

My, it’s been a long day. I’ll think about this another time.