We come here almost every day, to the steps leading up St. Mary’s Hill that’s a little like climbing the stairway to heaven, in my imagination. Especially in the snow. We don’t know where she lives, but she comes to shovel and salt the 87 or so steps, even when the city puts up a chain with a sign that says Caution Staircase Closed. She removes the chain and sign.
And she was there today.
After Todd teased her for breaking the rules she said the Mayor wrote her a thank you letter.
“Chevy?” Todd asked.
“Yes,” she said. That’s the nickname of our Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
“I’ve been doing this since 2009,” Syeeda said. She climbs the steps for exercise, like many other people she knows, up and down twenty times or more, every day, usually with her friend Pam. We can barely make it once.
“For exercise, to stay active, to keep moving,” Pam said.
Fannie loves Syeeda because she usually has a treat. “These are my steps,” she said. “I pick up trash, pull weeds in the summer.”
“You’re the caretaker. We should all be caretakers like you,” I said.
“We should! We live here!”
She’s a city angel, a snow angel, so we don’t stop climbing the stairway to heaven. I asked her where she hid her wings.
“I’m old, I don’t want to break a hip.”
“You defy age, Syeeda,” I tell her this all the time.
This morning after I thanked her, I told her that the novel I’ve been working on for years and have set aside so many times I’ve lost count, opens with the protagonist marching up these stairs.
“I’ve always wanted to write a book,” she said. “I don’t have the patience. I write poetry though!”
I told her I never had the patience either until one day I did, and before long I wrote a book.
“Maybe when I’m too old to do this I will do it,” Syeeda said.
“Sometimes books have a way of writing themselves you know,” I said, and winked to myself.
“You’re right! I’ve heard that!” Her laugh lit up her face and bounced its way over to me.
Then I went home to work on an essay I’d given up on, about, guess what? That very thing. A book without a title on its cover discovered at Shakespeare & Company in Paris…
Every writer needs a (Snow) Angel. And Syeeda is mine. ❤️
A feather. Maybe an angel’s…
Perfect for today’s snow day
Thanks for reading Mark!❤️
Hi Deb—this was so lovely on many levels. You did a great job with this.
Stay safe and warm when you are out in the snow.
Sincerely, Rosie
Rosie! I think of you so often! How’s the writing going? Thanks for reading. Sending a big hug.
How sweet! We should all be caretakers like her for sure! Thanks for sharing this wonderful story, Deb!
Wynne, thank you. It’s always so good to connect with you! ❤️
What a wonderful woman!!!!
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you Debbie! This was wonderful! I’ll be back to clear the steps again in the morning! And I’ll make sure to remember to bring doggie treats!
nice
Reading this blog brings a smile to my face.Syeeda’s spirit of dedication is a reminder of the everyday heroes who make our lives better in small but significant ways.
Aww, Emmah, that’s the best. I read recently, maybe in Streams in the Desert?, that doing God’s work is our earthly way, but gaining His smile is Heaven’s way. Thank you. 😊 ❤️