Bob CollinsIn St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood, Joanne and Tomas Lopez provide the perfect example of why we bristle at the dour expressions and tone of media folks when they talk about snow in Minnesota.
Snow? That’s an education and more for the Lopez children, as described in Fred Melo’s outstanding profile in today’s Pioneer Press.
They’ve already put several of their kids through college, thanks to the trusty snowblower she keeps in the living room and the side gig it provides.
It’s an old-school story. You want a future? Grab the shovel and start shoveling, kid.
“Oh yeah, we love snow,” Lopez tells Melo. “My oldest son is 30. He started doing it when he was 5 years old. All my kids have done it. It pays for school, it pays for everything.”
Her husband, Tomas, clears the sidewalks and driveways for seniors. For everyone else, the rates can be high as $40 an hour, enough to provide for an education.
One daughter is a pharmacist now. A son is a TV anchor in Des Moines, Iowa, who, we presume, doesn’t pout when there’s snow in the forecast.
