Snowstorm leads to a blizzard of kindness

There's a little magic in snow.

You can hear it in the gleeful yells of children sledding down streets normally owned by cars. You can see it when strangers converge to free a vehicle from a snowbank. You can taste it when you turn your face up to the sky and poke your tongue out.

Of course, the snowfall that has clogged the region for going on two weeks has caused headaches for many and real hardship for some — think of the passengers who were stranded at the airport or those who are homeless. But it's also provided an excuse to slow down, to listen to the silence it brings and to look at the landscape in a new way.

For many, the snow also has brought out a spirit of generosity and selflessness.

Coupled with the holiday season, it seems everyone has a story of a small act of kindness that they, or someone they know, have received — often from a perfect stranger.

One such story comes from Manuel and Connie De Aguero. The Shoreline couple, in their late 60s, were having trouble even opening their front door as the snow piled up last weekend. So they gingerly walked to their car Monday and drove to the Aurora Avenue Home Depot to buy a snow shovel.

Manuel De Aguero, who has a bad back, wasn't looking forward to digging them out.

When they walked into the store, they watched as the manager, Dale Markey, walked toward them with a snow shovel in hand. Markey handed it to a guy behind the counter and said: "Don't let this out of your sight. It's the last one, and it's for store use."

Another customer asked: "You do have some for sale, right?"

But Markey said, "No, sorry, that's it, they're all gone." Connie replied: "He has one, and he's hiding it behind the counter." They laughed, and Connie said she was teasing.

"I could tell they really wanted a shovel, and I couldn't quite give them one," Markey said.

When the couple walked outside a few minutes later carrying some Christmas lights and other purchases, Markey was shoveling snow out front. Unnoticed by the couple, he overheard them talking, trying to figure out what to do about all that snow.

"Dang it," Markey thought.

Then he came up with a plan. He sent over a worker to get the couple's address. An hour later, he and five employees drove up to the couple's home armed with shovels of their own and from the store, as well as some scrapers.

The job was done in less than 45 minutes: The driveway, the sidewalk, the front entrance, even the couple's car, were clear of snow.

"I told them it was unbelievable," Manuel said. "It made my day. Boy, they did everything."

The couple tried to give the men some money to buy coffee, but they wouldn't take it.

"I told my wife, 'Boy, there is a Santa Claus,' " Manuel said. He was so impressed that he took some photos and called the newspaper.

Lots of other people wrote in to The Seattle Times with stories:

• "A lovely woman in a Subaru rescued four of us from a bus stop on Delridge today and delivered us safely to Pioneer Square. She saved us either a seven-mile walk to work or a very long wait in the cold," Kelly Kirkland wrote.

• "Our neighbors have been bringing us boxes of dry wood to heat our home, and recently gave us some sleds for our kids and a wonderful gift basket — totally unexpected, but certainly not out of character for them," Carrie Jennott wrote.

• "A nice man gave me a push to help get my car out of my parking space at 94th and Aurora. He then wished me a Merry Christmas. Very thoughtful!" Janet Engel wrote.

• "A very nice gentleman helped me load my groceries from my far-away cart to my car and unstuck my cart from the snow and returned it to the store. It wasn't a small effort," Jarrah Gioconda wrote.

• "My neighbors, Melanie and Casey, were fabulous!" Wimsey Cherrington wrote. "While Casey shoveled snow off the stairs and made a path to the street, Melanie baked delicious and beautiful cookies and shared them with me. Thank you for warming a very cold day!"

Other readers wrote in to praise their carriers who delivered a newspaper every day of the storm; to thank the mechanic who drove out to pick up their car with the busted windshield; or to say bravo to the young man who led customers in singing holiday carols while they were in a long, long wait at the Greenwood Post Office.

"I am very grateful," one reader wrote about the man and his son who helped push her car out of the snow.

Another said simply about the neighbor who drove her to an appointment and then loaned her son a sled: "Thank You!!!"

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com