Once the snow has melted – or has been “eaten” by the dragon – a long laborious process still awaits those who care for the functioning of our city’s infrastructure.

Potholes in our streets and other types of damage caused by all the scraping, digging, and shoveling will have to be dealt with. Public buildings will need shoring up, their roofs checked and repaired where necessary, etc.

We have to hand it to those tireless workers who have seen us through one of the most difficult meteorological events in recorded history. All in all, we have weathered the storm very well, in spite of enormous challenges thrown at us. Our gratitude goes out to those who gave their all in will continue to do so as the city strives to return to normalcy in the wake of the disaster.

When all is said and done, these public servants have done an unquestionably outstanding job in seeing to our welfare and safety. Yes, there have been frustrating isolated incidents where a few residents have been inconvenienced by the activities of the cleanup crews. Unfortunately, this sort of thing is unavoidable in emergency situations. It’s up to us to be patient and supportive of those who are doing their best to see us through it all.

Just as we have pulled together in times of war, we should support our “troops” who are out there do what they must do to keep the city running efficiently.

And they’ll be at it for some time to come.