When we had the big snow on Feb. 6 and our roads were filled with snow and ice, no one on our hill could move.

My wife fell and passed out in our house. I called one of my sons who lives up the street from us, and he tried to get his van down to us, but got stuck.

I called 911, and meantime, one of my neighbors, Chuck, who had a lawn tractor with a small plow on it, started to clean the street. He and his sons helped my son dig his van out.

Meanwhile, the firemen could not get their truck up to us, so they walked approximately two blocks to us. These three firemen were great, polite and knew just what they were doing.

The ambulance could not get to us either, and since my son's van was cleared, and Chuck made the hill somewhere cleared, the firemen suggested that they carry my wife to the van.

They, along with my son, carried her in a blanket to the van, and we made it to the hospital. The doctor there was surprised that my wife was alive.

She is home now, and I have those people to thank.

CHUCK GEIGER

Brighton Heights

I wanted to send a thank you out to three wonderful knights in shining armor who helped a fallen lady on Monday, Feb. 8.

I survived driving through the blizzard from Cleveland to Pittsburgh that weekend, but I could not survive walking to work on snowmaggedon Monday! I slipped and fell in the PPG plaza as I was rounding the skating rink to get a breakfast sandwich and then get to work.

It was 6:40 a.m., and the next thing I know, I was airborne and landed on my right shoulder and hip. When I tried to scoot off the mound of ice to solid ground, my right leg would not move and was extremely painful.

A gentleman in a car came running to my aid. He was dropping off his wife for work and he called 911 for me. Two other gentlemen who were passing by on their way to work or to the gym, or wherever life was taking them, stopped for that moment to assist me.

Since I could not walk, and since it was cold outside, these three men carried me into the lobby of the PPG building. The paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and I was whisked off to Mercy Hospital, only to find out the bad news -- I had broken my ankle in three places.

I went home in a cast unable to walk for the next six weeks. While my immediate future looks grim indeed, I find solace in thinking about these three heros who took time out of their busy lives to pause for a moment and help a lady in distress.

JOYCE RUEDIGER

Sheraden

I am sure many people have discovered that this cold snowy weather is as hard on elderly pets as it is on people. Given the huge piles of snow and narrow streets in my Upper St. Clair neighborhood, it is especially difficult to even walk my dog, a 65-pound border collie mix.

After not being able to take our regular walks for days because of the snow, we ventured out late one afternoon. Walks have become somewhat problematic for us even in the best of circumstances, because my dog has severe arthritis in his hips, and, despite medicines, his rear legs sometimes collapse.

Nonetheless, my dog was eager to go out and insisted on taking a lengthy stroll. We were almost back home when we had to cross a major intersection near our house. As we started to cross the street, his legs collapsed and he could not get up. I dragged him back from the street, but he lay there and would not move.

He is too heavy for me to carry, and he would have bitten anyone who dared to touch his rear legs or body.

It was amazing how many people stopped their cars and offered to help. I am especially grateful to Bernie and Pam, who witnessed what happened. They made various suggestions, but I naively hoped that my pet would be able to get up in a few minutes.

After a bit, Bernie and Pam called animal control, who had left for the day, and then the police. Meanwhile, others stopped their cars and offered help. The police did come and helped me get the dog on his feet. They then followed us as we slowly walked a short distance to our house.

I was quite touched by the concern and thoughtfulness of Bernie, Pam, the police and others.

MILLIE BEIK

Upper St. Clair

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