clearance
Four men in orange vests clean the street. Two men work with overgrown spatulas – or worn down snow shovels – tapping the surface to break up the compacted snow, then scraping it towards the side of the road. They work together, each working on half of a lane (with, meanwhile, a clear lane of traffic rushing by them); they clear five meters or so, then stop by the side of the road and rest. The other two men follow. One has a large shovel, and consolidates the snow they have cleared on the side of the road. A few minutes after he has started, the fourth man sweeps the street with a short handled twig or straw broom1 After the shoveler and the sweeper have cleaned the five meters already cleared, the tappers start again on the next span, while the sweeper and shoveler rest, and so on down the road.
- From the window, I can’t see what the broom is made of, and it is too cold and too early to go and find out now. [↩]