There was a massive snowstorm in Canada on Monday that blanketed southern Ontario. In a report on the storm’s aftermath, CTV News interviewed young Carter Trozzolo to see how it was affecting everyday Canadians. Trozzolo had the day off from school so he was put to work shoveling snow in his neighborhood.
When asked how his monumental task was going he said, “Tiring,” with a large sigh. “I really wish I was in school right now,” he continued. He added that he wasn’t just shoveling snow for himself but “neighbors, friends, probably people I even don’t know,” he said in an exasperated tone. “I am tired,” he reiterated.
The clip was of a young man shoveling snow, but his overwhelming sense of exasperation feels like it was about a lot more than just the task at hand. It’s how most of us feel after almost two years of dealing with the pandemic.
In fact, a recent poll by Monmouth University found that six in 10 Americans feel worn out by pandemic-related changes they’ve had to make. Thirty-six percent feel “worn out a lot” and 24% feel “worn out a little.”
To take things a step further, the next interview in the clip feels like a metaphor for the futility of trying to get through the day with no end to the pandemic on the horizon. Toronto resident Vishnu Jayanthan attempts to dig his car out of the snow with nothing more than garden hand tools.
Vishnu Jayanthan “needs a bigger shovel” the chyron reads.
We could all use a bigger shovel and to be less exhausted.
