West of the village the ground finally does something: the land tips down toward the Des Plaines, and the woods along Thatcher take the wind before it ever reaches the houses. Mr. Handyman of Oak Park & River Forest handles the snow on this side of that line — walks, steps, drives, the paths people actually use to get out the door in December. A storm here rarely announces itself politely; it arrives overnight and has to be answered early. There is genuine pride in one cleared walk at six in the morning, when the street is still blue and untouched everywhere else. That is the service, and that is the whole of what's offered.