Twisters and Life

Well, the tornadoes that are making headlines hit our small area. My family and I are safe. Our property is unscathed. But, the little community just a few miles from our home is devastated. As are several other small communities in our area.

During this time, the people have come together and reached out to one another. Local agencies have had to ask people to stop donating until they can organize the stuff they've already received. Volunteers have been asked to register their services at one location and wait to be called to help out. The response has been overwhelming.

My thoughts of late aren't on frugal living so much as community spirit. I've been fortunate, as a small town girl, to witness the amazing things a strong community can do several times in my life. From the time we rebuilt the bell tower at the local historic school house in my tiny community to the first tornado cleanup I experienced as a teenager in the 80's I have many memories of everyone stopping what they were doing and coming together for the greater good.

Often the women would cook and wrangle the kids. They'd make sure that there was plenty to eat and drink for all the workers and that the little ones didn't "get under foot" during the work. They'd help out where they could, but mostly it was the men and youth that did the bulk of the labor. Since I was a youth, perhaps it was mostly the men that did the bulk of it... but we certainly felt like we were making an important contribution to the efforts. If I couldn't run a chainsaw, I could certainly haul limbs to the burn piles... or run glasses of ice cold tea and lemonade to the guys.

This spirit is alive and well today. I had occasion to drive through one of the communities that suffered in this disaster. The hospital was hit very hard but fortunately only a few homes and businesses were really effected directly. However, the entire town area was without power. So, there were grills set up in the parking lot of the local grocery store and they were cooking the meat before it spoiled and passing it out to all takers. All along the road I saw grill after grill of volunteers cooking meals for the entire town... they were all sharing. They were making sure the volunteers for the cleanup were fed, but they were also taking meals to the elderly and to their neighbors without power.

This was very heartwarming to witness. It is unfortunate that it sometimes takes a crisis to remind us to slow down and look out for one another. With the strength of community we can accomplish amazing things and without it we are left alone. No one should be alone.