Category: Healing

  Just days after the Valley Fire

the donations started coming in. Thoroughly generous citizens of the community started purging their belongings, trying to find items to donate to the evacuees of the fire. People and businesses donated items from bottled water, to baby formula, hygiene products, blankets, canned food, batteries, sleeping bags, pillows, and even underwear. Tons, (literally) of items were being sent to various locations for distribution to the suffering people who so desperately needed them. The problem was, who would take on and orchestrate this enormous task of organizing all these items?

The Red Cross or FEMA hadn’t even begun the effort yet because of all the proverbial “red tape.” It ultimately fell to the local citizens to help out their fellow neighbors and set up the locations, communicate with local authorities, and put in an ungodly amount of man-hours.

I turned to social media, as we all seem to do nowadays, searching for ideas on how I could help. I had gone through my own household and had my daughters go through their own belongings, to decide what we could do. Somehow that wasn’t enough, but it was a start.

I will say, that on my Facebook feed, two wonderful women who are really heroes to our community, took the bull by the horns and used our town’s fire department social hall to house thousands upon thousands of items to give away. Sarah and Melissa are rock stars! They not only spearheaded the operation, they ran it with three kids a piece in tow!

Melissa, having health issues at the time, refused to rest. I was there helping organize infant clothing by sex and size, and bagging up sets for giving away, while she ran around and told each of the volunteers like myself, what needed to be done. My 18 year old daughter, sorted baby formulas, pacifiers, and other infant items that continued to arrive while we worked. Melissa and Sarah had us all, working like fine oiled machines, like they did this sort of thing every day! I was truly in awe of them.

At the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, people fed, clothed, and housed the homeless. Tents were set up and RVs all over the property. The kitchen was running full board. Strangers became family in the hours, days, and weeks that followed.

The Napa County Fairgrounds housed hundreds of Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown citizens that evacuated. There, they had showers, shelter, and were fed, as well as collected donated items they needed.  Other locations were the Clearlake Senior Center, Kelseyville High School and the Lake County Fairgrounds became the Valley Fire firefighters base camp. They used the bathrooms, showers, kitchen and made sleeping quarters, for all the firefighters that traveled from far away.

This was amazing to me. All the effort put forth from so many to do so much for people that they somewhat knew, or for others, didn’t know at all. The human condition is still compassion after all! I hated to admit to myself, but I’d all but lost hope in most people! The world is full of hate and bitterness, and all you ever hear on the news is negative. But THIS!! This was people reaching out with their hearts! I have renewed faith.

So this is why I felt so compelled to write Out of The Ashes. I saw so many people in pain, ashamed even to collect the donated items that they so desperately needed. I saw their pride shattered and some of their dignity stolen. I wanted to give the people that I both know, and don’t know alike, to read a happy story about what can happen after such devastation. Love.

If you would like to share a story of your own that you’d like to see in the comments of my blog, please add them here. You will see your comments in a day or so. If you would rather keep it private, but would like to contribute a story for use in a character in my book, you can email me at punkandude@gmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Next Blog: As I’ve said, I would like to post the interview I promised, but it may end up as two separate blogs. It all depends on if I can narrow it down short enough to make it one.

Coming up, I will give you that first chapter. For now, I am looking very much forward to this Memorial Day Weekend. Thank a vet it you know one, and say a prayer for those serving now!

It’s difficult

to put all our feelings into their categorical boxes. Sometimes they don’t fit and it overflows. When it overflows, it can happen at the most un-opportune moment. At the grocery store, in the bank, when you are driving, or at work! These are times when we do a lot of self talk like, “Why can’t I get it together? Not here, not here! I should be over this by now!”

Like a death, a divorce, or any other kind of loss, losing your home and all your worldly possessions will take each person a different amount of grieving time. And the grieving will be very unique to each person feeling the loss. Bottom line is, there is no right or wrong way folks. Start by being gentle with yourself and get through it one day at a time.

Knowing you are not dealing with this alone is crucial! There were literally thousands of people that this Valley Fire effected. If you feel like you need the camaraderie of others in pain, my friend just informed me of a “Rebuilding Resilience Event.” It is happening this Saturday, May 14th at the Middletown High School. From what I understand, it’s to help all those who are struggling with the aftermath of the fire and it’s FREE! They will have workshops to help folks deal with their problems and I hear it’s from 10-3. Maybe contact the high school for more information, but it sounds like a good place to start!

So many of the people I talk to keep saying how they know they should feel grateful to just be alive. But somebody needs to say too, that if some days you are just pissed off, then that is ok too! It’s part of the process and you are human! Eventually, there will be fewer days that you are pissed and more and more days of gratitude.

I was having a conversation with someone who brought up an idea that I thought of many times and then dismissed it again, thinking it was impossible in today’s day and age. But here’s the thought:

Remember back in the day, (and by back in the day, I mean watching old westerns and anything Amish), they use to hold “barn raising parties?” Why isn’t that something that could work in a time like this? I mean, our community is chalk FULL of contractors, engineers, heavy equipment operators, draftsmen, plan check peeps……WHY couldn’t something like that be organized? Why have we strayed so far from working for and with our neighbors that it couldn’t be done? Someone could form a committee and get a group of folks to start it up, have property owners sign up to do it, and each one helps the other.

Yea, yea, I know. That’s a pipe dream. But I still think there is something there that could be looked into. We’ve come so far already, with the shelters, supplies, donations, clean up, PG&E lines, cable and phone lines, ………now it’s time to rebuild, if folks want to, and WHY NOT some form of a barn raising, (home raising), group? Hmmmmm just food for thought.

Next blog: The book is getting a TITLE! You will hear the final decision on the book title and steps for moving forward with it.

Sneak peaks into the first chapter coming soon, and later, info from an interview I did with an emergency personnel. Hope the rest of your week is easy on you.