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!
