Sunshine! [View all]

The sun has returned!


In the span of a few days we have gone from drought roasting in the high 90s and low 100s, to freak hail storms, to receiving in three days more precipitation than we usually get in a year.


Thousands of homes have been destroyed, some floated away on rivers that hadn't existed only minutes before. Thousands more homes have been damaged. The counting will go on for some time.


Thousands of businesses have been impacted, some of them are gone. An area 100 miles x 100 miles has been covered by water that is, in many places, potentially toxic thanks to spillage from upturned tanks storing chemicals used in fracking. Unlike alluvial areas that rely on seasonal flooding, this event may render an entire region unsuitable for food production because of the nature of those chemicals, some of which are known carcinogens. And because our waterways are not closed systems, those chemicals are now on the way to rivers and states to the east and south.


We do not presently know what is going to come of all this.


We do know that the loss of life is far less than it could have been. We do know that the emergency shelters are being provisioned by agencies and organizations which we support through our taxes; even more, volunteers by the thousands are bringing carloads of toiletries and diapers and clothing to those shelters. We know that cash and canned goods are coming in to area food banks, along with volunteers to sort and help distribute. We also know that horses and livestock are being shuttled to safer ground by farmers and ranchers whose own lands were safe on higher ground.


It's amazing to watch as rescuees are interviewed. None have whined in self-pity, every single one expresses profound gratitude. Some, left with nothing but the old pickup in which they left their now vanished home, offer to help others retrieve belongings. There is sorrow, to be sure. And uncertainty about what the future will bring. But the over-arching sentiment is one of profound gratitude.


Doubtless, in the days ahead we will find ourselves devolving into our usual squabbles. But at this hour the sweet truth is that we are, indeed, a remarkable people joined by a common ability to rise above, to extend a hand of help, and savor a moment in which we come together in simple thanks.