Suffolk, Virginia, got hammered. Last Friday, the weather radio in my office went off [I wear many hats, Quality Assurance and Safety being the most involved]. Seems there were tornadoes sighted down in North Carolina and near the border, heading for Suffolk.
Ironically, I was working on the "Tornado and Thunderstorm Readiness Plan" at the time.
We have one guy who lives in Suffolk, and a few more down in NC, so I ran around to tell everyone I could find. Right near quitting time in Norfolk - the Suffolk guy was at Dam Neck, and had already left [they run 30 minutes ahead of the Norfolk site]. One of the NC boys was out at sea, but I got to the other one, who quickly called his daughter to make sure she was okay.
Monday morning, Gonzo told me that everything turned out fine at his place, although he had to drive across downed power lines, and at one choke-point, had to drive down a ditch beside the highway in order to get through, as someone's roof had blown off and was straddling the road.
This past Saturday [yesterday, a week after the tornado], I met some friends at the United Way event out in Suffolk. I saw a group of people, all with white T-shirts, and almost pulled in and joined them, but that was not the United Way; it was the Virginia National Guard, and while I might have helped in Suffolk, I also might have helped in Afghanistan!! [Yuk, yuk - I'm too old for them, but I would certainly do a tour if they asked]
Had to hurry at the high school as the bus was almost to leave, but I ran and caught it. My pal Kelly was there, and his wife, and both of his parents [and a lot of other nice folks]. We started in a neighborhood and cleaned up debris from the road; raked and shovelled up many bright orange bagfuls. Took about an hour, and out site was good. So, back on the bus to another neighborhood. This time, we pulled up at a home foundation. All that was left was rubble and debris. Some orange bags, some stuff was too big for bags and went directly to the curb. Bricks. Bedframes. Shoes. The indiscriminate litter of somebody's life. Finally, the slab was bare.
We went across the road to a creek. Being a low point, it had filled with all variety of blown objects. The murky water was too deep in some areas [very brackish, not sure what bugs were in it, so we reached from the edges. Kelly clambered out a fallen tree trunk and pulled things out - heroic deed by the young feller!] Much lumber, furniture, tree limbs, various stuff. The guys a little over from us found a small mushroom-shaped boat anchor and were flinging it in to hook on stuff and drag it out. They tried and tried, and finally succeeded in pulling out a lawn mower! Hurrah!! Exciting stuff. Several dumpsters of stuff removed, and the neighborhood is a little better off than before. Best wishes to the people afflicted by the tornado, I hope the recovery is rapid and as trouble-free as possible.
Thoughts on the organization:
Good turnout of volunteers. I did not know about the event, but Kelly found out and told me. He had been interested in my stories of the aftermath of hurricane Katrina down in New Orleans, and knew that I would be glad to participate. Nice to meet his family - good people, and I can see why he turned out to be such a good person.
United Way. We all got T-shirts for identification purposes. Shovels, rakes, dustpans, plastic bags all provided. We had been advised to wear long trousers and closed-toe shoes. Bringing one's own gloves was a good idea. I did not have a dustmask, but an IT from the Navy base gave me one [thank you, amiga]. Many corporate sponsors ensured that we had good materials to work with, plenty of water and snacks [one lady came around with Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuits, which was a really nice touch]. Bus services to get us to the site, another good idea. Once we got done, back to the high school and barbecue/fish dinner.
Good turnout, and very fitting with my philosophy: when a tree falls on your neighbor's house, go help your neighbor. This is a big area, and of course not everyone participated, but enough people did to truly make a difference. I drove in 30 miles from Virginia Beach; on the way back to the school, I sat next to a guy from Hampton. In the world of intelligence, the Chinese employ a technique known as "grains of sand", where tourists and students and various visitors abroad all bring back information from some foreign spot [like, America]. Not technically spying, these "grains of sand" all bring back observations and impressions which the Chinese government puts together, using the small inputs collectively to provide a greater view for their own usage. I like the phraseology, "grains of sand" and the concept of many small entities coming together to produce a greater sum. I was responsible for a few bags of debris, but together with many, we cleared a neighborhood. Grains of sand....
Sunday. Of course I am stiff and sore. But, no worse than I was yesterday ;-) Happy Mother's Day to all you moms reading [Hi, Charmaine!], and thank you to all of my grains of sand. Happy Sunday :-)
Ironically, I was working on the "Tornado and Thunderstorm Readiness Plan" at the time.
We have one guy who lives in Suffolk, and a few more down in NC, so I ran around to tell everyone I could find. Right near quitting time in Norfolk - the Suffolk guy was at Dam Neck, and had already left [they run 30 minutes ahead of the Norfolk site]. One of the NC boys was out at sea, but I got to the other one, who quickly called his daughter to make sure she was okay.
Monday morning, Gonzo told me that everything turned out fine at his place, although he had to drive across downed power lines, and at one choke-point, had to drive down a ditch beside the highway in order to get through, as someone's roof had blown off and was straddling the road.
This past Saturday [yesterday, a week after the tornado], I met some friends at the United Way event out in Suffolk. I saw a group of people, all with white T-shirts, and almost pulled in and joined them, but that was not the United Way; it was the Virginia National Guard, and while I might have helped in Suffolk, I also might have helped in Afghanistan!! [Yuk, yuk - I'm too old for them, but I would certainly do a tour if they asked]
Had to hurry at the high school as the bus was almost to leave, but I ran and caught it. My pal Kelly was there, and his wife, and both of his parents [and a lot of other nice folks]. We started in a neighborhood and cleaned up debris from the road; raked and shovelled up many bright orange bagfuls. Took about an hour, and out site was good. So, back on the bus to another neighborhood. This time, we pulled up at a home foundation. All that was left was rubble and debris. Some orange bags, some stuff was too big for bags and went directly to the curb. Bricks. Bedframes. Shoes. The indiscriminate litter of somebody's life. Finally, the slab was bare.
We went across the road to a creek. Being a low point, it had filled with all variety of blown objects. The murky water was too deep in some areas [very brackish, not sure what bugs were in it, so we reached from the edges. Kelly clambered out a fallen tree trunk and pulled things out - heroic deed by the young feller!] Much lumber, furniture, tree limbs, various stuff. The guys a little over from us found a small mushroom-shaped boat anchor and were flinging it in to hook on stuff and drag it out. They tried and tried, and finally succeeded in pulling out a lawn mower! Hurrah!! Exciting stuff. Several dumpsters of stuff removed, and the neighborhood is a little better off than before. Best wishes to the people afflicted by the tornado, I hope the recovery is rapid and as trouble-free as possible.
Thoughts on the organization:
Good turnout of volunteers. I did not know about the event, but Kelly found out and told me. He had been interested in my stories of the aftermath of hurricane Katrina down in New Orleans, and knew that I would be glad to participate. Nice to meet his family - good people, and I can see why he turned out to be such a good person.
United Way. We all got T-shirts for identification purposes. Shovels, rakes, dustpans, plastic bags all provided. We had been advised to wear long trousers and closed-toe shoes. Bringing one's own gloves was a good idea. I did not have a dustmask, but an IT from the Navy base gave me one [thank you, amiga]. Many corporate sponsors ensured that we had good materials to work with, plenty of water and snacks [one lady came around with Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuits, which was a really nice touch]. Bus services to get us to the site, another good idea. Once we got done, back to the high school and barbecue/fish dinner.
Good turnout, and very fitting with my philosophy: when a tree falls on your neighbor's house, go help your neighbor. This is a big area, and of course not everyone participated, but enough people did to truly make a difference. I drove in 30 miles from Virginia Beach; on the way back to the school, I sat next to a guy from Hampton. In the world of intelligence, the Chinese employ a technique known as "grains of sand", where tourists and students and various visitors abroad all bring back information from some foreign spot [like, America]. Not technically spying, these "grains of sand" all bring back observations and impressions which the Chinese government puts together, using the small inputs collectively to provide a greater view for their own usage. I like the phraseology, "grains of sand" and the concept of many small entities coming together to produce a greater sum. I was responsible for a few bags of debris, but together with many, we cleared a neighborhood. Grains of sand....
Sunday. Of course I am stiff and sore. But, no worse than I was yesterday ;-) Happy Mother's Day to all you moms reading [Hi, Charmaine!], and thank you to all of my grains of sand. Happy Sunday :-)
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