Disaster In New Jersey
Of course, there is nothing inherently 'stupid' about this topic. While I continue to choose to blog anonymously for now, I have made no secret of the fact I live in the state of New Jersey (despite all it's problems, that's really not very stupid either).
So here we have been battered and bruised by massive rains from the remnants of Hurricane Irene. While the national news organizations and talking heads such as Rush Limbaugh sniff at the hurricane that wasn't, the people on the ground here are dealing with ruined cars, homes, no power, un-drivable roads, and so forth.
In-between blogging and working, and the other flotsam and jetsam of life, I am also a first responder volunteer. I have had probably one of the most grueling, exhausting, and yet rewarding experiences of my life over the course of the past three days. I got to see first hand these magnificent people who put it all on the line to serve their communities. I saw a group of people come together as determined as any could be to combat the forces of nature, and protect lives and property as much as possible. People who rallied time after time to come to the aid of strangers calling for help, at the risk of their own lives, and to the point of collapse - literally. The citizens of these communities barely have a glimpse of an idea of what goes into trying to manage and mitigate an emergency such as the one we just went through. While that is entirely understandable, I wish they could have seen what I saw, because they would be thunderstruck by the selfless dedication of a few for the many. Simply put, the citizens of these battered communities have no idea how lucky they really are.
A high honor to have worked so hard side-by-side with the Police, Firefighters, EMS, Rescue, and Public Works folks without whom disaster would have been calamity.
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