You have no idea of the devastation something like this causes until you see it "up close and personal". When you see the damage which was done in such a compact area and in such a short period of time, you are easily overwhelmed. I was and I wasn't one of the people affected.
And it is amazing how you can have to properties, two houses, one is destroyed and the one next door is untouched. I would think if I lived in the untouched house, that if I didn't already believe in God, I certainly would after the tornado went through.
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| Help with tornado relief by buying this book |
The next thing which I have to admit I was very surprised at, and as anyone who reads anything I write can attest to I am not a big fan of State workers, but the crew which showed up from the DCR were outstanding. they worked their butts off, they were professional, they didn't have the normal state worker attitude, basically they were no different than the rest of us. My thanks go out to them and to their leaders.Then, it was nice to see a couple of local politicians there helping us as well. There may have been more but the two I recognized were Peter Durant, the State Representative for Southbridge who had no problem getting dirty with a couple of his office staff, and Denise Clemence, the vice-chairman of the Southbridge Town Council who also spent the day digging and planting. Thank you both.
Also it was great to see and hear from the people who were affected by the tornado and how grateful they were for what we did. It wasn't much, but it was something. To talk to them and see how happy they were made the day worthwhile.
Finally, here is a link to a book
which was put together by the family member of one of the victims. she had this published at her own expense and all proceeds from it will go to various tornado relief funds.It was nice to see people come together to make this happen. it shows that there are good people out there who can put aside the politics, their differences, their personal prejudices and work together to get something done for the true "Common Good". This is what it is all about. Now, if we could only get the same cooperation when it comes to building ball fields etc, so we don't have to keep spending tax dollars for something which can get done cheaper and better without the government involved life would be truly good.
Thank you Paul for your kindness in putting up my book. I really appreciate it. I also want to thank you for helping me set up my blog. I'm still working on it, but it's getting there. My husband and I had a nice time helping out the community and meeting so many wonderful people.
ReplyDeleteJean
Paul, You twist things up, so much so, that you totally miss the point, and this post shows us all that this is the case. If it weren't for the government you would not have experienced the satisfaction you found today. If it weren't for the government the trees would not be available to plant, to make a difference in the landscape as they did today. Because you worked side by side the state workers today, you can admit that they "didn't have the normal state worker attitude", but maybe if you worked side by side other state workers you'd find value in them as well. You insult state workers, slam the government, all the while you saw first hand, today, that this "program" is worthwhile and is taking place because of worthwhile state workers. Stop and think about this for a minute.
ReplyDeletewhere do I start?
DeleteIf it hasn't been for the members of operation Tree party getting the ball rolling I am not quite sure the trees would have been purchased at all in Southbridge. Sturbridge is a slightly different story. In Southbridge until Mike contacted the town there was no one doing anything about trees. It was Mike who coordinated every thing and got everyone working together.
This is not my first experience working with state workers or federal workers for that matter. And I am reasonably sure they weren't volunteering their services as were the rest of us. However I will concede there are some good state workers out there but until they come to the conclusion that we can't afford to keep paying for them and bring themselves in line with those of us who pay their salaries i will continue to point out their faults. Look at the recent GSA issue, it's a cultural thing.http://news.yahoo.com/gsa-spending-dont-blame-bush-obama-232100861.html
I have thought about it and it is the government who works for us, not us for them.
I had a similar experience working with state workers in Sturbridge last Thursday. I was impressed by their knowledge of trees and how to properly plant and care for them and by their work effort. The only thinkg I did not like was the occasional obscene language of a few young guys, but this happens a lot with younger people. It was a rewarding experience for me, I'd volunteer to do it again.
ReplyDeletedon miller
Why is Sturbridge a slightly different story Paul?
ReplyDeleteWithout getting into all the details since I am not certain of to whom I am talking to, I'll say this. When we came up with the initial idea, we presented it to the various towns. We learned from Sturbridge that they already were working on something on their ow so we volunteered our services. Basically we heard nothing back from them so we made the decision to concentrate on Southbridge, Brimfield and Charlton where they had no plans or anyone to put them together.
DeleteWho'd you volunteer your services to? tree warden, tree warden's advisory committee, conservation, town administrator????? You say you learned from Strubridge they were doing something. Was it the whole town you learned it from, a resident, the tree warden, dpw??
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