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Saturday, April 20, 2013

A sad week



Did the sun shine anywhere last week?  It certainly did not shine in Wisconsin, save half an hour Tuesday.  I woke up Sunday and Monday to pouring rain, and listened to loud thunder crash one night. 

Ann hustled me out the door Tuesday to get to Fleet/Farm and get alfalfa cubes “before it starts raining again!”  I hardly believed her.  Billy, together with Nanny, had been foraging for two days because the cubes come in paper sacks and if they get wet they mold.  So, neither Pat nor Ann had ventured to town for more.  I’m only repeating what I’m told.


Billy saw us off.  We didn’t beat the rain.  I stayed in the car.  Ann came back with a cart of half a dozen sacks.  She was not happy.  They are forty pound bags, not fifty, from a new source.  They are packed in shiny, waterproof paper, so the pellets stayed dry.  They cost more.  And, they still filled the car with their odor and we arrived home sneezing and with running eyes.

The temperature never exceeded forty five; except as noted, it never stopped raining.  We had more overnight lightening storms and howling winds.  Ann and I stayed warm, visited and watched the creek rise. 


The only birds in sight were stalwart robins, chickadees and an occasional sparrow.   I made no attempt to set up my tripod to take pictures.  Since I cannot hold the camera steady enough by hand for telephoto, the shots only add to the forlorn feeling.


There is nothing I can say of the tragedies of the week; the homemade bombs at the Boston Marathon and the tragedy of the explosion at West, Texas.  Hooray for the officials, the police and the people of Boston for the swift conclusion.  My heart is broken for all the families who will deal for years with the deed of two young men; losers, their uncle called them.

Then the explosion. Ann and I looked at each other.  Her township is the size of West, Texas.  Mine two thirds as large, and each with EMS services the size of the West, Texas force.  About thirty volunteers.  Like the firemen who ran up the steps of the World Trade Center, that would have been our departments evacuating a nursing home and a neighborhood because an explosion was imminent.  One third of the force killed, doing their job, saving lives.

In a big town or city perhaps the safety forces seem more remote.  If you can, smile and thank one of them for being just like a volunteer member of the West, Texas force.

21 comments:

  1. tragedy happens every day somewhere in the world. I'm sick of it all and refuse to watch or listen or read about any of it.

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  2. I think we've all been going about our business with heavy hearts this week.
    Jane x

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  3. Yes, it's been a sad week. Even Mother Nature has been sad.
    ~Laura

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  4. One of the worst weeks I can remember. In the middle, almost forgotten though, was our politicians voting down background checks on guns. Amid all the chaos, this seems to have just been a small blip and few noticed. That's how bad it was.

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  5. The cold and the rain seem appropriate for the sadness, as if Mother Nature herself was crying.

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  6. Good advice, Joanne.

    I hope you get some sunshine soon. Glad you made it home safely - your writing has been missed.

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  7. Our creek is rising too, fortunately we live well above it! Hope you see the sun soon.

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  8. We had a pretty good week with no rain much in Sydney but yesterday it all went belly up and it poured all day, today was nice. We get good news coverage here and were all feeling for you over the other side of the world you have had a awful week no happiness anywhere all so very sad.
    Merle.......

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  9. A sad and bad week. I am holding all of the affected people in my heart. And applauding the police, the firefighters and the paramedics.

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  10. It was a rough week for the States indeed. Here in Canada we followed the disasters, the aftermath, cheered when the villains were caught and wept for those who paid a price they didn't deserve. You have our sympathy and our prayers.

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  11. West, Texas is just down the road from us... we pass through on our way to visit our daughter in the Hill Country all the time. And that Czech truck stop that is so popular is one of our regular stops for Kolaches. Didn't even know they had a fertilizer plant there. Now the world knows. We too pray for all the families affected and applaud the police, firefighters, and paramedics.

    As for the Boston explosions, everyone is waiting for the answer to the question, "why????" I'm not sure it matters much. It could never be justified. Possibly it could help to see if others were involved.

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  12. I sometimes think that firemen and ambulancemen are the only uncorrupted public forces in existence....

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  13. The things that have happened this week have been awful - they've all seemed to come at once and yet there has been bravery against the odds as people have looked out for each other.

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  14. They say deaths occur in threes--I wonder if that's also true of disasters. I feel like our country is on overload!

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  15. A difficult week indeed, Joanne.

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  16. No sunshine here last week. "April is the cruelest month." Hoping your weather and ours settles down enough so we can get spring stuff done. Yes, it was a SAD week.

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  17. What's been really gratifying to see are all the people who are coming forward to help the victims. It's good to see people showing their best in adversity.

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