The Helpers
As the fire rages in South Lake County, we find ourselves once again praying for friends, neighbors and firefighters, checking our own "defensible space" and wondering if people, animals and precious places are okay. Today, my partner Loretta and I decided to run errands together to take our minds off the news. At Safeway there were long lines, but everyone was walking about slowly, as if in a daze. I was told by the clerk that throughout the day, many evacuees were there because they got out of their home with nothing... and this gave them something to do. No one was in a hurry. We just all meandered slowly about, leaning on our shopping carts. I found myself loving everyone there. Every single person. Each held a story... all were strangely calm and subdued. Maybe in shock. But a resigned, peaceful shock. Whatever the stories, whatever the struggles now, we are all on this round planet, our "blue boat home," hurling through space together and w