THX Wiley from Santa Rosa, where I am on a fixed income, disabled and was spared the devastation by a mere 1/3 mile, w/4 major fires surrounding my home as I fled in the dark, ashes and cinders burning my hair & clothing. Visited Coffey Park yesterday to help the fire survivors with holiday prep. The devastation surpasses anything you can see or imagine. Worse than a war zone. Tho that’s how we all feel. Shell shocked to see our community in ruins. Yet the tenacity, the bravery, the stamina of these ppl, ordinary families who are construction workers, nurses, teachers, seniors, children, all ethnic groups… all of us here have been affected. We will never be the same, but as our new motto says, “The love in the air is thicker than the smoke”. Ppl whose jobs are now lost, or like me, who were spared being burned out but cannot breathe still, and cry at the scenes of tenacity in the face of destruction. These ppl lost everything they own. Every. Single. Thing. They ask simply for a Xmas tree and maybe a present or 2 for the kids to put under it. But they have no decorations, no family photos anymore, no pix on the fridge, no fridge! no kitchen, no home to call their own, no car to get to work or school or even a family outing. Burned, the car’s aluminum wheels melted into the ground of ashes (aluminum melts at 1200 degrees!), Nothing but the clothes on their backs. And those are most likely donated, 2nd hand. Wiley is right, the Redwood Credit Union who is donating all admin costs (unlike Red Cross where 90+% of your donation is spent on admin costs!) yet RCU gives 100% of your donation to the 5,000+ families who have lost all they know. A worthwhile cause. Your brethren, your fellow countryppl, your neighbors. Mine. It could be you. Think about that. It could just as easily be you. It was, it is US. Happy Holidays. And thanks again Wiley!
THX Wiley from Santa Rosa, where I am on a fixed income, disabled and was spared the devastation by a mere 1/3 mile, w/4 major fires surrounding my home as I fled in the dark, ashes and cinders burning my hair & clothing. Visited Coffey Park yesterday to help the fire survivors with holiday prep. The devastation surpasses anything you can see or imagine. Worse than a war zone. Tho that’s how we all feel. Shell shocked to see our community in ruins. Yet the tenacity, the bravery, the stamina of these ppl, ordinary families who are construction workers, nurses, teachers, seniors, children, all ethnic groups… all of us here have been affected. We will never be the same, but as our new motto says, “The love in the air is thicker than the smoke”. Ppl whose jobs are now lost, or like me, who were spared being burned out but cannot breathe still, and cry at the scenes of tenacity in the face of destruction. These ppl lost everything they own. Every. Single. Thing. They ask simply for a Xmas tree and maybe a present or 2 for the kids to put under it. But they have no decorations, no family photos anymore, no pix on the fridge, no fridge! no kitchen, no home to call their own, no car to get to work or school or even a family outing. Burned, the car’s aluminum wheels melted into the ground of ashes (aluminum melts at 1200 degrees!), Nothing but the clothes on their backs. And those are most likely donated, 2nd hand. Wiley is right, the Redwood Credit Union who is donating all admin costs (unlike Red Cross where 90+% of your donation is spent on admin costs!) yet RCU gives 100% of your donation to the 5,000+ families who have lost all they know. A worthwhile cause. Your brethren, your fellow countryppl, your neighbors. Mine. It could be you. Think about that. It could just as easily be you. It was, it is US. Happy Holidays. And thanks again Wiley!