yesterday was rough, but who am I to complain?

[marathoner452]

Another day, another fire call. I wonder if it gets any easier to watch after you've been on more of them. Somehow I doubt it. And what always gets me is that they want you to save the money, clothes, teddy bears, whatever for people "who really need it." Even after having lost pretty much everything they owned, they stop and think of others. My first fire call was about a month after Katrina-we had to convince them that their needs were just as great as those of each family affected by the hurricane. The main difference is in the scale of the disaster, not in the amount of need each person has.

Yeesh, that house was still burning when we got there. I swear it takes days for me to stop smelling the smoke. I don't know, maybe you get used to dealing with that for awhile.

On the other hand, I had a lot of fun with my flood safety presentation yesterday. What I did NOT have fun with was the accident-induced traffic on 15 on the way home. The plus side of that was that I had lots of extra time to listen to The Grapes of Wrath (which is further stoking my sense of social justice, but more on that when I finish and post a review).

~Bethany

PS-We're having California Tortilla for lunch. I love that stuff. Esp. the Havana Chicken burrito.

Comments

[roadwarrior220.livejournal.com]

That fire did sound pretty intense, and I know they probably never get any easier to watch. Like I said, anytime you need to talk about it, or anything else, I'm obviously here to listen--that's part of my job, and a job I do happily. :-) I'm so blessed to have you, and I promise I'll always treasure you and do my best to keep our relationship fresh, fun, and enjoyable. Like you said, we're in this for the long run, and I know there's no limit to how far we can go. :-)

Mmmm...that burrito sounds good...I think it's my lunchtime, too. :-P

And thanks for that article--it's really nice to know that what I spent on that CD is going to something--and people--really worthwhile.

[roadwarrior220.livejournal.com]

PS: I know the first set of comments were a little emotive--I promise I'm not trying to be demonstrative--just re-iterating what came up last night. Don't worry, I won't bring that stuff up any more than necessary, I promise.

[angelchild.livejournal.com]

Sorry, what exactly do you do hon??? The fire stuff sounds terrible, are you a firefighter?

[marathoner452.livejournal.com]

I work for the Red Cross in Frederick County, Maryland. I mostly do community disaster education (this month I'm teaching kids about floods), but I'm also trained to respond to fires. We make sure the families have food, clothes, a place to spend the night, moral support, etc. We even give the kids teddy bears. :-)

~Bethany

[angelchild.livejournal.com]

Oh wow..... *bows graciously*

What a fantastic job, it must be sooo rewarding!

[quick-step.livejournal.com]

You're doing good work and helping a lot of people. Keep it up. That has to be tough to deal with, sometimes. Does the RC help with that kind of support for you, should you need it?

[redheadraye.livejournal.com]

Wow, marathoner, what an amazing and (I'd imagine) fulfilling job you have. So often I think that I wish I was doing something like that instead of trying to keep a little college in Iowa from self-destructing because everyone wants to use the same room at the same time! But then I think that every person has a job to do, and each job greases some wheel. Your wheel just happens to be much more heartfelt than mine. Keep it up!

[marathoner452.livejournal.com]

Thanks everyone! Yeah, it's very draining sometimes, but it's also quite a feeling knowing that you're part of the reason someone's recovery will be a little bit easier. The staff at my chapter is awesome too-tons of moral support, just really good people.

Two more things-for one, I was invited to do another VISTA year with my chapter (who knows how far I could take this?), and I'm really hoping I'll be deployed on some kind of national disaster assignment after my spring 1/2 marathon 3/5. I'm sure that will generate all kinds of stories.

~Bethany

[roadwarrior220.livejournal.com]

I'm obviously behind you all the way with all of the above and everything that'll come your way with all this stuff. :-)