Hurricane Irene and Labor Day

Tree uprooted in park two doors down. Notice Buddha's favorite bench.
Hurricane Tropical Storm Irene visited Ridgefield this past week. She knocked down two hundred trees in town and left most of us without power for a period of time. Luckily, the only damage was to 'things' and not 'people'. We are fortunate.

I think it is appropriate as I write this on Labor Day to recognize the incredible work of all the people in the community and from communities far and wide that pitched in to help out our little town.


First, there were the police, firefighters, city workers, and EMS who were out in the storm making sure we were all safe so the rest of us could afford to tuck ourselves away in our homes. When this tree fell and blocked the road around 7:45 am, it was cut and cleared away for emergency vehicles to pass within the hour. Keep in mind, the eye of the storm was passing around the same time someone was out their with a chainsaw clearing the way.

Then there are the droves of electric line repair and tree removal vehicles that descended on Ridgefield from as far away as Colorado. These people left the safety of their own homes and their families to help pitch in and dig us back out. While the drama of the damage that hit our town is not that severe--many towns suffered far worse, it is truly impressive what people will do to help each other out. So, on this Labor Day I'd like to tip my hat to the men and women that sacrificed their own time and comfort to help out those in need.

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