A community in time of tragedy

By now most everyone on the island is aware of the horrific event which resulted in the loss of a young man just beginning to move from childhood to young adult. I find it very endearing that our town sees fit to do whatever it takes to surround our friends in need. I was moved to tears when the father of this youth stepped foot into the Red Bike and was instantly mobbed with hugs and offers of what ever this man needed. I do wish to suggest that this activity not stop for some time, as it is when the dust settles and the lonely sets in that this family may need us more than ever.

There is however a sad fact I wish to bring up that I took notice of in a large way during my recent travels to Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Oregon. This thing I noticed is quite typical of the heartland where people have lost everything. We drove through Joplin Missouri and visited the site where half the town was swept away by a tornado. Entire blocks of business core, and scores of homes as well as lives were lost. Two years later much of the damage still lies in heaps in the fashion the twister deposited it. What was surprising was the level of interaction between people. The pace of life is slower allowing for more time to chat, and care. People made a point of saying hello or good morning to everyone they met. The simple things are cherished, and words like God are still politically correct.

I was discussing this with my Mother who agreed that the heartland does have nicer manners, a slower pace, and more value where community is concerned. I find this very sad, in fact baffling that we live in a relatively wealthy area rich with beauty and most of us do not lack things like food, shelter, and the like, yet we often have little time for one another........until the tragedy strikes. I do not profess to be free from sin, nor have "all the answers" to anything, but why can we not practice a bit of old fashioned chivalry and take some time to get to know our neighbors. I came to realize that I only know about half of my neighbors by name, and in most cases know little about many of them. In some ways this could even be dangerous in a time of natural disaster or medical emergency. It only makes sense that our neighbors would be the first place to go for help or to offer help in such cases. And yet many of us have lived next to these folks for years and do not even know their names, myself included. I remember a Vashon which was much more like what I witnessed during my travels, and wish it would return

In a conversation about this with a local merchant whom I thought everyone loved, she was of the opinion that all too often the majority of chat on our island is damaging gossip, the exact opposite of what I believe we need.

Even before the news of this loss I had decided to try hard to take a few extra minutes out of my day to say hello to everyone I can, and have some chat when and where I can, now I think I will double up on that. Just maybe if we all tried this we would not have some of the loneliness which could maybe have contributed to the tragedy.