Well folks, another issue of the Grand Forks Gazette, brought to you by an abundance of coffee and the kind words of friends and strangers.
It’s been quite a week, hasn’t it? We’ve come a long way since the last issue of the Gazette was being produced this time last week. We’ve gone from nearly 3,000 people evacuated to most of those people now back at home, water levels that have receded almost entirely, and now we face a completely new challenge in front of us: the flooding is (likely) over. So, what’s next?
I think that’s the question a lot of people will be asking as we go forward. Insurance, disaster financial assistance, businesses up and running, homes becoming habitable; these are all things that have to be worked out over the next several weeks (and months).
Last week, I crossed something off my professional bucket list; I was one of a lucky couple of journalists who got the opportunity to take photos from a helicopter over Grand Forks. Having never been in a helicopter before, it was a surreal experience, not only for the feeling of flying, but also because it offered the opportunity to see the damage from a new angle. It’s one thing to see it in front of you, but it is another entirely to see the water spread out for what seems like forever. I think it gave me a new appreciation for what we’re about to go through as the clean-up begins.
A friend I was chatting with recently observed to me that through this whole ordeal, he’s seen more people laughing and cracking wise ones than he has people crying. That jives with what I’ve seen over the past 10 days, and here’s an example:
On Sunday, my first day off since this all started, I went and bought myself a pizza. It felt like I needed a night on my couch with some junk food. I ordered a large, and the man behind the counter asked why I was ordering such a lot of food for just myself.
I explained that I hadn’t had much time to cook lately with everything going on; I was going to have pizza tonight and then the leftovers for lunch this week.
I sat and read the paper while I waited for my pizza to be ready; in this time, the same man went out and offered cans of pop and handshakes to the BC Wildfire crew removing the sandbags in front of his store.
And, when I went up to the counter to grab my pizza and pay, I was presented with a bag containing a portion of pasta and garlic bread.
Warm this up in a couple days and you won’t have to worry, he said. And, familiar with the paper, you’re doing a great job, go get ‘em.
So many terrible things have happened to so many people, and it has been a trying few weeks. But, I know I am not alone in having experienced these moments of genuine kindness from strangers, friends and acquaintances.
We’re just trying to make the best of this, and from what I’ve seen, everyone is doing what they can to pitch in.
With that in mind, the Gazette is making an offer: If you’d like to recognize the person who helped you out, went out of their way, did you a favour, or just made your day, we’ll publish it. Keep submissions to a couple hundred words so we can print as many as many as possible, and email them in to me (the email’s at the bottom of this page).
Right now we all need a bit of good news, and hopefully, sharing these tidbits will give us all something to be thankful for as we look forward to what’s sure to be a long recovery process.