Hurricane Irma is on its way to where I live. In a few days, it’s entirely possible that my home and all of my 
belongings will be washed away. We don’t know yet because the weather forecasters don’t entirely understand all the variables involved. Now the entire time my friends and family have said that I was overreacting. I’m not going to argue, but I realized that with the storm on both
sides of the state, warm in the west, and cold in the Atlantic. I’ve been told that it creates something called convection and it will cause a storm to become more powerful.
Why am I grateful for sand?
My mom said they have sandbags, do you think we should get them. Well if you know me, I’m up for about anything. At least if it sounds like fun, and most things just sound like fun to me. Maybe it’s the way I’m wired, lol. Well for the last 4 or 5 days, I’ve notices traffic has increased and people are people. They are darting in and out and just trying to get where they need to get. Any implication of a storm was all but ignored for the most part. But yet mom asked me should we get some sandbags? I said sure, but I had no idea where how or why. I noticed this morning that there was a pile of sand in Holly Hill, but it was a BYOB party (bring your own bag). So I said I don’t have any idea how it works.
Well someone had the great idea of inventing the internet and letting my mom have access… She said it’s at the community center. I had no idea where that was, but she told me where it was. “OK that sounds good, but we don’t have sandbags, mom?” I said cheerfully. She said, “OK let’s do it!!!” She had to get her car fixed, she had been waiting for days for it to be fixed and she was under a lot of stress. The dealer lent her a Camaro which I loved and a Malibu. She didn’t like either of them because they are sportier cars. If you know me, I love a sports car. So she called me, I was exhausted. She said she was on her way home. I thought OK that’s cool, so much for my nap today.
We went there; it was a BYOS (Bring your own shovel event). It was a unique experience. There were people checking our ID as we entered. In one half of the parking lot was three huge piles of sand and the remnants of previous piles. The dump truck was just dumping a new pile “I of course said, awesome they are bringing us fresh sand.” What a cool experience, getting to play in a giant sandbox and not getting in trouble for your effort. I wish the kids could be there.
Yes Shopping Carts
We were told to park our car, and we needed to walk to another half of the lot, As I came around the bushes, I saw a sight I never expected. People were pushing shopping carts with sandbags. It was such an awesome site. Mom and I had our shovel, and we were ready to try this. They were pretty good size, and we were told to use 4-5 scoops per bag and tie them off. The sand we were digging was light brown and easy to dig. Others were digging in the darker dirt. I made a joke, I saw a sprinkler doughnut, and I said it seems someone has lost their doughnut, I got a polite laugh and went to work.
Mom and I were joking around, people around us were extremely positive. But, there was an air of overwhelm. We were allowed 25 bags but we only needed 15, that seemed like a lot. Mom said “It’s like missionary work, but just for us” I laughed and so did several other. She held the bag, and I filled it with sand. We were very careful to stack out bags neatly. Then a younger woman about college age set one of her bags with ours. My mom politely said “I’m sorry but your bag is going to get confused with ours and I don’t want to cause you more work” the girl smiled and said, “I made it for you.” I laughed and said that’s awesome. My mom said, “That’s the kind of stuff you usually do.” I said, “I don’t own the market on kindness.”
More kindness to go around
Mom had to get the car. She doesn’t walk very really fast. I looked around, and there was a gentleman who was struggling to hold the bag with one hand and fill it with a long-handled spade with the other hand. I asked if he needed help. His knee-jerk reaction was to say no thank you. I, of course, told him that I was going to help someone, it’s how I’m wired, and you’re the closest person to me. I’m waiting for mom, and “God Bless Here, it’s going to take her a while, between it’s hard to move the car and I can help him while I wait.” He laughed and said “sure.” I found out that he moved away and just moved back because he felt he belonged here. He was awesome interesting to talk to; we had a blast.
Mom brought the car over. I began to load the bag. The car was too far away, so I asked if I could move it closer. I moved the car and began to load. Mom was shocked because the gentlemen just grabbed bags and started loading with me. Once I was done, I said thank you. He ran over and began to help someone else move their shopping car that was too heavy. I asked if he needed help loading his trailer which was parked a distance away. He laughed and said, “I’m helping these people use the car to get their bags to their car then they agreed to help me.” I hadn’t taken the time to look around, but people were helping each other all over. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for seeing everyone pitching together to bring it all together for a common purpose. It was a moment I will cherish.
At the end of the day, a common situation can lead to people working together for a common purpose. They will cooperate as a team and spread love to each other without ever knowing each other ahead of time. I love to know that when situations seem grim, people will come together with a good heart and take care of each other. Thank you to everyone who participated.
– J –