But we have been really really slack lately!! After the flood disaster in brisbane I think a lot of us have had trouble getting back on the horse (or horses, depending on how many things you're juggling!) Although luckily Emma and myself weren't personally affected, the devastation around us has been very sobering. It's pretty damn hard to party when you drive through streets and streets of gutted houses, and see piles of debris that contain the entire contents of several family's lives just totally wrecked. I live on the west side, and nearly everyone I know has a story. Several of our friends lost everything, and most people I knew were elbow deep in mud helping out or being helped out. The stories that we heard were by turns heartbreaking and inspirational....lost livelihoods and homes, and unexpected generosity from total strangers. Even though normally I tend to be very cynical about the 'human interest' stories the news blurts out at the end of the evening's catalogue of disasters, it seems right now as if Brisbane is one big human interest story. And the same seems true for all the other (many, many) disaster affected areas right now. Family and friends in Gatton, Laidley and Toowoomba tell me similar stories of unasked for generosity and assistance, and the same themes are continuing right now in the Far North as people up there struggle with the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi. So as well as the memory of devastation and loss, I hope sincerely that we hold on to these memories of kindness from unexpected places. I hope this becomes a part of the story, and we don't just talk about the things that broke, or the things we lost, but the people who turned up, quietly fixed or replaced what was needed, and then disappeared again without asking for anything in return. Thanks to all the volunteers...
