His wife had called last night to tell him that on CNN they said the rebuilding was going well.
He looked at me, hands out to his sides, palms up and shrugged his shoulders.
"Where?" he asked me. "Where is the rebuilding? They don't even have a single building on main street. You don't have a place to eat. Your only "grocery store" is the convenience store. The only stop light in town hasn't even been replaced. I see a few houses around the perimeter, but where is the TOWN?"
All I could do was shrug my shoulders in answer. Someday, maybe we will have a town. Someday.
It's good to know that our leaders are letting everyone know that the rebuilding process is "going well." Still, no grocery store in the town. Kwik Shop was barely up and running as the town's source of a grocery store back when we were there on July 4th. So what is going on? Many residents are still angry that FEMA left one day, after the story slowly fizzled out of the headlines, and without warning. Speaking of FEMA, read this entry she wrote about what FEMA has demanded of them! Are you fucking kidding me?
Where is the funding? Where are these god damn politicians at that promised to help Greensburg? I'm doing my part as much that is within my power, why aren't they? Who is going to tell the real story about Greensburg?
Who is going to tell the stories of suicide that happened because someone lost their entire world? No one will. They want everyone to think that Greensburg is okay; America does not like cater to bad endings or stories that aren't either 1. Heroic or 2. Absolutely horrible, despicable. There is no in between.
Our friend Daniel has decided to move to New Mexico, due to finances, his employment, and the house he was loaned, was not his. I think that night still terrifies him quite a bit, and I don't think he wants to live there any more (although he says the move might be temporary, I think it's permanent). Things are not going well in the town, there is still debris there nearly 7 months later. 7 months!
What's going on in Greensburg? Obviously, you can't rebuild an entire town overnight, but progress should be further along than what it is now. Drive down there yourself someday, at night even, and see what these people wake up to every day. It's a war zone. It's a nightmare, and it's there every day to remind them.
Tis the season.
4 comments:
Hello. Thanks for the link... And thanks for this post...
Is that Daniel as in Daniel Unruh? I'm sorry to see him leave... He and I went to school together up until the 8th grade...
You are right, people here are frustrated, and confused, and downright weary... Looking at this every day it's still hard to believe, and then hearing about all the donations that the citizens of Greensburg never see... It's no wonder so many people have left... it's easier to leave than to stay and fight... There is one store that is now starting the rebuilding process on Main Street. It's a good sight, but there should be more by now...
Yep, that's Daniel Unruh. I try and talk to him every couple of weeks to see how he is, he is a very great guy. I'm blessed for knowing him. He is thinking of putting up a cattle ranch in New Mexico. I think he has already left. We were supposed to see him a week and a half ago, but all 3 of us are pretty tight for finances, and couldn't make the trip.
Just keep your heads up, one way or another, you will eventually get what was promised. Don't give in, just keep fighting for what you had, even though it's not the easiest thing to do.
If you guys ever need anything at all, just let me know, I will try my best to help you.
Take care and don't hesitate to ask for something.
Dick
Not to take away from the Greensburg side of things but I want to comment on the media and their depiction of everything being dandy.
I was just discussing with someone earlier today, the Utah mine collapse and the fact that it got erased from the headlines. I have looked around on the internet and can't find any current articles about whether they just sealed the thing off with bodies inside or if there was a recovery or what.
It seems all we hear about is bad news but old bad news just isn't as popular anymore. It's easier to say things are better or just say nothing at all than actually return to the scene and learn what is really happening I suppose.
Back to the Greensburg situation - I'll head over to the linked blog and probably post another comment after reading.
Thanks for passing the link along - looks interesting.
Dick, great blog... very thought provoking. I agree with Steve, old news just doesn't make it. A great news show would be a compilation show telling everyone what ever happened with... I'd watch that.
Post a Comment