THE LIST: 'What's a little gas?'

At the top of my list is an encounter I had this morning while reading and drinking my morning coffee.

While sitting at our kitchen table, I heard the neighbor’s riding lawnmower come to life. I thought nothing of it, really. It has been really hot and I figured they needed to mow their lawn and wanted to get it done before the heating of the day took effect. But that wasn’t the case.

Pretty soon, I began hearing hooping and hollering. I went to the window and confirmed with my eyes what I already thought. Our neighbors have some young grandchildren living with them right now because their family is displaced due to the tornado. The neighbor was giving one of her grandchildren a ride around the back yard on the lawn mower. What’s a little gas, right?

I was once that grandchild getting a ride from grandma and grandpa on the lawnmower. Soon I graduated to the go-kart, riding up and down the lane on the farm, seeing how much air I could get at the cattle crossing. Good memories, indeed!

The last city council meeting here that I covered was pretty heated. People want answers after the tornado. We have lots of volunteers to help but need more. We’ve moved through the stage where everyone’s happy and wants to help, and there are difficult days for our communities ahead.

You drive everywhere and the landscape is different. Hundreds of large, mature trees are gone. It’s sad. We lost a good, large shade tree in our yard. Go to Lake Greenfield and you’ll see that half of the trees there are gone. Over by Casey’s, you can see northeast all the way to the Adair County Fairgrounds, and you didn’t used to be able to. The landscape is much different.

But, that sound out my kitchen window this morning gave me a needed smile. We have so many people in our community who are displaced. In some cases, nieces and nephews are living with aunt and uncle or grandchildren are getting extra time with grandma and grandpa. We have to remember that though we have much to take care of, these are also the moments we don’t get back.

Give the grand-kid another ride on the lawnmower. What’s a little gas? I can tell you first hand that your grandchild won’t forget it.

Community Meeting

If you weren’t able to attend the community meeting Sunday evening at the school, I highly suggest you go watch the livestream on the Greenfield Chamber Main Street Facebook page. If you have any questions regarding disaster recovery, it’s a good resource.

While there was certainly new information shared at the meeting, as stories were told and information given I hadn’t heard yet, a lot of the meeting contained good reminders for residents moving forward. While we want to have all the information in the paper — we have had a lot of it in at various points — and you can find the information online at the county’s website as well, I’m a firm believer that people find their information in a multitude of places. We all have to sniff out the validity of what we’re reading. For instance, we do our best to verify the facts in our stories. The county website is an excellent resource.

Nobody likes more meetings, but it’s my hope we continue having meetings so that we can all stay on top of rebuilding our community in the best way possible. In fact, another meeting is 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 7, with a meal an hour before, back at the school. Make plans to attend and make plans now to continue supporting local businesses as much as possible, now more than ever!