COLUMN: We all have one, or do we?

Of all days to come up with this column subject.

If you remember our Friday paper, we had a story from Montgomery County about a train derailment near Red Oak. The intense part of the story was the derailed cars fell on a parked vehicle, near the tracks, for train employee transportation. The driver of the vehicle was in the car at the time. I think it’s a miracle he crawled out of the van alive.

I do hope that employee is offered some counseling, should he need it. I can’t imagine what it’s like to survive an incident like that. It’s not the typical car crash. It was something the driver was probably not expecting that caused the incident maybe with an emotional result. What I’m trying to say is, I hope the driver of the car does not get some level of PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome) with trains and cars, or will know how to manage it if he does.

The initial reason for my subject this week is what was in the Aug. 7 Adair County Free Press. We ran the same story Monday. Michael and Whitney Lewis, Greenfield residents of 22 years, became FEMA-trained crisis counselors through Project Recovery Iowa after the May 21 tornado destroyed a portion of the town, rural Adair County and killed four.

Marie Warner, who works with Support Services of South Central Iowa and is a Chamber Main Street Board Member and a member of the Community Recovery Team, shared about mental health opportunities. Project Recovery Iowa helps individuals, families, and their communities in recovering from the challenging effects of natural and human-caused disasters through the provision of community-based outreach and educational services. They also had a presence in Adair County during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Lewises said they want to help heal themselves and their friends and community after the tornado because they believe mental health wellbeing is just as important as physical health wellbeing.

If you remember the week of that tornado, at about 4 a.m. Friday, May 24, weather warning sirens in Greenfield were activated. I don’t know how many people were reminded of what they went through days prior. People may be used to awaken by a typical alarm clock; a weather warning siren is in a different category.

I have since wondered how many people have some sort of PTSD and what instigates that anxiety.

I think my instigator is a calendar; the first days of June to be exact. My career started in early June. The crazy thing is I have been laid off from two previous newspaper jobs the same time. It runs rent free in my head; the month, and time of it, when I started this career is the same time when two companies could not afford me. I’ve heard people say it’s worse to lose a job, a loved one, or have something traumatic happen during the holidays. I say there is never a good time to lose a job.

Some cities across the country have incorporated a lighted drone display on July 4th rather than the traditional fireworks. Those fireworks, with their colors and loud booms, might upset veterans who served in combat zones. The drones don’t have the boom sound as the show can be accompanied by recorded music. I don’t think the drones’ colors are nearly as big and impressive as traditional fireworks.

There are stories about school students and staff weeks, or months, after a shooting incident that those people are still trying to work through. Perry had one in January and there were many days where students were not comfortable. What instigates the anxiety was the school building itself. Those people didn’t need to see a weapon to be reminded. Perry school administrator Dan Marburger, who died in the shooting, will be remembered during the Iowa-Nebraska football game this season.

What other people have experienced, and may still have to manage, is far more serious than what I went through eight years apart. I found other work. I wonder if the person who crawled out of the vehicle in Red Oak looked back and pictured himself still in it?

Newtown, Connecticut, built a new school after its 2012 shooting. Tornado ravaged towns may not be as clear. Sure, there will be some rebuilding. But there will also be people who leave with no plans to return. I am confident Greenfield will recover. It may not look or act exactly like it did on May 20, but the town will continue.

And with hopes people will be able to confidently face their anxieties.