Apparently, the tail end of a tropical storm is supposed to hit us this afternoon in Maryville, MO. That’s a long way for a tropical storm to go. We’ve been warned with possibilities of heavy rain, large hail, and a tornado or two. As a Midwesterner, I’m used to the possibilities of heavy rain, large hail, and a tornado or two, so I will spend the afternoon working on the computer and keeping one eye out the window for that greenish sky that presages hail.
I’m currently taking a class on Serving the Diverse Community During Disaster, which is a pretty intense class. Right now I wonder how well my community is planning for people whose experience and needs are different than those of the majority of the community: people of color, people with mental illnesses, the poor, the physically disabled. I try to join the planning but I’m rebuffed because I’m not an emergency management person and they tend to be cliquish.
It feels like all the current threads are coming together at this moment: civil rights, the pandemic, natural disasters, and compassion. I find myself reflecting, praying because I don’t know what else to do.
Words Like Me 