A Little Bit of Normal

Today felt a little more "normal" around here.
Ralph and Julie went and started really salvaging things from their house.  I went to work for my usual Thursday afternoon/evening shift.  The computers were back up, thanks to our tech guys, the Cox tech guys, and some guys from AT&T who had been furnishing us temporary hotspots until Cox could get their fiber connections reconnected.  (Had to tell the AT&T guys how much I love my U-Verse at home.  Best, most reliable, fastest Internet we have ever had. Cox does a great job with business services and the library's service, but their home services were not so hot.  At least not in our experience.  AT&T U-Verse has performed much better for us at home.)
The day at work went by much faster than usual.  There were friends I haven't seen since last week to catch up with , and Julie wasn't there, of course, so I sorted and checked in the delivery.  I got to talk to several of our "regulars" on the phone who were worried about us, and since I've been there since the last big tornado, (14 years now), I was the one  to talk to several of those who called, because they knew me.
Being on the desk this evening was a blessing.  It was really quiet, but that allowed me to focus more on each customer who came in, and even if some were not our usual crowd, those that are our usual Thursday folks were so very glad to see us, so happy to see the library intact, it was hard not to get choked up.  People kept calling, hoping the Zumba class was still on tonight, but all programs are cancelled until the traffic and roads clear up a bit more.  (Nowhere much to park near us right now, the Community Center is a Red Cross shelter, the church next door a volunteer meeting point,and there are generous folks from all over cooking wonderful food right outside our doors. )

One of the men who was with the group cooking out front came in to thank us for letting them set up out there, and I thanked him and said it meant a lot that folks cared so much and wanted to help.  He said he was so glad they could do it because everybody he met here has been terrific.  I said, well, that's why this is such a nice place to live, even with tornadoes.  Moore has an atmosphere of being a close-knit small town, even with its modern shopping areas and restaurants and theaters.  You still see folks you know when you go out and about here.  (Though, if the truth be told, the entire OKC metro area is one big small town.  I see people I know a lot of places I go all around the metro.)

People called all day asking if we were open, was the building OK, were all of us OK, it was amazing.  We knew we were loved, but we didn't know they loved us that much. Our Friends group called to check in. The Friends volunteers are pretty much all accounted for, so is our regular volunteer, Don, who is a retired AF enlisted man.  Don's house was destroyed, but he and his wife are OK. 

The mail has been delivered to our house every day this week, even though the Post Office that is diagonally across I-35 from the library has significant damage.  Our local carriers have stepped up and gotten the mail out to anyplace that they can still safely deliver it.  Today that mail brought me some goodies I had ordered.  I got the new T-shirt I ordered from Listen+Breathe=Vision.  It is the same design (Blue Sweater is the title of the painting on it) as the last one I ordered, but this one is on a navy blue shirt, and it's a large instead of an extra large.  I really like this painting, and I am happy to report that the quality appears to be as high on this shirt as it is on the black one I already own.  Michael M. Ornstein is the artist. 
I also got the USB drive I ordered that has enough capacity to hold all the music I have purchased and have on this computer.  I download my purchases from Amazon to the Media Player, and they are also available to me on the Cloud Player.  I would still like to have all that music backed up somewhere, just in case.

Ralph and Julie came by after I got home from work to collect Melvin and go to their son's  house.  They are going to stay there for awhile while they figure out the next steps.  The cats are still with us, and they seem to be enjoying our house.  Miss Lulu seems the most at home, but Mr. Peabody is adapting quickly.  They didn't even freak out too much when I did some vacuuming this evening, and came back out from under the couch as soon as I stared putting the Evil Vacuum Cleaner Machine away.  I will miss having Ralph and Julie here, and I'll miss Melvin, too.  I will especially miss Julie because she won't be back at work right away, the the library doesn't seem right without her.  We always tease her that the place will fall apart without her, and you know, it would be hard to function without Julie.  She is our corporate memory, always keeping details straight, and keeping the rest of us up to speed on changes to certain procedures, and she and her sense of humor help keep the circulation staff going.  Julie was the one who spent the most time training me 14 years ago, and we have been through a lot in those years.  Parades, festivals, programs, tornadoes, spouses being ill, loss of pets, you name it. Julie and I have gone through it.  Julie and Ralph have always been there when we needed them, I am SO glad to be able to offer what help I can now when they need us.  That's what friends are for.
We also have to pay forward the help that other friends have given us over the years.  The Rosenfelds were friends in Germany who helped us a lot when we needed it, and of course, we must try to be worthy of our friends the Rogerses.  Mike and Nancy Rogers are superlative friends.  They have done so many wonderful things,not just for us, but for all their friends, that we will never be able to repay their kindness.  Being able to pass along the help and reciprocate the help you get from others is a great feeling.  I don't think I deserve any special thanks or praise for helping, after all, they do US a kindness by letting us try to show how much we appreciate them. Since we were fortunate enough to still have our house, the LEAST we can do is offer the comfort of this house to  friends who can't enjoy the comfort of their own house right now. Why else do I have this place and the stuff that makes it welcoming?  It isn't just for us, it's to share. 
I have just looked at the clock and realized that it is a good thing I am off work tomorrow.  (Or I should say, today.)
Just some rambles from the town I have grown to love.
Hope they make at least a little sense.
As Ever,
Katie