The Wonderful Gift Of A Beautiful Day

This was how we had church today.  Because of the Friday night storms, the power was somewhat missing at the church, and we are out of our cathedral space anyway, because of the roof replacement.  The power being out meant the elevators didn't work, so going up to Dean Willey Hall would automatically exclude some of the congregation who can't climb stairs.  The weather was so absolutely beautiful today, that we decided to have the 11 o'clock out in the East Garden.  It was a far less musical service than we usually have, but Mary Reynolds, Lou Kohlman and I did our best to get them singing during communion.  Mary started us off so we could agree on where we were and what we were singing.  Worked really well. 
This was just such a lovely, blue sky, birdsinging day.  It was so welcome and so wonderful after all the storms.  People were smiling everywhere we went.  Matt and I stopped in a couple of stores on the way home from church, to get some spices and to get some of the cheese I really like. 
We had a nice visit with Ralph and Julie, and it is good to see that they are hanging in there, even if it does get rough sometimes.  I welcome all good thoughts, prayers, and positive energy directed toward them finding a good place to live while their house is being rebuilt.  Julie needs a place to do her art, it is what she needs to process things. Also, their kitties really miss them, and would like to be with them for more than just a visit.  (We are OK, but we are NOT the RIGHT people.  It just isn't as much fun running our lives as it is for them to run Ralph and Julie's lives.) 

I took my walk this early evening, and the neighborhood is so peaceful today.  Children playing, the scent of people grilling in the backyard, a few mowers going, dogs barking, but overall pretty quiet and serene.  The sky so blue it hurts, with just a few very small wisps of white clouds up high.  The only sign of the recent bad weather is a few piles of tree limbs out by the curbs waiting for the yard waste guys to come get them tomorrow. 
Today I am so very grateful for the gift of this calm, beautiful weather.  The sun was warm, but the breeze was light and cool, the air was dry and pleasant.  I am grateful for all my Cathedral family gathered and praising God in spite of everything, just like we always have.  The Dean commented in his sermon about how this congregation knows about coming together to help in the face of tragic events.  He reminded us that he has heard our stories about the time after the 1995 Murrah Bombing.  He has heard more of them lately because the move to Dean Willey Hall while the roof is repaired is very reminiscent of those days.  Having so many in our communities suffering from the aftermath of the storms this past two weeks makes it feel even more like those days.  Now, as then, groups within the church are mobilizing to provide for whatever needs arise.  There are volunteers to help with cleanup, there are those willing to use expertise and resources to help victims who need assistance in navigating the recovery process.  The love in that congregation is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. 
I am also grateful for my friends who have endured so much, and are still full of laughter.  My coworkers and friends have been a part of my life, some of them for more than 14 years now.  The people here are what make this place such a very special place to live.  Why else do we hang around in the face of such awful storms?  The people here are amazing.  Resourceful, funny, loving, capable of making you absolutely astounded at some of their opinions, but still willing to love you even if you disagree with them.  We stayed after Matt retired because we loved our church family, had been through so much with them.  After we made even more friends here, we knew it was a special place, and this little suburb of Moore perhaps even more special.  This is one scrappy town.  It's been here since 1893, before statehood.  It's grown a lot just in the 20 years we have lived here.  I've seen the volume of our library's circulation increase by a large factor. There are more stores and restaurants here now, and we DID have a wonderful small hospital.  (We sincerely hope Norman Regional will rebuild our hospital.  It is a huge asset to the community, and it met many medical needs for us with ease and efficiency.)  We also have a world class movie palace and IMAX theater here in Moore, and the man who owns it is very committed to this city.  He has already reopened the theatre after the damage from the May 20 tornado was repaired.  (And it wasn't much damage.  He designed the place with tornadoes in mind.  Smart man, and one we are glad is part of our community in Moore.)

I keep coming back to this beautiful morning in the garden.  Our columbarium spaces are just behind where Matt was standing when he took this photo.  Love South 15 and 16 are our spaces.  This garden is where what is left of us will be for as long as the Cathedral stands.  I am very happy about that.  Only appropriate that our ashes are left where our hearts have so often been, in the midst of life at St. Paul's.   Children play in this garden between and after the services.  Picnics are held here.  It is a happy place as well as a place of remembering. 

I thank God for the beautiful gift of this day.  I pray that all the stormy days are behind us, at least for this season, and that we may dwell in this sunshine and peace for awhile now.  Our weary spirits need the respite.  Those who  must rebuild need the good weather to complete the task.  May we be ever mindful of what a gift days like today are, and may we remain grateful.
As Ever,
Katie

Overwhelmed, Grateful, Weary, Hopeful and Teary

That pretty much sums me up right about now.
I had a bit of frustration trying to get in to work this morning, and I am glad my windows were up, or the folks walking on the sides of the road might have heard some words that would have singed their ears.  The dude in the truck in front of me was obviously lost.  I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was a volunteer looking for a place to park, but I'm afraid he was yet another lookie-loo.  At any rate, he stopped FOUR TIMES in a 2 block space, and I REALLY needed him to get OUT of my way.  I barely made it in the door of the library on time.  At least the cops had done pretty well at discouraging people from parking in the Library Staff ONLY spots.  Ya want the library open so you can use the nice restrooms?  Let the staff have their parking spots.

We don't have a whole lot of stuff coming back in yet, but that will come soon enough.   Trips to the book drop were an adventure.  There are several groups here cooking for anybody who needs fed.  The library parking lot is where the city set them up, for some reason. 

The photo at the left shows what I saw when I left the front doors of the library with my donated shopping cart (thank you, Walmart Neighborhood Market) to head for our "big green" book drop out in the circle drive.  I was sure there would be nothing in it when I got there, there's no way for people to drive up and put items in the drop.  WRONG.  There were several items in the drop.  Seems people have been parking and walking up and dropping their items in the drop.  They have also managed to find ways around the relief truck blockade and put things in our back drop that empties directly into the building. 

You can see the drop chutes in the far upper left of the photo at right, which shows cases of water that have been stacked against the back side of the library since Monday night. We are INUNDATED with supplies, and volunteers here in Moore.  Our officials are very appreciative, and are trying to co-ordinate between volunteer agencies and the governments of other cities hit by the tornadoes to maybe get some of those volunteers out to the smaller communities who were hit and REALLY need some help.  Not that we don't need help, we do, but those little towns just don't have the resources we have, and they are away from main highways, so it is harder for the media to find them.
People keep calling to find out if we are open. People come in, and are actually teary-eyed when they look around and see that their library is just like they left it the last time they were in. All the books and all the staff are OK, and still here for them.  I almost cried several times on the Customer Service Desk this morning.  Our customers love us, and we love them.   Mahlon, the young lady I was most worried about during all of this, came in today, and I hugged her SO tight. I've known that girl since she was one of our "volunteens" in Summer Reading when she was maybe 13 or so.  She's a college student now, and she is a clerk working at our South OKC branch.  She is a sweetie, and her mom is about the same age I am.  I was SO glad to see with my own eyes that our Mahlon is all right.  Bless her.  She was almost crying herself.  She's been worried about all of us, too.Thank God for Face Book and Twitter, or we'd all be a lot MORE worried about each other.
I do have a great deal of sadness, though.  Mr. Hemant Bhonde, a regular customer who always brought a smile with him, and left us smiling, was taken by the storm.  He had been ill recently, and not in as often, but we still saw him once in a while.  He always stopped to talk to me and Julie, and joked around with us.  He was from India, and worked at the GM plant.  He was also a volunteer in our Computer Training Center at one time.  He was a sweet man, and I will miss him.  I always smile when I think of him, though.  He left that legacy with his library friends, that thinking of him makes us smile.
Some of those children who died were customers that I can remember seeing in the library.  It is always especially sad to lose children, and it hits home even more when those children are ones who came up to you on a regular basis and asked for their library card number, or gave you their books to check out. Summer Reading starts soon.  There are now a few less kids to come and read with us.  We are all very sad about that.
 We are grateful for all the support and help that has been pouring into Moore.  It is very overwhelming when you are trying to do anything around our building or even our area of town, though.
Here are a few photos to prove my point:

 To the left, you see the view of our parking lot between us and the Community Center. "Big Green" is visible by the hedge on the far left of the photo.  The building with the large air conditioning units visible on top is the Community Center.  The cookers and the semi trailers are from a company based in Arkansas that has been here since Tuesday cooking and serving meals to whoever wants some.

 To the right, this is the view looking North on Howard Street from the library circle drive.  Those are customers' cars and volunteers' cars parked on a street that really ISN'T supposed to have parking on it.

 The photo on the left was taken from the south end of the drive that runs behind the library.  Those are the semi trailers full of chicken that the cookers are fixing for everybody.  I often jokingly tell customers on the phone to come get something to check out and pick up some free food while you're at it.

 To the right, you see the view out the West lobby doors of the library.  Brown building on the right is the temporary police station.  (New one is being built at Main and Broadway, will be finished sometime late this year, maybe.) Clouds and a highway full of lookie-loos.  Just what we need.

 This is the view out the staff door on the west side of the building.  Police station, Interstate beyond, and I think the farthest building there is a church across the Interstate.  Lots more vehicles than are usually in this location on a Saturday afternoon.

To the right is a view of the parking lot immediately in front of the Community Center.  As you can see, one of the fire crews had stopped in for some food, and an ambulance crew, too.  These folks have been working 12 hr. shifts with little or no downtime all week.

It means a lot to know that all these people just wanted to help our city.  Many just up and left and are giving up their Memorial Day weekend plans to be here to help take care of Moore, Oklahoma.
Many, many people have told me this week that relatives have told them they should leave, that obviously Moore wasn't a safe place to live.  They all then said what I've always said.  There's just something about this town.  The people are so special, even when they disagree violently with your politics, they still care about you, they still love you.  They look at you with tears in their eyes after something like this and say from the bottom of their heart "It is SO GOOD to see you!"   Complete strangers come and ask if they can help.  It happens every day here, you need something, someone will ask if they can help.

We are all weary of the weather right now.  Leery of it, too.  Those clouds out there were being viewed with great suspicion.  There was a slight chance of a thunderstorm here today, but any that popped up were far to the south of Moore.  Still, people are nervous.  I bet it's quite awhile before we hear our weekly siren tests again.  People's nerves are still too raw.  (And besides, they know all the sirens that are still here work.  They gave them quite a workout on Monday.)
We had people calling to ask us to check the Weather Service website for them.  A few were where they had no access to a weather radio or TV.  Some don't have smart phones, so they call us.  We are the all-purpose reference tool, after all.  (And sometimes it feels like people expect us to know everything, just because we work in the library.)  (We all know a lot of things, but none of us knows EVERYTHING.  Our heads would explode.  Seriously.  )

Those of us who were here in '99 have one advantage over the newer folks in town.  We remember how things were before that tornado, and how they were re-built even BETTER afterwards.  That's where the hopefulness comes in.  I know this town will rebuild, and I know it will be even better than before.  Our city government does all it can to help residents get the information and help they need to get their homes rebuilt safely, and the Chamber and other civic agencies help business owners.  Those of us who live here help by shopping at our local stores as much as possible.  We support the retailers that believed in Moore and put their stores here.  We really support Bill Warren and his theater because he has always believed in Moore, even though he's from Kansas, and has supported this community from the day he decided to put his theater here.  He builds all his theaters with severe weather in mind.  (It's because he's from Kansas.  They get lots of tornadoes, too, you know.)
I have hope that our hospital will be rebuilt, and it will be better than before.  Norman Regional owns it, and their newer buildings are beautiful.  We are hopeful that the new hospital will be one of those beautiful buildings.  I had an appointment at the hospital Breast Care Center for next month.  They have already called me to reschedule the appointment at the Porter Road campus of the hospital.  They were even able to give me the same day and the same time.

I get teary when I think about what could have happened on Monday.  It was really, really bad, but it could have been SO much worse.   We had warning enough for most of us to take shelter, the tornado missed our large retail stores (where there were lots of people), and the kids hadn't gotten on their buses to go home yet.
I get teary, too, thinking about how close it came to my own home, how we STILL don't have a shelter (partly my fault because a good one costs so much), and well, this is all so stressful, it is making a lot of us teary.  Like I said, customers come in and tear up because they are so glad we are still there, and the books are still there, and I get teary because our customers are all right, and it IS good to see them.
It makes me tear up when all the ex-pat Okies I know start raising funds to send to the relief efforts, and how so many tweeted and messaged on Face Book, and emailed and called to see if we were all right.  I get choked up when Matt hears from the barbecue cookers who want to come and cook for folks.  They are here and serving lots of hot meals to people who might not otherwise have one.  Matt has done a lot to get the cookers in touch with folks who may need them.  He also spent the day helping clean Veteran's Memorial Park.  I'm proud of him.  He pretends this stuff doesn't upset him,  "Shit happens" he says, but I know deep down he really cares, and he wants to help make things more normal for folks, too.
Another emotional thing going on today was all the pictures people are finding in their yards and bringing to the library so the folks who are looking to reunite them with their owners can collect them.  Sad, mud-spattered, some edges torn, some water damaged. Wedding photos, Basic Training portraits of young servicemen and women, portraits of children, somebody's photo ID from work, all little pieces of someone's life.  And you find yourself hoping the people in the pictures are OK, and that they'll be getting those pictures back soon. That's my prayer for my little adopted home town.  That the people are all OK, and that they'll be getting those little pieces of their lives back in order real soon.
And maybe the lookie-loos will grow up and stay out of the way for awhile, and then we can get somewhere on I-35 again, maybe the volunteers will get better organized and not park all over Howard Street so we can almost not drive through, and then maybe I'll be able to get to work in less than five minutes again.  (Unless there's a train.) In other words, we'll find our "new normal" and get on with life.

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

The Love Is Pouring In

"There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in" - Leonard Cohen


There must be a crack in Moore.  There's lots of love and light pouring in around here today.  I've been helping Julie run some errands today while Ralph is sorting through and salvaging stuff from their house.  Everywhere we went, people were happy to help.  The health department was offering free tetanus shots, so we went over there.  Turns out, Julie had already had a recent booster.  I had no idea the last time I had one, so they gave me one.  (My records are all at Tinker.)  The health department ladies all know us sort of because they used to be housed in the building right behind the library where we work.  (The police station is there now.)

We reserved a trailer for Ralph to rent at the little U-Haul place that is at the gas station I always go to.  The man there recognized me, and I told him Julie worked with me at the library.  He had a trailer the right type and size for them to use, and told them right now it is 24 hour bookings only, but that's all they need.  If they need it again, they can see if they can reserve it for another 24 hours.

Julie and I walked up to the Crest grocery store on the corner of 12th and Eastern and bought some stuff to make sandwiches for lunch.  Ralph was back over here after picking up the trailer, so we all had lunch.

Turns out, we could have just gone over to the library parking lot and gotten BBQ chicken, or a burger, or hot dog, lots and lots of good food being cooked right there at the library/community center parking lot.  We found this out when Julie and I went over to drop off the oatmeal-peanutbutter-chocolate chip cookies I made at the police station.  I told the ladies there that Ted Belling, Jerry Cambpell, and Daniel Melendez could vouch for the quality of my cookies.  They laughed.  But they gladly took the cookies.

There are organizations from all over the country here cooking hot meals for people who no longer have kitchens, landlords that have offered unoccupied properties to victims needing a place to stay, college campuses opening the recently vacated residence halls, animal welfare groups working with local vets to set up a shelter for displaced pets at the fairgrounds, so very much love.  People are not as awful as some would have us believe.  People see something like this happen, and they want to reach out, they want to help.  It is heartwarming when it is your town that needs the help.

What hurts is when the novelty wears off, but the aftereffects are still here to be dealt with.  Then, we need the folks who are willing to help rebuild, to help sort out insurance and other legal details, to advise homeowners who are most likely still overwhelmed and overtaxed.  There are local builders here in Moore who handled this before in '99 and 2003, and they are ready to do it all again. Our chamber of commerce has been through this before, too, and they have a new building because of the '99 tornado.  They are gearing up to help with FEMA and SBA paperwork, help the local businesses get the help they need.  Our library is already back open, offering a quiet place to sit and read, use the computer, find information they may need.  Heck, today my boss was offering suggestions on driving routes that would help folks get where they want to go around the damaged areas.  Our tech team has worked overtime, and just as Julie and I were leaving, internet connectivity was restored, which means we will likely be back to business as usual when I go in tomorrow at 12:30.
Our library will be there to offer whatever services, information, and comfort we can, just like we did last time.  These are our neighbors.  These are our friends.  Some of those little children who died were ones I had come up and ask me to look up their card number when they came to the library.  I will miss them. They, like most of our kids here, were polite and happy kids, fun to have around.

It is a shame, but often it takes something like this to remind us just how much we love each other.  Friends who have been there when you needed them are precious.  How much more precious it is to be able to offer the comforts we have to them when they need us.  It makes me very happy that I can do this.  I will smile a little more at the little ones who come in.  How precious it is to have those children using their library, and coming to us rather than going someplace else to "hang out" after school.  I will hug my coworkers and spoil them more because I really, really enjoy working with these people.  They are dedicated and creative, and they all love books as much as I do.

Then there is our Warren Theatre.  Bill Warren has already said the theatre will reopen on the 29th.  He'd open earlier, but there are some supplies needed to do the necessary repairs that won't be available that soon.  The Warren works with all community agencies on a regular basis, often partnering with the library to sponsor a "Big Read" movie night, when they show a movie that was made from the Big Read book, or is related to the subject of the book.
Our local Chic-Fil-A is going to reopen soon, but today they were handing out chicken sandwiches at the community center and other places around town.  They are big supporters of the library, and are always asking what they can do to help.
One of the liquor stores in town, in my opinion the best one, and the only one I shop at, Moore Liquor, has a marquee out front which is rather infamous around Oklahoma for the jokes Brian posts on it every week.  This week, because of what has happened, it is more sincere and less smart-ass.

I think he's right.  We've done this before.  It's been 14 years, and we've grown a lot since then, but we can do it again.  We can rebuild it even better than it was.  It'll take awhile, and sometimes it'll hurt, but "we'll be okay."

From Moore, America.
Katie