One of them weeks

[Kid Shelleen]

Mike,

We share a similar anniversary. In September of 1989, I was living in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Here came a big bad Cat. 5 hurricane by the name of Hugo.

Long story short I lost everything that I owned, and like many folks on the island, my job too. I really just miss the sentimental stuff (I have no high school or college year books, I lost my Dad's WWII dogtags, that sort of stuff).

All said and done it was just stuff and it didn't take long to get stuff again.

I survived and so did all of you. We are blessed my friend.

Stuff is stuff and can be replaced. You can't replace people. Hold on to that and smile next year when that day rolls around.

Keeping you and yours in my thoughts and prayers.


Kid

[PegLeg45]

Mike, thanks for sharing the experience with us and showing everyone that we can rise above our misfortunes.

[jaybet]

I'm glad you have all recovered from those kinds of losses.
I was in VFD for 13 years, 6 as a chief officer and 3 as Chief. I had a few rip roarin' jobs in my stint at the top, but thankfully never a fatality. I had a passion for it like I do for shooting...just can't get enough of it or training either.

After a messy political ordeal I was ousted and out-cast, the department eventually went to virtually fully paid. The last fire I responded to was (now again as a peon) a good friend's house. Fire started in the second floor and into the attic. I was as far as you could get from being in charge and so I busied myself doing salvage- covering first floor belongings, etc. Spent some time hugging his wife out in the street, who had been called and came home from work to watch. At the end they had most of those things I had covered, but not much else.

They had good insurance and I actually rebuilt their house. It all turned out great, but it was my last fire. I resigned shortly after that fire and never went back to another function...just didn't have anything left for it.

You never know how or how much an incident will affect you. Anyone who has that kind of traumatic incident and comes out of it with everyone healthy and feeling good is really blessed.

[MikeBjerum]

Mike,

We share a similar anniversary. In September of 1989, I was living in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Here came a big bad Cat. 5 hurricane by the name of Hugo.

Long story short I lost everything that I owned, and like many folks on the island, my job too. I really just miss the sentimental stuff (I have no high school or college year books, I lost my Dad's WWII dogtags, that sort of stuff).

All said and done it was just stuff and it didn't take long to get stuff again.

I survived and so did all of you. We are blessed my friend.

Stuff is stuff and can be replaced. You can't replace people. Hold on to that and smile next year when that day rolls around.
Keeping you and yours in my thoughts and prayers.


Kid

Our kids were six and three at the time, and to this day I beleive it was the best thing that could have happened to them, and us.  As much as we all enjoy our stuff we are well aware that it is just stuff that can be here today and gone tomorrow, and life will go on.

We're all scarred by something in our lives.  This is just one of mine, and the nice thing about sharing is that we all realize everyone here is healing from something as well.

Thanks everyone!