I’d Read the Romping Puppies Daily Tribune
Posted by Moose on June 26th, 2007. Filed under: My Brain Needs a Drink.I don’t read newspapers. Because I am a delicate, fainting flower who just can’t handle bad things happening. To myself or anyone else. Sadly, this does not mean I’m good at sympathy. If you call me up sobbing that your rabbit has fallen out of the top story of his rabbit condo and broken his fuzzy little neck, you’ll get little more than, “Dude. That sucks.” Because I simply don’t know what to say. But I will be feeling for you. I may even cry into my pillow about the sweet rabbit, life cut tragically short because he was unwilling to use the bunny stairs and instead leapt naively to his death.
As much as I would like to be informed about global events and be able to say “the world exists, I will participate in it”, I would much rather pull the comforting blanket of Google Reader up around my ears and get my outside news from blogs. If something really bad happened, someone would blog about it, right? And this way I don’t have to 1. cry at work because someone’s kid disappeared, 2. be upset until lunch time because a bomb landed in someone’s bedroom, 3. shake my head in sorrowful dismay because “For Better or Worse” hasn’t been funny in about 17 years.
But yesterday, I heard from my mom that my brother has been shipped out to the Tahoe fire. He’s one of about 700 firemen fighting a wildfire that has been raging since Sunday afternoon, putting the Tahoe area into a state of emergency.
So I girded my proverbial loins (my actual loins are wearing a skirt and any girding would mess with the line) and checked the news. Almost 300 homes have been destroyed, but no deaths are reported. This is reassuring. My loins also seem sufficiently girded to keep me from getting weepy over people who have lost their living rooms.
My brother isn’t on the crew you often see in the photographs – firemen standing under darkened skies, soot artistically strewn across sweating brows, manfully spraying the leaping flames with a wee hose. No, my brother digs ditches and, I don’t know, fetches cold lemonade for the ash-smudged front liners. So, honestly, I’m not too worried. But it makes me wonder about people who do have to scan the newspapers searching for news of a loved one, or news that might put a loved one in danger.
Dude. That sucks.
Related posts:
June 26th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Informational Web Site for Lake Tahoe Wildfire
June 26, 2007
An information web site about the Lake Tahoe Wildfire has been established at http://www.tahoewildfire.com . This is a non-profit site established with links to information for fire victims, as well as a place for photos, stories, discussions, and support of the fire victims.
The only donation-related item on the site is a link to the Lake Tahoe Red Cross. No other soliciations will be allowed or displayed.
Links to fire victim information are on the main page. There is a picture area where people can upload pictures of the wildfire and its effects. There is also a discussion area (forum) to discuss wildfire-related issues and express support and condolences for those affected by the wildfire. There are links to news sites, and community organizations.
Although the site is hosted free by GoDaddy (which inserts an ad banner at the top of the page), and there is a small Google ads link, any income generated (which will be minimal) will be donated to the Lake Tahoe Red Cross. Other expenses (hosting, etc) are being absorbed by the site owner.
The site was created on June 25, 2007, so user-provided content is minimal at the moment, but will grow. We registered the site name to prevent others from using the name for personal benefit.
Contact: Rick Hellewell, rhellewell@gmail.com
(BTW, I have a nephew working CDF…)
June 26th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Dude, that DOES suck – however, your re-design? …not so much… i do miss your blissful smiling face tho…
June 26th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Hey Moose… Just for the record, I missed your Moose in the Closet posts… I just thought you were busy quitting your job and galivanting about Italy. Just sayin’!
June 27th, 2007 at 8:40 am
There was a redesign?
I’m with you on the whole “dude, that sucks” thing. Absolutely no idea what to say when people tell me bad/horrible/miserable things.
Plus, I’m a stick my head in the sand until the bad thing goes away type. Lovely, huh?
But your brother? Impresses me. I gotta think that ditch-digging and lemonade delivery to the front fire-fighting lines takes bravery.
June 27th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Hi C & J,
I was messing around with my template yesterday afternoon. I’ve been told to do this late at night, but I thought “Yeah, whatever. Who’s really on my blog at 4:00 in the afternoon?” Catwalker, apparently. And my mom, who got very confused. (Hi, mom!)