Prairie Robin

Is it totally uncool to copy and paste the text of another blog?  I'll risk the wrath of the blogosphere because I just read something that was so on the mark that there's no way I can paraphrase it.

Here's the background....life sucks.  I'm not unhappy about that.  It just is what it is.  Life is hard, people are assholes, random stuff happens that screws up my plans, people get sick and die, my kids act like jerks, and so on.  It doesn't all "just have to work out somehow" as my mom likes to say.  No, Mom, it doesn't have to work out.  It may all blow up in my face.  C'est la vie and move along. 

I'm finding my self in this weird state of lah dee dah...so what.  I do my best, try to be a decent person, make some plans...then hold my nose and jump off into the great black hole of life.  I have no idea how things will turn out and I don't think it matters in the big scheme of things what I think anyway.  The more I obsess over situations, the more likely it is that they'll get screwed up.  It's all random.

So that brings me to this blog post I read a few minutes ago on Huffington Post.  Why Stuff Happens  This guy hits the nail on the head. 

"It annoys me is why. Just....just grow up and stop pretending life is anything other than cruel, random and unjust. (Not saying that should stop us from enjoying it by the way; trick is to laugh at our powerlessness. Gives us power, that does. Embrace our mortality, our smallness, relax, and enjoy the whole ride.) Damn, looks like one of those hippy atheists been brainwashing me in my sleep."

We had a wild time Sunday evening and I feel very fortunate to have gotten through it unscathed and very thankful.

Severe thunderstorms were forecast and we were warned of the threat of tornadoes.  I kept the weather radio on most of the afternoon just in case something bad came our way.  Right around the time we were sitting down to dinner, the radio was broadcasting Tornado warnings for several counties near us.  I jokingly said that we needed to hurry through our steaks, which we rarely get, because I didn't want to waste a good meal. 

Just at that moment our town's tornado siren went off and the alert was issued for Delaware County.  Mark and I ran to the door to look outside and it was literally dark as night.  I was ready, though!  I threw the two cats into a carrier, put a leash on the dog while Katie grabbed her mice.  Mark hustled the tv downstairs so we could watch the news stations.  I ran back upstairs to grab medication, a phone book and my wedding album...amazing what you think of in an emergency! 

We huddled together under the stairs with a mattress and box spring to throw over ourselves if we got hit and watched the tv while the weather radio blasted upstairs..  It was so eerie to hear the sirens go off several more times.  We were horrified to hear that tornadoes had been spotted just outside of town and in other places within a few miles.  Luckily, we were spared and were able to go back upstairs with about 45 minutes.

The horror we saw on tv later that evening was heartbreaking.  The town of Parkersburg (pop. about 2000), just 60 miles to the west was all but destroyed.  They lost 250 homes, their only grocery store and gas station, and the high school.  4 people died there, all older folks who probably weren't able to find shelter in time.  Another town near there lost 2 people.

Our downtown was flooded when the river swelled from 6 inches of rain.  All the creeks and streams went way over their banks and flooded other small towns as well as the corn and bean fields.  Much of the newly planted corn was washed away.  The crops had been planted very late this year because of the cool and very wet spring that we've had.

Please pray and send good thoughts  out to the people of New Hartford and Parkersburg.  They have so much.

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Manchester Flooding May 26 2007 006

A lot of stuff going on.

I'm heading back east next month to visit my parents in Charlottesville VA.  I wish I could say that this is a trip I'm looking forward to, but I expect it to be stressful and very sad.  My precious Dad was diagnosed with Alzhiemer's last year and it's progressed fairly rapidly.  Mom is left along to deal with this and she's hardly in good enough shape to care for herself.  Mom suffers from painful, extensive arthritis and fibromyalgia that are compounded with vicious panic attacks.  She's done better than I ever expected, but the strain is really taking its toll on her.

I'm the eldest child, which can both a blessing and a curse.  The curse is that I have to be the responsible one when what I really want to do is curl up and cry.  But I do the strong thing pretty well and save my falling apart for when its all over.  I just hope I can keep my horrible depression at bay.  It's going to be hard because I'll have to do all of this alone, without my husband who so often gives me strength.  I imagine there'll be lots of long distance phone calls home.

This is the time in my life that I've always feared the most.  Even at 51 years old, my parents are a very important part of my life.  We've always been very close and supportive of each other, especially through some very hard times.  Illness of one form or another has been a constant thread in our lives...my parents' cancers, heart attacks, and aneurysms; my brother's childhood brain tumor that left him permanently disabled; my sister's alcoholism and drug abuse.  And I've been hobbled at times by depression and bipolar disorder. My deepest fear, the one I never bring myself around to in therapy, is losing my parents when they've been the anchor in times that I could barely hang on.

"That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger."  Is that true?  Then why do I feel so weak? "God doesn't give you more than you can handle."  I always thought that was the cruelest of remarks to say to someone at the end of their rope.  I find it very hard to locate "god" in the midst of my struggles. It's a very painful place I've found myself in. 

I've planned my travel and my daughter is looking forward to the trip.  We're taking the train from Chicago to Virginia, a 24 hour ride, and she's thinking it's going to be a great adventure.  I'm thankful for her company and look forward to making some good memories for her.  We're close, like my mother and I, and I think the trip will make that bond stronger. She knows her grandpa is ill and I think she's prepared because of the volunteer work she's done with Alzheimer's patients.  But this is personal, her special grandpa, not someone who belongs to some other family. 

I imagine that when the train crosses into Virginia, it will be a comforting event.  Virginia is in my heart, my home, a place that I can never really leave behind.  It's where I grew up, embracing the culture of the South in spite of my parents' Yankee roots.   Oh, I love living in the Midwest, but I miss the hills of Shenandoah Valley, civil war battlefields and Southern accents.  Two years ago I wasn't sure I'd ever get back Home.  I wish it wasn't this kind of a visit.

Raid

I went to Postville today to help prepare and serve meals to the people seeking sanctuary.  There is so much going on that isn't in the news and I can't help but wonder why.  The situation is heartbreaking.  The church is full of women and children who are, justifiably, afraid to go to their homes.  Although the Feds have said they would not go door to door, helicopters have been seen over the town and the church is being watched.  

For the most part, the men are being held at a fairgrounds in Waterloo while the women and children remain behind in Postville.  Some children went as long as 72 hours before a family could be located to take them in.  The women who are here illegally will be deported with their husbands, but most of the children are US citizens.  The parents can't take their children across the border without jumping through a million bureaucratic hoops.  Talk about a Catch 22.

The mood at the church was very somber...sad.  For the most part, the people in town have no animosity towards the workers and see them as friends and neighbors.  The reports of gang and drug problems were laughed at by the people I talked to as they told me there had been no such problems.  

I wish I could go into all the details about what I heard and saw today.  There really is a very human aspect that is being overlooked, one that needs to be factored into the debate on what to do about undocumented workers.  The town of Postville is being hit hard financially. The schools stand to lose half of their pupils, which will most likely mean closing next year.  The retail district is like a ghost town, with so many shops forced to lock their doors.  The economic impact will be devastating.  These people were not taking jobs from American workers.  No one else wants to work in the plant, regardless of the pay.  It's hazardous, disgusting work.  What exactly has been accomplished by this raid other than for the almighty government to say "Look, we did something".

I think we over simplify this issue.  Tell me how, logistically, we're going to round up 12 million people and ship them back to God knows where.  What will be the impact on our economy? I don't know what the answer is, but I know that what happened is wrong. 

Postville, Iowa, located about 80 miles northwest of my town, is an interesting place.  It's a town of about 2500 people of a huge variety of ethnic backgrounds.  Many of these people came here to work for Agriprocessors, the largest Kosher meat packing plant in the country.  They supply kosher meat to stores and restaurants all over the world.

It's never been a secret that Agriprocessors hires undocumented workers and has helped them get fake documentation such as social security numbers.  Whatever your opinion on illegal immigration, the fact of the matter is that this company and the town of Postville have become dependent on  the workers to keep their businesses profitable.  Agriprocessors and other companies who blatantly hire illegal workers simply get a slap on the wrist, a fine, and are free to go back to business as usual.

Just this week the INS raided Agriprocessors and arrested almost 400 people and shipped them off to a fairgrounds 75 miles away to face various criminal charges stemming from their immigration status.  This has had a ripple effect through the town, affecting business and families.  At last report, many businesses have closed and may not re-open.  One man who owns several rental properties say that they have all been abandoned and he has no hope of finding new tenants.  The saddest story I read was that the high school valedictorian, who was due to graduate in a few weeks, is the child of illegal immigrants and has been forced to go into hiding.  He will most likely have to forfeit several scholarship offers and go back to living in poverty in Guatamala.

Here's the problem as I see it.  While it's illegal to come into this country without going through the legal process, the people who are here are not criminals.  They are desperately trying to support their families and I have no doubt that I would act as they have if it meant the difference between living in  poverty or giving my family a better life.  These are human beings with worth, with spouses, with children.  I see this issue as a human rights issue that doesn't have easy solutions.  Many times these workers are underpaid and work in very dangerous jobs.  I don't believe that they're taking jobs away from US citizens.  Representatives from several employment agencies were interviewed and they said that they can't find people to work in processing plants, in spite of the fact that the pay is $11 an hour.  It's one of the most hazardous jobs and the risks are too high. The illegal workers aren't covered by workers compensation and are simply tossed to the curb of they can't work.

We have to look at the humanity involved and try to find a  compassionate answer.   "Ship them back"  isn't a feasible solution. Tearing families apart is inhumane.  I don't know what the answer is, but I know in my heart that what we are doing now isn't right.

I felt I had to do something to help. Sitting here, 80 miles away and feeling bad isn't helping.  Maybe prayer will help, but I need to do more. St. Bridget's, the church that is offering sanctuary to many of the people affected, is overwhelmed with providing for their needs - food, shelter, counseling.  I called the church this morning and offered to help.  I'll be going up there on Saturday to do what I can to aide the other volunteers and do my part to ease the burden of some of God's children.  It's the least I can do. 

Mark took the day off yesterday and we went "visiting" relatives.  Weird as it may sound, what this means is that we travel around the various small towns close to us and take photos of grave stones which he uploads them to his genealogy program.  It is kind of cool because it's like a history lesson; each cemetery holds the spirit of people who settled in this area in the 1800's, most of them from the same area of Germany.

We also drove up to Guttenburg, a smallish town on the Mississippi River.  It's an old town, settled in the 1820's, mostly by Germans.  Main Street runs parallel to the river and is full of antique shops, boutiques and restaurants.  We ate at a little cafe and shared a bratwurst and a reuben.  We also went into a wonderful store that was loaded with imported pottery, glassware and Christmas decorations. 

Lock & Dam #10 are located here and you often get the chance to watch barges.   We were lucky yesterday to be able to watch a barge as it went through the lock.  The thing was huge!  I would guess at least 100 feet wide and 1000' feet long, and see it maneuver through the narrow lock opening was impressive.  We were watching from an observation area next to the lock and we were only 20 feet away.  I was able to talk to the crew members who were standing on the front; they told me they were hauling coal and soybeans.  I took a couple of videos, but we were so close it's hard to see the real size.

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Looking down Main Street.

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Overlooking the Mississippi

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Lock and Dam #10

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Amish boys fishing

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A barge waiting to go north through the lock.