A Lady's Challenge

It isn't news to anyone at this point that certain regions of the North Country sustained a significant amount of damage from Irene. That storm impacted so many people that all of us probably know at least one person who fell victim to it. One of the Ladies was one of them. Oof.


I must say that I was one of those "Looky-Loos" (as my family calls them) that was driving around Sunday night in extreme awe over the height of the water at Stickney Bridge. "Can you believe this?" I said to Mike. "Holy shit!" I knew in the back of my mind that it was undoubtedly going to wreak havoc on the lives of many, but I never thought that it would be THAT bad. I write this as a person who lives in a location that only dealt with flickering lights on occasion. I'm sorry. I wish everyone had been that lucky.


Sierra was one of those that was not so lucky. She lives in the lower area of Jersey. As if that isn't enough, she owns the theatre on Main Street that is conveniently located next to the river. Her house on Monday morning was a disaster. She had at least one inch of silt covering the floor in some rooms with 2-3 inches in others. It was so slimy that you had to walk very carefully through the house in an attempt to keep your backside from looking like the floor. When I first saw it, my immediate thought was, "Where in the hell do you start?"

Perhaps it was instinct on the part of Cory and Sierra, but they immediately started moving furniture outside to clear the place. We all followed suit. Once that was done it was a free-for-all. Folks just saw what needed to be done and did it. I had the very distinct pleasure of cleaning out the silt from the refrigerator and freezer. Let's just say that river water and perishables don't mix.

I understand that this is not, in any way, a unique situation that Cory and Sierra have faced. All you have to do is drive around, watch the news or check out Facebook to know that so very many have felt the wrath of this storm. Mike and I talked about how we would have handled dealing with the loss that so many others have had to deal with. I told Mike that I would be a wreck and he quickly agreed. Sierra has handled it like a champ. She admitted that she had indeed lost it at one point, but you'd never know it. She and many others in many communities have handled this situation brilliantly. The human spirit is truly amazing.