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Nothing, really. At least nothing fit to utter in a newspaper.
Mother Nature still has the upper hand, and forget about Hollywood glitz and special effects. There was little special about the destruction that torrential rains heaped on southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
While we’re left speechless about the loss of life and property, there’s a whole lot to say about our neighbors. Like the man who had lost his house to flooding and decided to volunteer at the Red Cross. What else is there to do anyway, he wondered. Or about the Chartwell’s dining service folks working at Saint Mary’s who vowed to stay as long as there were mouths to feed. Or about the paper carrier whose home was in the floodpath, but still managed to get her papers on the doorsteps in Winona.
And the list goes on.
We have heroes — people in law enforcement such as the Winona County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota National Guard, the fire and rescue personnel who have all given heroic efforts to account for everyone — trying to save lives, trying to offer a little bit of comfort to those who have lost nearly everything. Like when the family drowned in the Mississippi River, the Red Cross and Dave Brand, in particular, worked without sleep and without stopping.
Life won’t be the same around the area for awhile, and this storm will hopefully be the one by which all others are measured (God forbid another gully washer like this one). Yet for all the homes that have to be rebuilt, for all the property that has been lost, southeastern Minnesota will remain the same — a place of neighbors, a place where people help each other dig out of the mud and the kind of place where the busiest office in town seems to be the local Red Cross.
It’s nice to see politicians such as Gov. Tim Pawlenty come to support residents and relief workers. And, it’s good news that FEMA is here. It’s good to see Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Norm Coleman come and survey the damage and work in the halls of Congress to bring relief to places like Winona, Houston, Fillmore and Olmsted counties.
But it’s even better to be surrounded by good friends and good neighbors, who make it their business to be the brother’s keeper, so to speak.
As we continue to assess the catastrophic damage, let’s also remember that once the television crews leave and the politicians jump back into the plane, there’s a heck of a lot of work to be done. Then — just as much as now — will be the time for good neighbors, for support, for helping hands.
By Darrell Ehrlick, editor, on behalf of the Winona Daily News editorial board, which also includes publisher Rusty Cunningham and online editor Jerome Christenson. To comment, call (507) 453-3522 or send e-mail to letters@winonadailynews.com
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