In Focus

It has been a depressing week...

Some weeks the stories I write are more doom and gloom than I’d like. I’m thankful to have a job and to be able to connect with people and tell their stories. But that doesn’t mean I’m not affected by these stories. I don’t just move on to report the next segment of the latest news.

With everything that has happened lately...fires, accidents, learning someone has cancer, kids getting hurt, and the list goes on...I’d like to take a moment to recognize our law enforcement, EMS, firemen, and all of those also affected by these tragedies.

After the fact, a picture tells you a story about what happened, and I may receive a press release about what took place and add information to further explain the picture. But you don’t hear what is really happening at that moment, feel the tension in the air, hear the cries or screams of those involved. It’s haunting for some of us.

It is hard standing on the sidelines watching the events unfold as I see it. But imagine being at the scene, being the fireman that had to break through a second-story window to save a child from a fire or having to cut apart a car to free a trapped victim. Imagine the EMS rushing in to help the injured. Is the victim conscious? Are they in a lot of pain? Where is the blood coming from? In a small town, it may even be a friend, a neighbor, or someone they know.

Law enforcement and responding personnel are trained to try and calm people down after a traumatic event. But imagine having to ask someone what happened after a devastating tragedy or having to notify the family about a loved one that was involved in a tragic accident.

We don’t always see what they do. We don’t always hear what they do. We don’t have to deal with the hands-on situations and trauma that the responding personnel do.

Yes, they are trained to handle these situations and they may have a great support system. But I’m sure it is traumatic for them sometimes, too.

It takes a certain type of person willing to do these jobs, to dedicate their career, or volunteer their time to help citizens in the community no matter the situation or the risk involved.

I just want to say thank you! I see what you do, and you do it over and over, again and again. Thank you for stepping up to help our communities. Thank you for being there for all of us. I appreciate you and we are here to support you.

I’ll end on a lighter note...luckily, there are many happy stories, too, and many happy endings (just not enough of them some weeks).