Lost Time & Remembrance

By golly, I can't believe it's been since Thanksgiving that I last wrote. The time has flown right by... and we'll just skip over winter. Winter is, eh, not very fun. It snows, you shovel, it snows again, shovel some more. It seemed to take FOREVER for winter to slide by. But, it's gone, and we are in the "depths" of spring. Why did I put "depths" in quotes, you may ask. Well, here's why:

Yes, that is a parking lot, and yes, it's underwater. Now, by all means, this wasn't the worst catastrophe. With one of the largest snow-making records ever for the winter, and the wettest spring ever recorded (and it isn't even the end of spring), it caused lots of flooding problems. Fortunately, the flood threat here in the Northeast Kingdom didn't last too long, just a couple of days. No big deal. Except for Lake Champlain. No, the body of water that shelters "Champey" (look it up) has risen to well above record stage, and is to this day, inundating many of the communities that take advantage of the lakeshore. It closed roads, took over homes and fields, and generally all around made a big old mess out of everything. But, you always have to remember that at the end of the day, Mother Nature does create things to make you smile, like double rainbows:

You can almost drive to the pot of gold there!

Another thing that is on my mind, and brought it forward from a blog that I follow: Life, Love and Crazy Situations. This week marks a special week. It is National Emergency Medical Services Week and National Law Enforcement Week. This is the time we take a step back, and appreciate these folks in public safety do for us each and every day. Whether it be to save a life, provide a comforting shoulder, keep our neighborhood safe, or even stop and ask how our day it going, these professionals give up much of their time to give to us. I know, because I've been there. Sometimes, you give up time with your loved ones to help other people. I see it all the time. Police officers that come in on days off to help. EMTs that wake up at 2am to respond to a citizen that needs help, all for no pay. Often times, we do not realize the sacrifices they make, even the ultimate one. So far this year, nine EMS professionals and 72 law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty. So, please, take a moment and thank these folks for all that they do.

THIS MEMORIAL IS DEDICATED IN HONOR OF ALL THOSE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE PROCESS OF PROTECTING THE LIVES OF OTHERS