BRATTLEBORO — We are battered.
We are worn out.
We are emotionally spent.
We are drained.
We have just gone through a spring and a summer that has included a major fire that displaced dozens of homes and businesses in the heart of Brattleboro this spring. We have witnessed the heartbreak and the unnerving consequences of two homicides in this county this summer.
And now, every part of Windham County finds itself coping with flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. From the Whetstone Brook overflowing its banks, to Marlboro residents almost entirely marooned by washed-out roads, to the catastrophic flooding that swept away a young woman and all but destroyed the village of Wilmington, the heavy rains from the tropical storm system have pummeled the state.
We wish there were words that could offset the pain from the loss of life and livelihood.
There are no words to do so.
And although President Obama has declared Vermont a disaster area and politicians pledge support for rebuilding, the instability of federal finances and the political brinksmanship surrounding spending priorities make it difficult to count on such resources until they are in hand.
So all that's left, really, is us.
We must pull together once again, even if we are exhausted already from the stresses and strains of trying to make a living in this economy.
Do we have any choice?
Of course we will.
* * *
In due time, we can and we should discuss and debate the constellation of issues that surrounds Hurricane Irene and how this county handled it.
For now, after hours of pelting rain, after the sun emerges on feet of water in our streets and in our basements, we will search for our cats and dogs and hope our cars will start after they dry. We will take the time we simply don't have to call our insurance companies and seek to rebuild our lives - lives that at the very least were knocked off their foundations.
We will do that with our inner strength - strength that we sometimes can't believe that we have.
In time, we might see efforts like the recent amazing concerts that raised thousands of dollars for the Brooks House Fund. Such undertakings will be essential to rebuilding our community.
But first, we must rebuild our spirit and our morale, individually and collectively, and let ourselves know that it's OK to be exhausted and overwhelmed, to be raw and numb. We have had one hell of a difficult year, and we haven't even rounded third.
Let's help one another make it through.
And then we are going to do whatever it takes to make ourselves strong, to make ourselves proud, and to make our communities whole.