What a wonderful city we live in! Sometimes when there’s trouble, it can cause people to act out in negative ways, but not here in Colorado Springs! With the fire at zero percent containment (which is where it’s at as I write this at 6 p.m. on Sunday evening-hopefully that will change soon), folks are showing their compassionate side and thinking about others in a time of need, worry, and anxiety.
Saturday night was a night of unease as we didn’t know how this fire was going to spread and how many people, homes, and pets might be affected. As many of you know, all of our children live in Manitou Springs and my husband is the GM at The Cliff House there in Manitou so once the evacuations started, there was no sleep, waiting to hear that everyone was safe and the hotel cleared of guests and secure. I would really like to give a huge shout out to channel 11 (KKTV) for their continuous coverage of what was happening. They were live from the start and didn’t do any commercial breaks (which is how stations make their money), they passed on information as they got it and showed the human side of what was going on. Kudos to you KKTV!
All night and in to the morning I sat transfixed to the TV, waiting to hear how and where I might be able to help come daylight. And here’s my thoughts on that….I realized that if I just showed up at one of the high school’s where those who were evacuated were going, I would just add to the what must be a confusing time and perhaps get in the way. The fire departments didn’t need me showing up with food or water as they were doing what needed to be done and if we all started converging on them, they would have to take people in the department away from what they needed to do, to answer our questions or unload supplies. So I waited, wanting to do more than donate money (which we did), because I like to physically help in whatever ways I can….helps with the “nervous” energy. And then when I read that the Humane Society was taking in animals until they could go back home (the shelters don’t allow pets) and that they needed to adopt out as many pets as possible to make room for the incoming pets, I KNEW I could help in that way! They also needed, at the time, food and drinks for all their many volunteers and workers and pet supplies for all the animals coming in….I could totally do that.
I went to the dollar store and loaded up on water bowls for the animals and then stopped off at Wal-Mart for more pet supplies and food and water for the humans. My first indication of how much people wanted to help was in Wal-Mart. Shoppers had carts piled high with bottled water, sport drinks and food items that I know (because I asked) were intended not for themselves, but for donations. There were no litter boxes left on the pet aisle and the shelves of cat litter and pet food were almost empty. And everyone on that aisle was asking each other, “What do you think the Humane Society” needs….so I knew that’s where all those items were headed. As I headed out the doors to my car, a man (who looked to be homeless, not for positive, but pretty sure that was his current situation), was headed out too with two small bottles of Coke. He asked me what I was doing with all those supplies in my cart and I told him I was headed over to the Humane Society to donate them. Without blinking, he handed me one of his Cokes and said he could donate that to the cause…..I cried all the way to the car.
I knew the animal shelter was going to be crowded but I didn’t realize just how crowded it was really going to be. Cars were lined up everywhere and people were pulling animal crates, huge amounts of pet food and cat litter from their cars, along with enough food and drinks to feed an army. When I entered the Humane Society, it was literally wall to wall with people. It looked like half the city had showed up to adopt an animal in order to make room for the evacuated pets. (I got there in the morning at around 11:30 and literally, didn’t leave until almost 4:30 that afternoon-waiting to adopt a cat). As I sat around and visited with other people, I heard EVERYONE saying, “It’s the least I can do”….People were sitting on the floor, waiting in line, the chairs were full, there were people who looked like they had money to spare, people who looked like they were down to their last dollar, families, single people….a vast variety of people just wanting to help in some small way. And you know what? Never once did I hear anyone grumble or complain of how long it was taking. Not once. A lot of the people around me said they were adopting the older cats because they knew they were the hardest to adopt out.
It may sound silly, but I had to go to the restroom several times to wipe my eyes because I was just overwhelmed with how deeply people wanted to help in whatever way they could. Of course we weren’t out fighting the fires ourselves, we weren’t in the front lines, handing out cold drinks, but everyone there came with a caring heart, trying to do one simple thing that could benefit another. I have stood in line at the grocery store and heard people complain about a check-out line that might take 5 minutes….these people were waiting for hours, again, without complaint. There was a sense of camaraderie, strangers were asking strangers if their families were ok, and almost everyone around me said they didn’t even care if they got the pet of their choice, they’d take any of them available.
By the time I left, there were very few cages that had a cat left, and there were probably still at least 40 people waiting to adopt. As I said, it may seem like a small thing, to drop off some cat litter or bottled water or adopt a pet…but it was the spirit of the people that impressed me and the fact that they got up and did something.
It’s still early in the evening but I have to head off and get some sleep. I’ve provided a link with the latest info on what’s going on in our city and will update it as needed. This won’t be posted till tomorrow morning so excuse me ahead of time if this is old news….but again, we’ll update on Facebook as new information becomes available.
I did end up with a cat of course! She’s 1 1/2 years old, was a stray that recently had kittens, is scrawny and needs to gain some serious weight, (which she will in our house) and she’s the sweetest thing imaginable. We’ll keep her away from the other cats for a couple of weeks, which is what the Humane Society suggest so that our other cats don’t get sick in case she has anything contagious but I know once the others meet her, they’ll love her too…..hmmm, well, we’ll see about that! And as I mentioned yesterday, I named her Smokey.
We hope and pray that the fire is contained as soon as possible, that no homes are destroyed and that everyone will be able to return to their own homes soon. And if you can’t adopt a pet or donate money or physically help in whatever area help might be needed….what you can do is smile at a fellow citizen, ask a neighbor if they need anything, and focus on the good instead of any mishaps or confusion that might have occurred in the early hours of the fire starting. While my heart is sad for the destruction that has occurred and will continue to occur until they get the fire out, my spirit has been lifted by the goodness of people….and I’m proud to be a resident of Colorado Springs.
We have rallied together to help. Our mountains are burning and our friends are suffering.