Killing many birds with one stone!! (and who really kills birds with stones...such a dumb statement...)
Today, Saturday, Sept. 26, I am sitting by myself (sad face) in a hotel in Austin, Texas. Arkansas football is playing, unfortunately losing to Alabama...would have liked to the the Crimson Tide go DOWN!.
Hubby was going to come down this week, but alas, as he was getting ready, too many things popped up that had to be done. So I am not sure he is going to make it.
I have been deployed in support of the wildfires in Texas. The biggest of which was the Bastrop fires, burning over 1500 homes and who knows how many businesses. My job title is Congressional Affairs Specialist, part of the EA team, External Affairs, or even better known in the federal world of emergancy management as the ESF-15...there are 15 ESF areas, and 14 is external affairs, in charge of just about all communications. Obviously, mine is to communicate with the Congressional and Senatorial offices that have districts effected by any disaster that my occur.
My last nine weeks have been somewhat eventful. I started with a 5 week deployement to Denton Texas to work the wildfires, but under the FMAGs, not the Disaster Declaration, as there was none at that time. FMAGs are "Fire Management Assistant Grants". They provide assistance to the fire departments and emergancy responders in suppression of said fires. Disaster Dec's can provide everything from Individual assistance to public assistance
Anyway, after spending 5 weeks in Denton, I went home for 8 days and helped Frank get caught up on bottling paint and cleaning and generally just enjoying his company. Then I left for 4 weeks of training to actually learn what I am to be doing. We started out as a group of 40 back at the Department of Homeland Security Training center in Emmittsburg Maryland. It is located about 10 miles from Gettysburg and about 8 miles from my sisters house! It was a gorgous location, though we could not leave the campus much as we did not have cars. As well, we were instructed if we saw a large black helicopter landing on the big white X on the helipad, we were NOT to run towards it and we were NOT to take pictures...I think there was a death threat involved, but most definitely expulsion from the school was in order. Camp David is just a hop skip and a jump around the corner and though the President very rarely lands there, other high level individuals as well as foriegn dignitaries do..
The end of that week was to be an orderly transition into 5 different groups to fly to 5 different locations around the country for two weeks on in the field internships with Joint Field Offices that are still up and running shutting down old disasters. Well....all hell broke loose about noon, as all 40 of us suddenly became part of the surge force for (at that time) Hurricane Irene. we were divided and redivided and it took about 4 hours to get us all deployed to where we were needed the most...only one of the places was in the original plan. Fortunately for me, I was part of a group of 8 who was sent to Burlington Vermont. Vermont was hit so very hard by (then Tropical Storm) Irene and many small historic towns in the southern part of Irene were demolished and or severely damaged by raging flood waters. So, some people drove to BWI and rented cars, or hitched rides with those who did. We then went to a semi closed military base in Ft. Deven, MA...to wait for final instructions. 3 nights there was all I needed! :) Barracks, no tv, no internet, no food on base and we had to report to the quartermaster for our sheets, blanket and towels. Thank goodness it was not hot, as there was no air conditioning either! It was a good experience though and I would not trade it.
From there, we drove to Burlington on a Tuesday am and got to the JFO (Joint Field Office) and checked in. We never got out of there until 7 that night and went and checked into a real hotel! We were pretty excited! But this one no ordinary internship and we were all utilized as Community Relations, also a component of ESF 15. but actually get into the field and deal directly with survivors. It involved ALOT of driving and even more getting in and out of the car. Well worth it and it was a real learning experience. LOVED, loved, loved Vermont! It is such a beautiful state. And the people were, with out exception, so friendly and helpful. A very 1968 sort of hippy kind of place. Would go back there in a heart beat.
After the end of two weeks there, we traveled back to Boston Logan on Sunday, 9/11 and boarded flights to Atlanta, to drive over to Anniston, Alabama to attend the last week of training at the Center for Disaster Preparadness, run by the Department of Homeland Security. This week, we trained in our specific component..mine of course, Congressional.
Finally home!!! Frank and I had a wonder 3 days together...the fair, shopping for items needed for the house...groceries, etc. Just had fun being with each other! Then Monday, I got a call to get to Austin, ASAP for DR 4029, Texas wildfires, the Disaster Declaration from Sept. 9. Designed to help those poor folks in the areas that lost so many homes.
So, here I am..hoping Frank can make it down here...but enjoying my work and hopefully will keep busy for a few months and then I can take a couple months off. The nice part of this job is that YOU decide when you want to work. You either make yourself available or not.
I hope to be home when or if Michelle and family can make it back to see us. It seems like years since we have seen them. And pretty soon Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be upon us and who knows...as of now Dad and I are staying home...enough traveling for me for awhile. Anybody and everyone who wants to come are more than welcome and we hope you do. Christmas will be New Years, Thanksgiving will be Thanksgiving! LOL!
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