and I had an interview with a high school class in Mullens Woods, a 115-acre preserve. It was settled by two Irish brothers in the 1850s and bought by the Nature Conservancy in the 1950s. There is little left of the original home, barn, ice house, brickyard, etc. than a crumbling granite and stone foundation. Here and there are little debris piles, such as the bowl, basin and tea kettle here. It would have been lovely but my thoughts keep straying back to Mike Snowman and the pain of his fellow firefighters. This is going to be a helluva week...
The funeral is Saturday and hundreds of uniformed firefighters are expected to attend. We'll all stand in the street because there is no way we will fit in the tiny church in Hartland.
But in the midst of all this was a true loving kindness. The Pittsfield Fire Department chaplain called me this morning just to see if I was okay. His assistant chief had asked him to check on me. How wonderful, unselfish and unexpected. See why I love firefighters?
1 comment:
You will be a long time healing from this tragedy. That's ok. Yes, you are a reporter, but you are also human, and a member of the community. Your ability to remove yourself emotionally from the joys and sorrows of the lives you cover has eroded over the years - the the benefit of your work. Someone removed cannot reach the heart of the thing and touch the reader in a meaningful way. It hurts like hell, but it makes you better at what you do. Puts planning board drama into perspective now, doesn't it?
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