News from my friend in the Texas panhandle [View all]

[Jilly_in_VA]

I have been worried about her since I first heard about the fires. She lives with her husband on a ranch a few miles from Pampa. Her parents also live there in their own house. I messaged her as soon as I heard about it. I finally heard from her today. Here's what she said in part:

"The fires burned about 80% of our place, including everything all around the houses. But our houses are still standing. We lost nearly
all our cattle. But saved all the horses
...We can start from here."

What she doesn't say but I know is that her dad had to pretty much retire from the hard work of ranching during Covid after he had a second heart attack and her mom is battling multiple myeloma. Her husband, who like mine is, or was, a geek for a living, lost his job during the pandemic, so he took over the hard work of the ranch from her dad.

I know we all have negative feelings about Texas, and some have even expressed them here (including "they deserved it&quot , but before we go too far, let's remember that there are real people there, and some of us know them, who are badly affected by these fires. If you are so moved, say a prayer to the universe or to God or whatever for them. They're hurting right now.