Dear friends and friends-yet-to-be-met:
It has been an emotional “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” for so many I do not completely understand why I found myself in town with several of my evacuated girlfriends tonight, but that is what happened. We met, drank, had dinner, then many went to the meeting tonight, then came back to my cottage after. We celebrated.
The word at tonight’s meeting is that all residents in the Big Sur Valley, south of Palo Colorado and north of JP Burns State Park, get to go home tomorrow. Only those with proper ID will be allowed to pass.
They spoke of plans they had made to take their cars in for servicing, the grooming of their dogs, the shopping that needed to be done. Even though this was the moment they had waited for, it was if they weren’t ready for it. With the power out, all their food had gone bad, plans needed to be made, things purchased.
The mood was celebratory, emotional, and yet, a numbness permeated the air, as if they wanted to believe, but were leery of doing so. Still, we celebrated. We cried, we hugged, and we drank our wine.
This is just a first step. There is much to be done, plans to be made, lives to be rebuilt. We will need your support for months to come. Then, Big Sur, like the phoenix will have rebuilt herself. We invite all of you to assist us in our efforts.
There are many plans in the works. I will notify you on how you can help, and where you can help, when the time comes. It is not over, by a long-shot, but it is not quite so dismal as it was.
So … more in the am.