I like to set lofty goals for myself. That should be all I write for today, but I will explain.

I get easily frustrated when things don’t follow the plan of “attack” as I wish them to. That day last week with the chainsaws was frustrating and infuriating to my pride. I was only relieved when I discovered it was not my own error. So today I set a goal to accomplish a whole sector, approximately 2×2 miles, give or take.

We had two missions, create a sector search and respond promptly to any calls received at the call center. We started off with a short list of calls to follow up on, and then intended to start our sector search. We received a phone call shortly in to our first assessment to check out a cross roads and see if the tree was truly blocking the road or if we needed to get a homeowner to sign off on assistance. When we arrived at this cross road we found a tree tangled up in downed power lines laying into a lane of traffic. One thing we do in TR is ensure that we don’t create additional casualties. After cautiously walking around the scene we reached out to the local jurisdiction for support from the power company. In the mean time we blocked off traffic so no one was running over the power lines. The tree had been mostly demolished by large vehicles on the main road, but the power/telephone lines were still a concern.

While we were waiting for the power company to arrive, vehicles were having to move around us in to the second lane. My partner, CD, and I knew the risk of where we were positioned, so we were keeping our eyes peeled. Then something happened. The “Trail” became completely blocked. A car swerved past us and came to a sudden stop about 60 feet in front of us blocking the open lane. I will admit I lost my cool as I saw vehicles hurtling past us towards this vehicle. We had no idea why he stopped, but his electronics suddenly started going haywire. As a neighbor ran out in to the road to help the man, we realized they were moving off the road directly under the potentially live wires. Our medical training kicked in and we jumped out and ran shouting for them to stop. The vehicle stopped just short of the wires. As we reached the vehicle the neighbor explained he didn’t know what was going on, but he just had to help the guy get out of the road.

As we started talking to the gentleman we discovered that he has dementia and at that moment could not recall how to drive his car. CD, who has nursing skills, stepped in and started doing a basic assessment. We called for assistance with the gentleman just as the power company showed up. They appeared unconcerned about the downed lines, but took them up anyway. Our policy is better to be safe than sorry. Local first responders arrived to assist the gentleman in getting home.

Finally our trail was cleared and we were able to keep on moving. By this time it was lunch and we stopped for a bite. We weren’t moving as quickly as I hoped and the realization that we were not going to complete the sector left me feeling frustrated… again. We did the right thing, and doing the right thing often alters plans. I can tell myself this over and over again, but I really wanted MY plan to work. I guess I need to not focus on my own plan as much. It was tough because we were a small team of three today, and a few extras joined us for an evening jaunt.

This Op doesn’t feel like the other ones yet, because I am the only person not local. The LDS church has opened it’s conference center to the three organizations that in the area helping. I am grateful to be able to stay there, but I miss being with my TR people. I guess this just means I get much better rest!

Last story for the day and I will let you go. In the midst of all my frustration I needed to do laundry. The machine at the center wouldn’t work, which I found out after I put the soap on my clothes, so CD offered to take my clothes home and wash them yesterday. At around midnight he found his washing machine having a conniption fit and refusing to finish cleaning my clothes. They were sopping wet and he took them outside to wring out before having to dry them 3 or 4 times. CD is a rock star and I am so grateful for his patience in the midst of a frustrating situation. I now have clean underwear and a chapped ass because of all the jokes being made. It’s all good, in this case I know they tease me because they love me. It’s family.

Signing off from Independence, MO.

PS, Can you see I am going for the Oregon Trail theme now?