Sitting on my deck steps I felt like my heart was pounding out of my chest and my whole body shaking. Yet, when I looked at my hands, they were rock steady. My body was suffering from the after effects of adrenaline brought on by the rush of fear I had been experiencing.
Let me explain. Behind my garage is a grass-free area that I have used to burn landscape waste for the last 35-plus years. Never, not once, have I had any issues with the fire. This particular day proved to be different.
Luckily, I had the good sense to have a working water hose ready and waiting in case of emergency. As I was standing back by the fire I started hearing popping and snapping sounds coming from my left. Unfortunately, the landscape fire was to my right.
I looked up and to my horror I realized my garage roof was burning. Besides the inevitable cussing I also mentally sent up a prayer to God to get me out of, yet, another mess. I really, really, did not want to have to call the fire department.
While I was making progress putting out the flames, I could still hear crackles coming from under the roof and every second that passed I knew I was quickly running out of time. With a constant stream of water flooding the fire and a stream of pleas to a higher power for help, I suddenly knew what needed to be done. Yep. I needed to ignore all the years of fire safety education that had been pumped into my brain since childhood. I needed to do the very thing I was always told not to do; I needed to run into the burning building.
Water hose in hand I opened the garage door and ran towards the back where the roof was burning. I aimed the water at the fire. Within seconds it was out. Looking at the charred and damaged area of the roof I realized it sat right over a shelf and on that shelf sat two red gas cans. Oh Lord that was close! But it was out. I went with my gut, ignored my fear and put out the fire before it spread and damaged my roof beyond repair.
Which proves that sometimes in life in order for things to get better – you need to run into the fire.
Usually, that phrase would be metaphorically speaking, but in my case it was literal. Regardless, the truth is you can’t just ignore the situation and hope for the best. Unfortunately, the stress of the situation may also trigger inside us a deep fear. And fear can be debilitating. It can paralyze you. It can leave you in a state of hopelessness and helplessness. But fear also lies. You are neither and the only way forward is to go through it.
Let me preface this by saying, If you are a fan of the president, that’s fine. I am not trying to alter your opinion. It’s not worth my time or energy and you have every right to believe the way you do. That said, so do I.
Since the twentieth of January, anxiety, outrage and fear have been my constant companions. And I am not the only one. Recently, while talking to a friend she mentioned she has been posting proactive things unhappy American citizens can do to make their voice heard. Not a Facebook user or fan I had never seen them. But it got me thinking, “Why not share them through my column?”
So if you are like me and so many others, here are a few things you can do to make your voice heard.
The first is very easy. Go to: 5calls.org Here you will enter your address or zip code and then a list of topics will come on the left side of your screen. You click on the one you want to address. It will bring up your state representatives’ phone number along with a script for those who are uncomfortable leaving a voicemail. Simply read from the script and insert your information where required.
For those not comfortable working with a computer, here are the phone numbers for our area: Senator Dick Durbin 202-224-3121, Senator Tammy Duckworth 202-224-2854 and Representative Eric Sorenson 202-225-5905. You can also call 202-224-3121. Here you will reach a live person. Tell them where you live and they will patch you through to the correct party.
Simply acting on your fear in a proactive manner helps with the angst and stress and you realize you are not powerless. So do something. Run into the fire.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
