Texas Tragedy Strikes Home

“The only thing standing is what’s left of the shower.”  That’s the assessment made  by Jennice Ritchie Swank after posting a photo on Facebook of the rubble where her family home stood.

Jennice and her husband Phil---both Sandpoint High grads in the mid-80s---and their children live in Bastrop, Tex.   

According to Facebook postings, their home, along with almost 500 others, burned down this weekend in a brutal Texas wildfire near Austin, spanning 25,000 acres.

I don’t have information about how to send donations to these former Sandpoint residents, but I’m sure that information will be available soon on Facebook.  When it does appear, I’ll add it to the bottom of this blog post. 

Having experienced that kind of loss, I know how much support from friends and loved ones can help, and in this case, hearing from folks back home can be especially uplifting.

From what I’ve read on Jennice’s wall, restaurant gift cards are most helpful for her family right now.  She says they’re planning to set up a temporary home in their barn.

For now, there are definitely some names to attach to a major tragedy elsewhere.  So, if you have a desire to donate and have a Facebook account, I’m sure befriending Jennice would lead you to the most direct method to help.

Learning about such events and knowing people involved often can certainly put our own lives in perspective.  When we have our little gripes and groans about the day-to-day ups and downs, our problems are really pretty minimal.

And, with the unknowns about the future in general, which we all seem to be experiencing one way or another,  it seems that the most reliable source of support when a need arises comes directly from within the hearts of good and generous people. 

No politics.  No bureaucratic red tape.  Just plain and simple human generosity and caring.

So, I’ll end it here and will post some information regarding how to help the Swanks when I receive it.

NOTE:  Just looked at Facebook and found this address for Phil and Jennice Swank:  112 Blanketflower,  Bastrop, TX 78602.