Powell: Felled trees bring warm responses

And we thought it couldn’t happen to us.

Charming little Grand Rapids, Ohio, is immune to the destructive storms that plague other parts of the country that we read and hear about and watch on television. We have told friends and family we would never want to live in an area that was prone to torrential wind and rain.

How quickly those ridiculous ideas can be erased. It only took a surveillance of the little green bungalow after the Aug. 27 storm to break into tears. That so much damage could happen in such a short time was hard to believe. But the ways this senior citizen was treated by the community was most impressive.

I have a feeling that most small villages like Grand Rapids are reservoirs of people looking out for their neighbors.

Kudos to the fire department guys. They were here within an hour to check on me as they did other seniors. They issued an invitation for me to go to the fire station because it would be cooler than the house without air conditioning. They also assured me there would be coffee at the station, but I opted to stay home, clinging to the hope that the uprooted tree leaning against the house would not fall into the neighbor’s yard .

We did lose electricity for a few hours. But my neighbor, Roger Gluckin, brought over the portable generator that he and his wife use on camping trips. I used it to charge my cell phone that was low on power.

Two trees were my greatest loss. One fell into the fence and across the neighbor’s driveway. Robert Frost’s 1914 poem, “Mending Wall” that says “good fences make good neighbors” now has special meaning. When my tree fell and smashed the fence that we share, my neighbors were understanding and were quick to help clean up the mess.

The fall of the second tree was difficult to describe to the insurance company. The tree was totally uprooted, most of the trunk held steadfast to the front of the house, with the remaining trunk and limbs landing on the roof. Because of the unusual fall, it has been a point of conversation with friends.

After discussing the problem with several tree cutters, Richard Flores of Trust Tree Care was selected because of his experience and his willingness to fit my problem into a busy schedule with the explanation that the tree against the house could fall.

The cost of tree removal takes a big slice out of the budget. I would much rather spend $2,800, the cost of tree removal, on a cruise.

The severity of damage in Grand Rapids was handily addressed by the village. Curbside pickup of limbs and other debris covered several days until last Tuesday.

Providence Metro Park and Mary Jane Thurston State Park were hit hard. Townspeople are curious about a camper at the Thurston Park where the storm did more than uproot trees. A lone camper was injured when a tree fell on his tent. The camper was reportedly taken to a hospital and later released. We don’t know his name or where he lives, but we wish him a quick recovery.

The loss of the refrigerated and frozen foods in the Dollar General store was sad. We know rules are rules for the sake of public health, but it seems such a high quantity of food could be used in some way.

The good news from the little green bungalow is that the honeysuckle bush that blew over is stronger than I thought. With help of bungee cords, the 8-foot high bush is back in place and smiling.