Not in the news but Not forgotten - Pilger, NE

After dropping my son off to college, I just had to go to Pilger, NE to see how the town was doing after the horrible June tornadoes (yes two) that so heavily damaged the area. They have been on my mind a lot over the summer and I was curious as to how the clean up was going.

I can honestly say I have only good things to say about the people in the area.  You do not see these people sitting around waiting for FEMA to show up. You don't see them asking for hand outs. You don't see them sitting on their front porch waiting for someone to bring them their next meal.

What you do see are typical Midwesterners with their amazing work ethics getting down to the business of rebuilding their community and helping each other out. You can't keep these people down. They just pull themselves up by their boot straps and get to work. They are not waiting for government hand outs.

The cleanup is complete in the town. A lot of farmers still have cleanup to complete.  I wonder how they will harvest their crops with all the debris left in the fields. I did see a lot piled near the edges of the fields but I am sure there is a lot still out there. Many such details no one thinks about post-storm.

Visiting the town for me was a very somber experience. I just wanted to do something to help each and every person. Yes, I had all ready given $$ through our church but driving through the town I wanted to do more, even if it was give someone a hug. That is how driving through the town made me feel.

I wanted to take photos to share with everyone to see what has happened to the town and people after it is no longer in the news. I felt so guilty for taking pictures but it wasn't to take advantage of anyone, rather I want to pay homage to these strong and wonderful people!!!!

So here is how the town looks as of mid August 2014 - two months post storm.

This is on the west edge of town. All the debris from the clean up is stored here. Those two trees are so sad to look at but they are still standing compared to the 100's of trees wiped out by the tornadoes. 

Here we have some semi remains. I am assuming the local CO-OP or local trucking firm owned these.  I also saw a Ford truck on my drive that looked like some giant monster had taken it, rolled it like play dough between its hands and tossed it down. It is beyond belief how these huge pieces of equipment look like crumpled little toys.

No one is out of line at all when they say downtown is gone.  There is the library and a couple other buildings still standing. The rest of main street consists of dirt lots. This building has the big OK sprayed on it so I am assuming that means the building is structurally sound. Even so, it is going to take a lot of work to get is usable again.  There were two buildings on this side of the street that had OK sprayed on them and were still standing.

Across the street from the above mentioned two buildings is the library you see in this next shot. It looks to be a fairly new building. I took the photo because the sign on the wall brought tears to my eyes. If you can't read it, it says Cali Dixon lives forever. That sign is paying tribute to the 5 year old girl killed by the tornado on main street.

Now to try and find something positive to write about, it is in this next photo. I am sitting on one of the streets in the town where the tornado went through. The road runs east and west but the tornado went southwest to north east. On the left side of the photo you see there is NOTHING. The tornadoes destroyed it all. On the right side of the photo you see a couple trees and some homes still standing.  But you will also see all new power lines up and a grain bin put in all ready! The grain bin looks so forlorn by itself but the folks were working hard to get some storage built before harvest which will arrive soon.

This next photo is on the north west side of town. The city's water tower was spared from the storm. I thought it was a beaker of hope that the town is far from dead. The local swimming pool was also saved from destruction. 

This final photo is of a farm north east of the town about 2  miles farther along in the tornadoes path.  The house was spared although heavily damaged but most of the outbuildings and trees are a total loss.

Today was uplifting when I saw a blurb in our church bulletin about making small packets for the folks in this town. I am happy to see that I am not the only person thinking about the folks in this area. God Bless not only the people in Pilger but also all the farmers surrounding the town struggling to rebuild. We have NOT forgotten you.

FIT n FAT

I know, I should have way more blogs but it's just that I spend so much time exercising I can't get any blog time in.  I can't type and treadmill at the same time. Maybe I could if I was going 2mph but that won't burn enough calories for my liking so I huff and puff and my blogging falls by the wayside.

I just want to tell all of you, I am living proof that you can be Fit AND Fat.  If you caught me on the scales and put my height and weight into any BMI calculator, I would be either overweight or obese. To look at me, ya you would say she is chunky but looks happy.  Overall I am pretty happy except for doctors and BMI charts and people frowning because I am not the ideal size that an insurance company came up with 60 years ago.

Now for a little background. I grew up as a F-A-T kid. Compared to today's kids I would look again chunky but not fat. Let me just say kids are HORRIBLE. They will tease each other about anything. Your hair is to long, your hair is the wrong color, but when you are fat...That is universal. On Valentines Day. I always got the pig Valentines. Fatty fatty two by four was a standard song I heard. I was ALWAYS selected last in P.E. class. You get the picture. I can very much relate to overweight people and the things they suffer through. Been there done that.

In high school things improved slightly. One summer I dropped over 50 pounds. People didn't recognize me. I liked it. It didn't help in gym class but at least the fatty fatty jokes stopped.  How did I lose the weight? I quit eating. I would only eat dinner and maybe an apple for lunch. I was in high school and you can do anything in high school.

Then came college. I put on the freshman 15 at least and some of the comments came back. I was devastated. I didn't know what to do so I found these pills called Dexatrim. They helped me not be so hungry so I could starve again. Life was good. I was to naive to know how bad for me they were. I am pretty sure they messed up my metabolism or something... Anyway...

After college I went to work. They had a health fair at work. I attended being the naive 20 something I was. What could it hurt? It did. They told me I was over weight. My BMI was at like a 23 or 24. I needed to lose some weight and tone up. Again - devastation hit. I am 5'6" and probably weighed around 135 pounds yet they told me I was in serious trouble.

Now I added exercise to my diet routine. I began walking at lunch. I remember walking 20 blocks or so in my suit at lunch to get my lunch of a bag of popcorn. I was trying. After work I would go for bike rides. I would take aerobic classes. Once I started, I have never stopped. I have been exercising 4+ days a week for 25 years or more. The type of exercise has varied over the years but I have always did something. I exercised up to the day of giving birth on all 3 of my children. (The folks at work still talk about that.) I started exercising after they were born before the doctor gave me the OK to exercise. I was busy chasing kids but still exercised. My weight crept up even with all that. I did stop taking those evil diet pills and began the never ending cycle of constant hunger.

So here I am now well into my 40's. Still exercising and still obese. I personally think I am in pretty good shape. I can R-o-C-k the treadmill. In one hour I can burn 600+ calories. If you know anything about a treadmill workout, that isn't bad.  Some days I even do multiple workouts a day. Those kill me. I am so sore. This old body is getting tired, but on I keep going.

To look at me you wouldn't know it but my resting heart rate is 56-58. My blood pressure is right around 100/60. I am not on any medications. I am fit AND fat.

So now I am sure you are thinking I also rock the McDonald's a lot to do all that working out and still be fat. WRONG. I do NOT eat fast food. As a matter of fact I have given up eating out almost 95% of the time. Even good choices of restaurant food contain to much sodium. In the last two years I have overhauled my eating. People thought I ate healthy before. HA. Now I watch levels of everything in my foods. Am I perfect? HELL NO, but I really am trying hard to eat well.

I do use a website to help me stay on track. It is: Calorie Count There are a lot of sites out there but this one is free and easy to use. It tracks food and activity and a must if you are serious about being healthy. I average an A or A- on eating via that website. Yes, they give you grades and food will surprise you.  I also eat between 1200 and 1600 calories a day - not a lot. Again, I should be thin but I am not.

I guess I am writing this blog to give Hope to all those out there who are overweight. You don't have to be a size 0-6 to be healthy and happy. I am currently a size 14/16 just to show you I am being honest and sincere. You don't hear to often about people like me but I am here to share the news. Do your best. Keep a record of activity and food that enters your mouth. Make changes as you can. Keep on truckin!!!
 

Good Friday

Too me there is never much good about Good Friday. I wonder how that name was chosen. I mean Good Easter sure but not Good Friday. I mean really being a Christian, it is so sad the torture Jesus had to endure for the rest of us sinners. I am always in sort of a down mood on this day. Introspective. Knowing I should do better. Realizing what was done for me and mankind.

It also helps make Easter a much more joyful day. Plus I get to sing my favorite favorite FAVORITE Easter song. Jesus Christ is Risen Today.

Happy Easter and God's Blessings to YOU!