Sense of community ought to be pointed out and celebrated…
Hello, Folks. The year is almost half over and up in these parts of the world there have been a couple of things that have happened up here in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada, that have never occurred up here. Now as you read this, please remember that. What I am about to describe usually never happens up here.
Moncton On June 4, 2014, in Moncton, New Brunswick, an armed citizen decided to take to the streets with high-powered weapons to shoot police officers. There was a manhunt for this person that went on for over twenty-four hours after there were three officers that were shot dead and two others that were wounded and hospitalized. We are about to get off topic for a moment. The names of these officers should be recognized with the highest respect. The fatalities are Cst. David Ross; Cst. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, Cst. Douglas James Larche. The two surviving officers are Cst. Éric Stéphane J. Dubois and Cst. Marie Darlene Goguen.
Another huge note of respect has to be given to the remaining members of the police officers who stayed out protecting us, searching for the shooter and being professional all the while knowing that the shooter could see them and was shooting just police officers.
The second incident hat happened was just on July 6, 2014, when tropical storm Arthur hit the region. There were rains and winds that have not been seen in this region for many years. So many years that not one person could remember a storm being this bad. After Arthur has left this region there were 140 000 customers that were without power. The city that I live in was hit the worse. The winds and rains had trees uprooted and knocking over power lines making the job of restoring power a week-long process for most of the population in the affected communities here in New Brunswick, Canada.
Another side note, a tip of the cap to the workers that came to help restore power from Maine, United States and Quebec, Canada as well as the fine folks from right here in New Brunswick, Canada. It was a thankless job however it was done with a sigh and celebration through many tired hours. We completely understand that mass murders and tropical storms happen every day, however, this writer would like to again point out that it does not happen here so there was a shock to all of this. In both events, the sense of community ought to be pointed out and celebrated.
When the police officers were shot and the assailant was captured there was fundraisers province-wide for the families as well as memorials. There were t-shirts printed to be bought, monies donated and an international pizza franchise that donated all profits for a day. It has to be noted that people came to the pizza place so much that the restaurants had to close to get caught up. The number of people that participated was not at all anticipated.
The days after the storm people were giving shelter, food, and water to those that did not have it. As each home started to receive power, the first thought was to help the powerless homes even if they were complete strangers.
In this writer’s mind, there was nothing but pride and happiness. This amount of community spirit had an endless pit. In a world where you read or see nothing but the negative press, this is something that almost never gets publicized. The way people come together under what is considered tragedy and sorrow should be celebrated.
There is a huge amount of pride in how this world does become a very small place when lives are affected and we all should feel this pride. I know when this writer sees what has taken place over the past few months locally there is a lot of pride involved. A huge thank you to those neighbors and strangers that never thought twice.
Andrew Scott – The Great White North
