Pat & Wayne Young and the Texas Fires
The nice thing about this newsletter is that we are not bound by a once a month schedule and I can put out a special edition whenever it seems to be warranted. This such an occasion. Many of you know Pat & Wayne Young. They are long-time VMCCA members and frequent participants in national tours. Pat is a former Regional Director. They live in Bastrop, Texas and, as you probably know, Bastrop has been the scene of terribly destructive wildfires. Recently, Pat and Wayne's home, their modern cars and their antique cars, were all totally destroyed by the raging fires. Basically, they lost everything. Pat wrote an email describing what has happened with instructions to pass it on to all who were inquiring about them. This newsletter is a pretty good way to pass it on.The email not only describes what happened but it is a testimonial to their strength, and to family and community coming together when the chips are down. The pictures were taken when they were allowed back to their home to see the devastation.  | Towards the house
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From: Pat Young
Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 9:45 AM
Dear Friends and Family,
After years of talking about downsizing, Wayne & I have finally done so. Not by the preferred and recommended process, but effective never-the-less. You have all been so patient and we do appreciate that as well as the many contacts you have made to offer sympathy and help, We told you we were fine and we truly are. Not to make light of the losses and stress involved, but we are weathering it very well and our kids are handling most things for us so that it is not nearly as difficult as it could be. I don't recall who knows what, so I will attempt a chronological account and hope it covers most of the questions.
 | The Model T
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We were out of town for a friends wedding in Illinois, heading home via Ky. to see my sister, when a call came from one of my quilting buddies, Barbara Barrett, in Bastrop. She had heard of a fire in our neighborhood and knew we would want to know and return right away. We diverted from the Ky. route. A couple of hours later I talked to Barbara and learned she and her husband were at that moment evacuating their home several miles south of ours. We kept in touch with Bastrop friends and on Tue. morning (I think) tried to reach our property. Of course, we were turned away at Hwy.21 and tried 1441. A nice sentry there let me get close enough to see the remains and verify that it was gone. (Wayne will see it for the first time tomorrow, Thurs.). We diverted to the city of Bastrop and the home of friend, Chris Cartright. The next few days are a blurr of details and calls. The insurance had to be notified as well as tax assessors office, utilities, etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum. The insurance company for the house was very responsive as were the auto companies, AAA and J.C. Taylor (antique cars). Each day there were announcements for things we needed to do, register at the convention center to let them know we were okay as they counted survivors and identified missing, register with FEMA, etc. as well as check the official lists to see if we could get in. None of which went quickly. On Thurs. our kids from Plano arrived to help with all that red tape. They were unbelievably helpful. We kept insisting Lee Ann not come as the city needed less folks and cars and we never knew from day to day when we would get to a point where we could go to her house where we originally planned to stay for a few weeks.. Lee Ann could wait no longer and was there by Friday. Sunday afternoon Wayne left with Sharon & Dan to go to Plano. Lee Ann & I returned to San Antonio to her home for some things and back to Bastrop Tue. morning which turned out to be when we were allowed to access the property. We had registered our cars and selves with officials and were allowed to drive out in her car to meet the ins. adjuster at the property. Pictures Lee Ann posted on Face book are from that event. To go onto the property we picked up surgical type masks at a checkpoint and when we return to "sift" we will have to have respirator masks such as Wayne used to paint a car. Sifting is not what it seems. The site is dangerous due to nails, broken glass bent and broken metal, and hazardous chemical fumes. So many things one does not think of. We are now planning to meet Wayne & Dan to do this tomorrow, Thurs. Sharon will stay in Plano to prepare her house for indefinite house guests and to do office work. Dan, Wayne, Lee Ann & I will return to Plano no later than Sunday morning. As you see, plans have changed somewhat. It turns out Wayne will have a bit of surgery in Dallas on Monday morning. He has been there meeting the surgeon and doing pre-op things this week. He will be in the hospital 3-5 days and need 3 or 4 weeks recovery time. So the Bastrop property and clean up etc. there will have to be on hold a while.  | The Model A
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Those are the facts. Here are the stories between the lines. The responders to fight the fire and police the area, help the displaced families, etc. have been just wonderful. I would not have believed it could have been handled so well if I had not experienced it. As for us, Chris has opened her home to us totally and to many others as well. The church has been serving comfort food lunches to anyone who cared to walk in every day since the event. Displaced families go there and receive donated items as well as food and set and share stories, hugs, laughs & tears. Word filters in confirming some rumors and countering others. People have heard they were burned out, then not, then yes, then no. It has been frustrating and I am so grateful we were able to see for ourselves so that we knew what we were dealing with. We have families with small children sorting through things to help get through the day and to start over. Children lost so much but everyone is trying to help them not be so afraid. We, and others, have had numerous offers of places to stay. Some restaurants have taken loads of food to fire fighters and offered free meals to displaced persons. Our pastor has a bag of gift cards from Payless Shoes, Walmart, HEB grocery and others from the donations that have come in. He provides these to the needy families. The bottled water that has come into Bastrop could have nearly extinguished the fire. Stacks and stacks! We called our local car dealer to order a car like the one that burned (RV is not proper transportation). They gave us a free loaner until they could find it and when we picked up the loaner they filled it with donations to take back to the Church. A favorite quilt store offered fabric and rotary cutter to help get me going again on quilting if I decide to do so. Another shop offered to replace a kit I purchased from them that burned. The Rotary Club Wayne belongs to has been active, very active, since the first days. They organized help, posted lists of homes lost or safe for members, offered any kind of aid and are organizing to help with clean up and salvage. The latter is not easy, as noted above. The brother of the bride from the wedding we attended in Illinois wants to come at a moments notice to help and I know he would jump in that car and come if we said we needed him. A local family, home safe, came into the church to bring donations for the displaced. As they did so, their 3 yrs. old who was hugging his blanker thrust the blankee forward and offered it too. He insisted and the mom apologized as she would have washed it if she had dreamed he would do that. Our associate ministers husband, who lives quite a distance in Schulenburg, has virtually lived at our Fellowship Hall in order to be there to open for donations or needy, day & night. The district office of the church and UMCOR, United Methodist Council on Relief, have met with our pastors to plan for now and for the future as they know this is not an event, it is a maration. People will be needing aid long after the worlds attention has moved elsewhere. They want to be there to provide it. Nearby ME churches, hearing of our healing lunches, have called and made plans to provide the meal and give our folks a rest with that. Such kindness all around us! Personally, we do not plan to rebuild on that lot. We don't feel we can make a determination about our future untill we settle down a bit and Wayne has recovered from his surgery. Our 5 acres will set without us and restore itself naturally until the kids decide to sell or use it. We only know we will remain near our kids as that has proven to be such a blessing, even before this happened! And that we will not enter into a building process, but will find something ready to go. I am sending this to one or two in each "group" and asking you to forward it to those you know we want to contact or who want to hear from us. Thank you. And now I will make more phone calls and prepare for the return to Bastrop for tomorrows events. Thank you so much. God has blessed us and you are no small part of that.
Pat & Wayne
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