Kelly

Tragedy and natural disasters teach you many lessons.

In the aftermath of what was at the time Tropical Storm Gustav, there are many things I took from the weather system and its effects. The sight of persons unsure how to start over, the grief of persons who watched those cars being washed away by the water in St Thomas and the annoyance of listening to people who were dry quarrelling about no electricity, all came to me.

But the one that has stayed with me the most is a little closer to home. On Saturday, August 30, the day after Gustav had done most of his work, my father and I, along with some of our neighbours, went to see what we could do about our road. It's not the Bog Walk gorge, the banks of the Hope River or the no longer existing Harbour View bridge. But our stretch of pavement was not in the best of state.

Newly formed ditches

So, we were filling holes with stones (some of which we had to break into smaller ones and some we had to unearth from the muddy banks), shovelling dirt and river shingle into the newly formed ditches, pushing away the mud and debris (like bamboo roots) and utilising everything from bush to gravel to make the road driveable.

Now, I pride myself on being fit. But there is fit and there is whatever the other men were; because before long, I was breathing hard. My back was starting to make a few quakes and my tongue started wagging. While trying to smash a bigger stone, I was giving it all I had like Thor with his hammer. But alas! no budging from the rock! Despite the prompting that I should put everything I had into it (which I was trust me), this thing wasn't moving. My right hand was beginning to hurt and my shoulder was making squeaking noises.

New-found respect

But I dared not quit for fear of looking like a wuss! I have a new-found respect for my father and his friends who seemed to be able to work for as long as they had sunlight. While the measure of a man is not determined by the amount of weight he can lift, for me it is something to admire. I must admit I did feel a little inadequate as the youngest man of the group and apparently, the weakest.

I also have a greater appreciation for the work crews who are trying to fix these obliterated roads and bridges. Digging through mud and risking life and limb to help others they've probably never met. Repairing lives and healing communities? Now, that's man's work!

Work with me at daviot.kelly@gleanerjm.com.

These boys look on from a section of the Mammee River road that was washed away during the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav. The road is now closed to vehicular traffic. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer