September 25. Sunday morning. Power is out. No church today. What can we do? Loaves & Fishes says they're always short of help on Sunday, and they have a generator so they'll be operating. Let's go down and see if we can help. After several backtracks and detours around downed trees and power lines, we finally make it. When we get there, we find out to our surprise that all the volunteers on the schedule actually showed up. We can stay if we want, but are really not needed. We leave Anthony stirring a pot of soup with a paint mixer!
So we decide to head home, with a stop at Sister Uyen's to see how they are doing. We take them some more essential food items, as they're likely low.
After that stop, we are on Grand Lake Road, when Sister Johnson points hard to the left and exclaims: "Home Depot is open, pull in". So I do. Sure enough, they are on generator power, the cash registers are up, and they are selling stuff. I walk up to a clerk: "You'd have a pretty good laugh if I asked you if you had any chainsaws?". To which she replied: "I just found one in the back, I put it out at the head of aisle 1 a few minutes ago". We hustle over there, and sure enough, there is one. And only one. It's probably the only chainsaw left in Sydney. It's a little smaller than the ones I have at home, but it has 40cc and an 18" bar. We quickly put it in a cart and head over to the accessory items. I find: extra chains (8), extra bar, 2 gallons of bar oil, 2 quarts of engine mix oil, wedges - and to our surprise: 3 gallons of premixed 50:1 fuel. We heap all of the items in the cart.
Now the moral dilemma: It's Sunday. We don't buy on Sunday, right?
Well, the ox is in the mire up to his nostrils. And besides, there are two anxious guys hovering over our cart, and it's clear that if I put it back, it will be snapped up in a couple of seconds. So -
Here's your answer. We buy it all, over $1000 Canadian, and load it in the Touareg. We're in business!
Back at the apartment, I assemble the saw, and it's running like a little champ in about 10 minutes. We head over to Glace Bay, where we know there are some big trees down. Curious that I bought a pair of earmuffs and safety shoes just a little while ago for no apparent reason, isn't it?
Pretty soon big trees are just big logs and branches cut up into manageable size. For the next 2 weeks, we go everywhere through the branch, and the chainsaw goes with us. We cut trees off houses, sheds, roads, driveways.
Sister Johnson organizes the removal of branches and logs. Sometimes we have other people to help, but sometimes we just do it ourselves. No need to hit the gym while we're cutting and clearing.
A helpful guy on a big tractor comes by and sees me out in the street contemplating on how to get a tree off of a power pole. He sees me, I point, and he turns in and pushes it down where I can get to it safely.
Except for the big fork that's so tall I can't reach it from the ground. He lifts me up in the bucket so I can whack it off. Then he drives off. . .
I enlist and train James as my Assistant Sawyer. He learns pretty quickly, and pretty soon he's making logs. Then he goes and stacks them by himself, a strong a capable guy. We're lucky to have him in the Sydney Branch
Out of town a ways is Sister Bonnie. She lives alone, on a beautiful site just across the road from the Mira River. Like most folks, she's got trees down on her house and shed. We go out to help, and find that James, Holly, and Norm are already there.
One of the things that Sister Johnson does best is offer comfort and support to those who are in need, or just need a hug. Everyone's spirits are brighter after she arrives.
Goes for Sister Joann
And Sister Norma as well. Everyone's day is brighter with Sister Johnson in it!
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