Waiting for the waters to recede

Though I’ve called Thermopolis and Wyoming home for the past three years, I am a native Nebraskan and so the reports I’ve seen from friends and family across social media this past week have been, to say the least, increasingly disturbing.

I, like much of my immediate and extended family, grew up on the western end of the state so most of the accounts have been about having to dig out vehicles and clear heavy loads from sidewalks. But those on the east side have faced losses of homes and other property, or have been separated from their families for up to a week or longer.

Though the bomb cyclone and flooding tragedies are localized to one area of this country, the impact will be felt across the nation due to the losses to the farming and ranching industries.

For now, it’s a waiting game for the waters to recede, roads to be repaired and the snow to melt.

In Wyoming, there is another type of rising tide. The number of highway fatalities so far in 2019 is more than double what it was last year and more than triple the number in 2016. In Hot Springs County we’ve experienced three in just over a month.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a rising issue we can just wait to go back down and the effects felt will be much longer lasting than just a brief increase in beef or other agricultural products. But, unlike acts from Mother Nature, there is something more we can do to stem this tide.

While obeying the set rules of the road and avoiding distracted driving are things we're regularly reminded of, it’s also important to keep in mind that every day new drivers are getting out on the highway, and awareness of one’s own vehicle as well as others on the road is a key toward stopping the number of highway fatalities.

And just as important is being there for those who suffer tragedies — nature- or man-made — as a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen or an embrace through the struggle. Tragic incidents do have the benefit of bringing people together, and that unity will see us through and keep us afloat.