Operation Tree Party

I heard a lot of tornado stories at Harvest Fest last weekend. 80% were stories of kindness, of people who came to help and worked endlessly, often for free; the volunteers who haven’t dropped the ball, no matter how many months go by; the people who suffered damage and went out to help people who suffered more damage. All of them would make your heart soar.

And then there was the 20%.

One person told me that after the tornado, local kids bragged that they knew where they could get “free stuff” despite the fact that they suffered no damage. They were proud and boisterous about how they gamed the system, and wanted everyone else to know how they could do it too. The person who recounted this story was pretty sure the parents were the ones passing out the information to their kids, and considered stealing from those who needed help, a badge of accomplishment. These were the same kids whose parents claimed, and got benefits from FEMA because FEMA didn’t bother to vet them.

Another person told me a story about working on hurricane relief in Munson, a town utterly decimated by the tornado. He worked at a large center than gave out needed goods including diapers, rubber gloves and other things donated to the victims. One Sunday a couple came in and filled bags to the brim with the free stuff, joyous in their accomplishment. The reporter decided to engage them in conversation and asked where they lived. They replied that they lived in a town not touched by the tornado. He calmly explained that these goods were for people who needed them because they had lost so much. As a result the man returned his goods, but the woman refused, saying that they were “free”. The reporter watched as they drove away in their brand new BMW.

As they say, it takes all kinds. Too bad, really.