Small towns

I’m from a small town in South Carolina - originally a farming community. So I have a fondness and affinity for small towns. This past week I had the opportunity to go to Rupert, ID for work. The night before I left, I met a wonderful new friend from Rupert in a serendipitous moment at a Christian concert - Elevation Nights.

Rupert is a small town 160 miles southeast of Boise. It is the county seat of Minidoka County about 3 miles from the Snake River. Rupert is a farming community and there were a lot of potatoe and cattle farms. I drove down early in the morning and got to experience a glorious sunrise.

I spent the day in Rupert with a customer and then drove straight back to Boise - 2 1/2 hours. When I returned to Boise, we had another fire break out about 5-6 miles from home - which burned 9k acres to date. Fortunately it did not cross the river. It was shocking to be able to see the burned territory as well as stripes of orange at the edge where planes laid down fire retardant.

In the meantime, my heart was breaking for the people back home. Western NC was decimated by Hurricane Helene and flooding. Many areas and small towns I’ve visited were destroyed. I continue to pray for those who lost their homes, businesses and loved ones. But I am also heartened at the stories of rescue and small groups and communities helping each other. That’s one of the things I love about small towns. They pitch in and take care of each other. I wish we all did more of that. If more people cared for their neighbors, maybe we’d be in a better place right now. Mules, goats, helicopters, boats and trucks delivering water, food, supplies, pet food, livestock feed and more. Neighbors helping neighbors. I wish it hadn’t happened but the fortitude and intrepid nature of these Carolinians makes me proud and grateful. (Following pics are not mine.) This is where I come from - small communities like these.

God bless you.

As always, thanks for reading.

Gypsy Jules