Potbelly Legacy

 My father used to talk about a thing I attribute to him, but it may have originated long before him: The Potbelly Syndrome. It recalled a time long before I came along in which a town in crisis had a center, in my dad's vision a general store where there was a stove around which people would gather to warm themselves against whatever cold or calamity raged outside. As they stood around that source of heat, they could share experiences of living through the blizzard, tornado, flood, or fill in the blank disaster. Those who had food could use that central location to share it. Those who needed shelter had a safe, warm space to dry off and connect with someone who had a spare room. Inevitably when things went sideways in nature or became otherwise catastrophic in the world, my father would invoke this vision of his. 

As an adjunct to this, my mother would recall the times when her father's drug store was that place. In the frigid winters of the mountainous town in which she grew up, the town would head to Ralph's store to get out of the storm and connect with the rest of the town that spread out into the hills from the main road through town. Light, heat, and a compassionate ear could be found at the Myers' place. This was especially true during the dark days of the Depression and into the Second World War. News, good and bad, was shared inside where lives could be normal for just a little while. 

Which is why I am so relieved to relate that my younger brother received so much of this experience in return to being forced to evacuate his Southern California bungalow. It wasn't just for him and his wife, newcomers who had recently relocated to be near to mother-in-law, but for everyone who had a house or an apartment or a life ripped out from under them. Those who had gave freely to those who did not. Everyone was fed. Everyone was kept warm. Without a potbelly stove in sight. 

While there were those who sought to blame and complain, the human beings of the Southland came together to survive. Together. The older brothers in places that have suffered their own floods and fires stayed in touch with texts and pictures, watching news reports that made us wonder how our sibling would make it through. The quick answer is he had help. And I know my brother well enough to know that as the days go by and the incredible challenge of "returning to normal" begins, he will be out there giving back in the ways that only he can. 

Our mother and father would be so proud.