Hal Eisner's Blog

Rancho Bernardo ...

For 4 days now I've gotten to know people here in this part of San Diego County and come to understand what the words "rising above it all" really mean. Family after family, in each and every case, I've been taken by the words and feelings of people who lost so much so quickly.

Renters Jim and Carol Wall ... no insurance .. no home left! Their huge collection of western memorabilia gone ... darn near everything gone! The only thing they could save was a safe. What's in it? They're not sure. They know there are some pictures and papers, but outside of that .. not sure. Tomorrow, Tuesday, is their 25th wedding anniversary. Their present? Opening the safe! Their attitude? Remarkably upbeat. What happened happened. It is what it is. Move on!

So, we move on to the house across the street ... Eva and Dale Peters. Same remarkable attitude. That's not to say they don't have emotional ups and downs. They do. Eva says its like being on "rollercoasters." But .. their feeling? Gotta move on!

Mark Davis ... move on!
Patrick O'Sullivan ... move on!

All people who have lost homes, who appreciate their neighbors and neighborhoods, who have families .. who have taken the posture of "rising above it all."

Eva says it might take 18 months before they can open the front door of a newly rebuilt home, but rebuild they she will.

As I listened to these people, their stories and saw their determination to "rise above it all" I kept thinking to myself how would I feel if it happened to me? Could I be that strong? And, I guess the answer is that we all have it in us to be that strong. After all, when something like this happens, after asking "why me?", the next feeling has to be "it is what it is."