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A week ago Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast bringing winds over 130 miles per hour and rainfall measured in feet not inches. It was a scary time for Texas, where flat coastal plains are subject to flooding under considerably less taxing conditions. Lakes and rivers filled to overflowing. Water spilled out of carefully engineered dams, flood plains, and levees. Fallen trees took down power lines. Streets and yards and houses disappeared under water. Over 30,000 people evacuated to shelters.

Knowing from past storms how quickly our barn and horse pasture flood, my family evacuated the day before the storm hit. We brought with us my parents, two dogs, and two horses, and headed for central Texas, where we have a ranch about a half hour outside of Fredericksburg. Eventually a son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons joined us as well.

Staying together with so many people in the small house was a tight fit, but we were making memories with people we love. My dad turned 85 while we were there, and four-year-old Chandler gave him a roly poly bug for his birthday. We spent a lot of family time, and when it was time for a break, my husband and I headed out on a date. We went to a local artisan gallery, ate dinner at a nearby restaurant, and visited some places with live music.

Local musicians were playing in a small outdoor courtyard. The audience consisted of several tables full of locals plus some evacuees from the hurricane. The band improvised a lovely rendition of “It’s Only Rain” to fit the current circumstances of the people of Texas. Down the street at another venue a singer and songwriter let his audience know that all money raised that evening would go to flood relief along the coast. The audience filled the tip jar. These and other local musicians have already scheduled a benefit concert for flood victims.

When people heard we had evacuated Houston, they offered us places to stay, meals, and help with our livestock. Since we did not need help, they asked us to refer them to people who did. Everyone knew people who had taken boats and food down to the flooded areas to offer assistance.

In this small town, far away from the disaster, the good people of Texas were offering everything they had to help those in need. There were no big heroic acts that made the national news, but each person brought what talent or money or equipment he had and used it to make a difference in the lives of others.

We sometimes think our contributions are too small to matter, but singing a song for people devastated by the storm can be hugely impactful. It promotes empathy, which inspires the listeners to pitch in and help. Donating the contents of a tip jar may not result in as much money as is donated to the Red Cross, but 100% of the proceeds goes to those in need.

Nobody inquired about the politics, religion, ethnicity, or sexual preferences of those receiving assistance. People just opened their hearts to help anyone in need. This disastrous storm brought out the best in this small community, and that spirit of goodness does not disappear when the flood waters recede. It is always there. When circumstances call for generosity, people respond.

We may never know for certain why we humans behave so nobly. What is clear is that we do. Perhaps we sense our own vulnerability. Perhaps a disastrous situation gives us a chance to remember how good it feels to help out. One thing is for certain, hard times demonstrate how people unrelated to us, with different backgrounds and preferences and beliefs, will step up and help in a time of need.

When we returned to our house in the Houston area, there was no water inside, but high winds had uprooted two large trees in our yard. Someone had cleanly sawed off the stumps and moved the debris to clear the driveway. In the side yard we found a pile of tree limbs cut into uniform lengths, neatly stacked and split for firewood. Our neighbors had cleared our yard and taken care of our fallen trees after the storm, leaving us the firewood for winter … as if we needed another reason to be grateful.

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