There's a new breeze blowing among the evacuees. A restlessness. It's time to do something. They're starting to bring bottled tea and sodas. Offering to help with volunteer work. Cleaning, cooking, anything. Holding baby while mama gets relief goods. Whatever there is.
The box of onions were spectacular. Fattest onions you ever saw. Straight from the garden. Votes are split about eating local produce. Some eat it, and others don't. I don't quite know who to believe. But the onions were a thank-you gift from one of the regulars. I smiled and bowed and said thank you.
You'd think that I was knitting gold instead of socks, the way the ladies gather round. Some just never saw such a thing, others know their terminology. Some left their needles in the nuclear evacuation zone. Others lost their stash of needles, crochet hooks, and yarn in the tsunami. Some grouse about how much their shoulders ached back when they used to knit. One lady specialized in quilting and lost the tools she had used for 30 years. Some make the outrageous claim that crochet is better. Hardly any would refuse a couple of knitting needles and yarn.
Other changes are happening too. One precious lady, who has finally found her smile again, showed me the beautiful Indian (or maybe Thai?) skirt she was wearing. "It's the first time I've worn a skirt since the disaster. I finally feel safe enough. I always wore pants so I could run if it happened again. But I found this skirt in the relief goods and wanted to wear it."
God bless whoever donated that skirt.
And one of the nuclear plant workers says that the 30 kilometer zone will be re-opened soon. Families with kids will probably stay away, but adults may want to go home.
Most of us got out of bed at 3:15 this morning when a vertical quake hit. One lady grabbed her keys just in case she had to leave.
It's far from over yet. But hey, knitting looks fun again. We're on our way.
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