Ellicott City Strong

On my way home, I passed Centennial High School. Nothing special about that in and of itself. I’ve driven past it often enough over the years, but this time, the rose-gold of a setting sun pierced through the fractured windows of so many cars, salvaged and collected there from Main Street Ellicott City. The pictures of familiar stores, washed out and ransacked that appear on the news seem surreal, distant. But those cars, they make it all seem more real somehow, the physical evidence sitting right there of last Saturday’s flood.

I can’t help but be reminded of doing Katrina clean-up work down in Mississippi. At the time, it had been six months since the hurricane had torn through the area, and yet wrecked cars had still sat abandoned in any available vacant lot. The news crews had long since left by then, and those desolate images of half-leveled homes were already fading from the general public’s collective memory, but the rebuilding had hardly even begun at that point.

It’s something I don’t know how many people consider unless they have experienced similar devastation themselves. For the people whose homes, businesses, careers were destroyed last Saturday, this will become part of their life. The fundraising and collections now are all well and noble, but the support will need to be continuous. Rebuilding like this will take time and to say it is hard is a bit of an understatement. It becomes not merely a financial and physical matter, but there will be an emotional toll as well as people try put their lives back together. But from experience, I know it’s worth it. And it’s worth it because you give the victims something precious, a degree of normalcy.

So donate, donate food, clothes, money. Donate time and your skills as the rebuilding process begins. Every effort will be appreciated. Even if you can’t do it now, chances are people will still need help in six month or twelve months. And here at Pinot’s Palette, each as a member of this community, we are pledging our continued support. We will be holding fundraisers on August 17th and 18th with proceeds going to Ellicott City Partnership to aid in the effort. Indeed, our first fundraiser sold out in the first thirty-six hours. We will see Historic Ellicott City rebuilt.

If you'd like to help please go to helpellicottcity.com to contribute.
#ecstrong #hocostrong