About Gillian and the Ordway, CO Fire

I mentioned in an earlier posting staying at Gillian's place in Ordway, CO, a small rural community in eastern Colorado. She is a strong, proud, independent woman. A new Zealander of English extract, she has sailed and cycled different parts of the world and knows the basic cyclist's needs - cold water to drink, a shower, shelter, a place to do laundry, and (these days) a computer for internet access. Gillian Hoggard runs a small farm with a menagerie of animals - ducks, geese, turkeys, goats, sheep, and horses. She works a forty-hour job in the county. She has two grown sons. She graciously opens her home for any passing cyclist and asks for nothing in return. The only thing she doesn't offer is food; she "has seen how much food cyclists can eat!"

In April, this year, a fire swept through the Ordway area and took about 25 homes including Gillian's place. Two fire fighters were killed and lots of livestock succumbed to smoke and flames. Gillian's neighbors helped her rebuild, and she has been in her new home for less than two weeks. She had not planned to host cyclists this year, but they started showing up and she graciously resumed allowing them to stay as well as encouraging them to spread the word by the riders' grapevine that they were welcome. In fact she was still in a FEMA trailer and allowed riders to stay in the new house before it was completed. Most of Gillian's animals survived in a relatively untouched corner of her farm. Gillian's spirits survived as well, but I think she is still a bit numb from the total loss and adjusting to the unique role of a person receiving aid and assistance. She got out with the clothes she had on and her purse, but lost everything else in the house as well as her barns and ample supply of hay. She has taken to displaying cooled, molten puddles of metal as art work, displaying one piece on the side of a replaced barn. I know Gillian is resillient and will rebound, but she seems most at a loss with the trees taken by the fire. One of her most urgent needs is for hay. I saw great hope and excitement when during the morning animal rounds, she found a newly hatched duckling that was not expected.

Gillian never asked for anything and probably wouldn't. I asked what her greatest need was and she indicated actual help rebuilding. She had the idea (typical of her giving mindset) of people helping by "surrogate" means. In other words, look at other peoples' needs (particularly disaster related) closer to home, and help them in lieu of trying to get to her. She has such a big heart for others (and for her animals), it just seems that there ought to be a way for people to reach out and maybe help her and the others losing their homes in this recent fire. I'm thinking about it and hope to come up with something. Any ideas? For me, Gillian has really put a face on a distant disater. I'm touched by it. I may have more to relate about this in a later posting.
--Tom