Being Thankful

As Orange County residents know, the Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills and Brea areas were struck by a raging wildfire which forced the evacuation of more than 20,000 of our neighbors.

We first heard about the fire - not from the news - but from one of our drivers headed to Anaheim Hills with Saturday deliveries. She reported the 91 Freeway at a crawl and said the hills above the eastern part of Yorba Linda were ablaze.  Looking east out of the flower shop front door I could see the eerie brown sky in the distance - and shortly later saw ash floating down from the sky. The photo (right) was taken from the flower shop front door at around 1 p.m..

After making sure the areas where the driver was headed were safe, we went online and started getting live streaming reports from LA TV stations. The images showed devastation and I mentally went through a list of our long-time customers who live in those areas - hoping they and their homes were safe. Next our attention turned to the safety of our own homes and families and we looked for alternate routes to help staff members get home safely - with both major north and east freeways in our area closed.

Sunday saw the Santa Ana winds continue to blow and the fires continue to rage.  On Monday morning I told our team to expect a quiet day as many of our customers would be busy recovering from the disaster.

But the phones started ringing with people sending 'thank you' flower arrangements to friends and family members who had helped them out during the fire. The reasons to be thankful were many - including:

- Thank you for rescuing my dogs when I was too far from home to get them.
- Thank you for letting us stay at your home during the evacuation.
- Thank you for hosing down my house.

Others sent flowers to loved ones they knew were stressed - just to say 'I care' and 'I'm thankful you're safe'.

One gentleman recounted how he'd spent more than 3 hours on the phone with his girlfriend on Saturday to help her find a route home from Anaheim to Riverside. That drive would normally only take 35-45 minutes, but with the 91 and 57 Freeways both closed, he helped her find her way down the 5 Fwy, over Ortega Highway and up though Lake Elsinore.  I'm guessing she's going to be getting a GPS for Christmas.

Many conversations with customers last week also touched on the fires and on how thankful we were for the fire fighters who heroically did their jobs. Orange County Register blogger Jan Norman (a daily must-read for OC small business owners) today writes about being grateful and thankful.  Despite today's challenges there is indeed much for which to be thankful and we at Avante Gardens are especially appreciative of the people who do so with flowers.

I'm really thankful for so very, very much - and tomorrow I'll post my own personal 'thank you' list.

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