This letter is long overdue. If you read this newspaper regularly, you know about our fire at Darby’s, which happened one year ago, Nov. 7. To say that it was a life-changing event might be an understatement. It was not only life changing in an “Oh no, we had a fire, what do we do now?” kind of way, but much more dramatically. The outpouring of love, support, prayers and random acts of kindness shown to us during the days and weeks after the fire were truly, truly humbling, and at the same time, inspiring. There are not words enough, not enough notes I could write to the countless people to whom we owe thanks. To all those who were in the store during the fire, helping move merchandise out, I offer a huge thank-you. To the precious volunteers who showed up to begin the cleanup and to those who actually did the set-up at the temporary location, we offer our never-ending gratitude.

To those who came to help with inventory after the fire, your endurance dealing with a wet, sooty, smoky situation is not and will not be forgotten. To our employees who launched into the “take care of it” mode, sometimes working overtime to get Darby’s back on its feet, we send you all our love. To those who brought food, water and kind words of encouragement, know that we certainly could not have done it without your efforts. So many stories from that day remind me of the words of Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

So, to all those who had any part at all in helping us deal with our situation, I may not remember what you said, I may not remember what you did, but I will never forget how you made me feel.

This letter would be woefully inadequate without recognizing the incredible efforts of our fire department. On-duty guys, off-duty guys, volunteers — it seemed they were all there. It was amazing to watch them fully geared up, running up and down two flights of stairs dragging hoses with them, into the blackness of the smoke-filled third floor with the only source of light coming from the fire itself, rarely taking breaks for water and fresh oxygen before running back in. I know it’s their job — but it was more the way they made me feel. Although I am much older than most of them, it was as if my big brothers were there taking care of me. These guys worked until 8 p.m. putting extra water on active hot spots where fire may still be a possibility.

This brings me to something we can all do for them. Had firefighters had adequate thermal-imaging devices, these hot spots could have been spotted much sooner, therefore not as much water would have been needed. More importantly, these devices can recognize the heat signature of a human being trapped in a fire situation. We have learned that due to budget constraints, our fire department has only one such device, more than 10 years old and unreliable at best. As a way of thanks to the department and the entire community, Darby’s will purchase and donate the first of what needs to be 10 such devices to be distributed to each station in the county. We are currently in touch with the department getting cost figures together and are in the initial stages of beginning a fundraising campaign for these life-saving devices. It is my hope you will never need the services these guys provide, but believe me, they deserve all the help and respect we can give. We have set up a “Go Fund Me” account titled “Natchez Thermal Imaging Campaign” to raise funds to purchase the other nine devices. You can donate online or downtown at Darby’s, 410 Main St.

I’ve always believed that if something bad or tragic happened to you, there is no better place to be than Natchez. Now I know this to be true. The compassion, kind hearts, well wishes, love and simply caring of this entire community has re-affirmed by belief.

All my thanks.

 

Darby Short

Natchez