A Stone’s Throw: Day 4 After

Day Four, After

  I’m tired. Really tired.

  I’m tired because Life has been going so fast since “that day.” I’m sure the majority of Uvaldeans would agree. I find this ironic given that it was Death, not Life, that brought us all together. United us. But it’s true! Life is going fast. I know nearly everyone that lives and works in Uvalde is exhausted. 

  The Library Director, Mendell Morgan, is exhausted. He would deny this to you, and say he is fine, but it is a task to keep up with the offers, questions, texts, and calls. Trying to decide what we need for the future of the Library, for Uvalde, for the surviving parents and their children. Lots of planning. It’s an incredible responsibility! 

  And I know others in our small town are facing the same decisions and planning too. At El Progreso Memorial Library, the calls, email, and texts stream in from people, corporations, nonprofits, and government officials asking to help, do we know how they can help, do you need help? (Yes, yes, and yes.) We offer all the choices – there are lots of places, people, nonprofits in Uvalde needing help!

  And then there are the reporters. Newsweek was in the lobby when I came in this morning. The newscaster was very grateful we opened the doors early for them — she even practiced saying “Uvalde” correctly for us. A station from China interviewed our director and archivist to show 300 million Chinese what an American Public Library is like (I told Mendell he is famous world-wide!). Evidently there are no public libraries in China. The World has discovered Uvalde and wants to learn all about us. Death came to our town on a pale horse and rode off with 19 of our youth and 2 teachers, and now the World rushes in to try and fill the void. When you are the “second worst school shooting in American history” everyone wants to give to you. We just witnessed Evil. And now we are witnessing Good. And it is humbling, mind blowing, overwhelming. And, yes, almost too much. 

  Too much? I don’t write this to scare people away. We want and appreciate their help. We desperately need their help! We need Good more than ever now. But truth be told, we are tired and our hearts ache and we haven’t had time to stop to eat or even grieve, and we would love to smell the beautiful flowers and … and oh my goodness! The flowers! The fountain at the plaza and Robb Elementary – the only time I’ve seen that many bouquets were when Princess Di passed away. Which is another irony: Di’s DIL, Meghan, paid a visit to Uvalde Thursday and placed white roses at the plaza crosses. I had to pinch myself.

  Pinch myself, because as I told my grown daughter, all my life I have read about the people that I, my boss, coworkers, friends are seeing now, in real time, in Uvalde. They really do exist! The World is knocking on Uvalde’s front door and greeting us with a welcome basket of cupcakes (true because reporters today brought us cupcakes from Open Range) and asking to be invited in. This includes news personas working in the daily news, celebrities reported in People magazine, politicians followed in Wall Street Journal, actors from shows on TV and movies (let’s just say Matthew McConaughey is not the only major star trying to help Uvalde, trust me).

  And the visitors! As I drove by the plaza this morning, the visitors were shoulder to shoulder to pay their respects. Ordinary people are coming in from across the country to see Uvalde and Robb Elementary, place flowers, drop off donations, etc. People like you and me. And there are a lot of ordinary people in the World! On Friday afternoon, yesterday, Highway 90 looked like the Indianapolis 500 with all the vehicles headed our way from the big cities. Both west bound lanes were full. It was chaos!

  And this “chaos” is before the funerals.

  Yes, next week after Memorial Day, parents and grandparents will lay their babies and grandbabies to rest in the local cemeteries. Then the real heartache begins. These past few days have been practice. The real test starts after May 30th. Be prepared to see grief in all its forms as the World claims a front row seat to watch. I had a trial run today. After I left work, I ran over to the cemetery to place flowers on my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s grave for Mother’s Day. (I wasn’t forgetful – the cemeteries had issued a statement saying all flowers were being cleaned up in early May, and I waited …okay, I procrastinated … until now.) But I wasn’t alone in the 100-degree heat because families were there already, picking out gravesites or getting family plots prepared. The graveyard made “the day” real. 

  Tomorrow is Sunday. And, as we say in Uvalde, Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise, I plan to be at Getty Street Church of Christ in Uvalde. We’re hosting a free luncheon for visitors after the 10:30 am sermon (everyone is welcomed), which is about “Does God Care?” I look forward to hearing it, but after the past four days, I can tell you explicitly that people care – really CARE! 

  And so, now that you know my day, if you will excuse me, I have a nap calling my name, after I do the laundry and pay the bills and wash the dishes. Life goes on, even in Death. Good overcomes Evil. And something tells me that I will need my energy and strength for next week — me and the rest of Uvalde. 

We will go through this together because, well, WE ARE #UvaldeStrong

1. Irene Stone (the K stands for Karolyn) was born and raised in Uvalde.  Her parents were Herman “Bubba” and Karolyn Carlisle.  Her dad’s family ran Carlisle and Carlisle Construction, and her mother’s father, Cecil Reagan, owned the Reagan Ranch in Knippa.  In 1978, Irene graduated from Uvalde High School and went off to WTSU in Canyon, Texas, where she met her husband, Steve. Three children and twelve years later, Irene graduated from UTSA in 1990 with a BA in English and a teaching degree. 

  Steve and Irene moved to Bandera in 1991, where Irene taught English at Bandera High School until she transitioned into the world of nonprofit in 1995 by serving as the Executive Assistant to the CEO at Medina Children’s Home.  She worked in municipal government and public utilities as the Executive Assistant to the Kerrville City Manager and the General Manager/CEO of Kerrville Public Utilities Board.  In 2010, Irene moved into management by becoming the Executive Director of the Arthur Nagel Community Clinic in Bandera, a free community clinic.  Under her leadership, the clinic was awarded the Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year in 2012 and the RiskBusters Program received the Texas Rural Health Association 2012 Award for Outstanding Program. In 2014, Irene became Vice President of Development at the clinic, and then later Grant Manager and Data Administrator at Hill Country Daily Bread Ministries in Boerne, where she specialized in fundraising, donor development, and grant writing. She is also a licensed real estate agent.

  In September 2017, Stone returned to her Uvalde roots to help her husband with the family ranch, which is near Sabinal. After 28 years in nonprofit, Irene helps local nonprofits through Stone Nonprofit Consulting while Steve manages their real estate company, Stone Land & Cattle Co.  Irene’s current job, after a stint as the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO at First State Bank of Uvalde, is part-time grant writer for the El Progreso Memorial Library.  A firm believer in community involvement, Irene served on various Nonprofit Boards in Bandera and was nominated for Bandera Citizen of the Year twice.  Currently, she is past President and Secretary/Treasurer of the Sabinal Chamber of Commerce and manages her Facebook page, Surprisingly Sabinal. 

  Marking their 43rd Anniversary this year, Steve and Irene have a daughter, Somer, a lawyer, who is married to Randy Adkins – they are parents of her granddaughter, River, who is six years old.  Irene also has twin sons Matthew, a retired career Navy man, and Tye, a local musician and guitar instructor, who is married to Leeza Henderson – they are expecting their first child, a boy, on September 1. The Stone’s attend the Getty Street Church of Christ in Uvalde and recently built a new home, Stone Ridge, on the family ranch.