Last June I went to Sierraville to volunteer for Sierraville Fire and Rescue’s Tour de Manure. I stood around, waving bicyclists down the right road and doing a few little chores. I spent time chuckling with some real nice folks, but when the day was over I wondered if I’d actually accomplished anything.

This Saturday lightning struck our property, starting a fire two hundred yards from our neighbor’s house towards the bottom of the slope.

As the smoke billowed from trees I’ve known most of my life, I was temporarily overcome with a feeling of helplessness.

Moments later I was surrounded by familiar faces, the faces I chuckled with at the Tour de Manure, the faces of my neighbors from Sierraville Fire and Rescue.

"Ah," I thought to myself, "this is why we stand and wave at bicyclists and do little things."