First, a small preamble. I see this forum as a safe place, where some of you may understand the following text. I do not write this for piety, to make myself look good, or whatever. I am no hero, nor do I pretend to be. Those are in the Ukraine and working in emergency services, risking their lifes.
I write this to vent, and I write it here because I know that if I wrote it somewhere else, it would be a shitstorm.
I am a teacher, currently working in the small Azorean Island of São Jorge. At the time I am writing this, there have been 3200 plus earthquakes in five days and there is the strong possibility that there will be a volcanic eruption. No casualties as of yet, thankfully.
I have spent the last five days helping evacuate friends, calming desperate teenagers that haven't slept for a week, all this with an earthquake every 30 minutes.
Finally, after some serious threats by my wife and family, and with only six students and ten teachers left in school (not even 1%), I finally left today.
Now, for the venting part.
In between this tragedy, and conforting people on the verge of losing everything they have, I find myself thinking of my little pains.
My 120 halfing kitbashed army, zenital primed, metallics and skin painted, waiting for the rest.
My elf and dwarf armies, just finished, unused after painting.
My grenedier miniatures, which I have had for decades now.
Did I leave my paints and brushes where they wont fall in a earthquake?
Is my terrain in the right shelf?
Was there room in my one bag for the rulebooks I left behind?
Again, none of this is important, or even remotely comparable to all the pain in the world now, but to me, as a wargamer, it is my little pain.
If you got this far, thank you for ready my text. I am not looking for piety or pats on the back, just a space to vent and some understanding. It is 3 am now and I just finished a video conference call with a group of frightened and crying 17/18 year olds, who have been evacuated to other island and because they have seen too many Hollywood movies, think they will never seen their family again.
And I this is my break before another one.
