*We are very lucky our kids weren't on that bus*

_The Lost Bus_ was released today on Apple TV+, with Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera. I read the book it's based on, _Paradise_ by Lizzie Johnson ([Amazon](https://a.co/d/87rDSpv)).

It just happened that one of our kids had missed school the previous week because they were sick and I had forgotten to drop off the doctor’s note at the office that morning. When I got home I found the note and took it back to the school (just around the corner from us). When I got there they said they were sending kids home (they didn’t call it “evacuating” yet). If it wasn’t for that doctor's note, our kids would have been on that bus, too.

We were stuck in traffic next to that bus for what felt like hours. But at some point we turned, I think on Bille Road towards Skyway, while they continued down Clark Road.

I still see that bus around town sometimes, they haven’t retired it.

Some of those kids still go to school with ours. We had a terrifying day but at least we spent it together. I can’t imagine the nightmare it was for those kids on the bus. And their parents waiting for them in Gridley.

The trailer gave me a PTSD episode, with the overhead view of the bus driving straight through the flames. Just like we did. So I don’t think I’ll be able to watch it myself, but I hope it raises awareness of our plight.

#TheLostBus #CampFire2018

Just watched a trailer for _The Lost Bus_ starring Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera. I almost started crying. I don’t think I’ll be able to watch the movie because of PTSD. We survived that fire in Paradise in 2018 but lost our house and everything in it. And at the end of the trailer they show the bus literally driving through flames. That happened to us. It melted the antennae off our car. It was terrifying.

https://tv.apple.com/us/clip/the-lost-bus-trailer/umc.cmc.1sqokeps39pjy98h3rx7v96rh?targetId=umc.cmc.4p7gv4trt1rt0kuiwzmitibiv&targetType=Movie
#CampFire2018 #PTSD #WildfirePreparedness #TheLostBus #ParadiseCA

I am a survivor of the #CampFire2018 which destroyed our home in Paradise, CA. We lost everything. I would not wish that fate on anybody, and my heart goes out to those in L.A. who are experiencing such destruction in their lives. At the time I was a full-time freelancer, living paycheck-to-paycheck. Nobody made a GoFundMe for us. We stayed with my mother-in-law for a little while but had to go to a hotel in Sacramento, and then to a studio above a garage in Chico so our kids could attend school. We survived on donated clothes and donated dog food. Our Christmas was gift cards and donated Nintendo DSes.

It bothers me more than a little bit to see GoFundMe's pop up on LinkedIn for CEOs who have sold multiple startups, who, like me, have lost everything in the fires. But unlike me, are hardly living paycheck-to-paycheck. It's not like they're unable to afford a B&B in Santa Barbara or go to Macy's to put clothes on their backs.

There are a lot of people who actually need your support. Renters, or those with generational homes who can't afford their own mortgage in L.A. County and have been straining to pay their property taxes. Please take this into consideration when making your donations.