Full Body Blog for Chapter 7 Gabriella Maddaloni

            I was interested to read about Randy Sullivan because he wasn’t a guard, he was a firefighter.  Randy, from the beginning of the chapter, seems to be more willing to admit the problems with Rocky Flats.  He makes a statement about how if there was a “release” there’d be no one left.  Yet, he is still proud of what he does, because he knows that he’s doing all he can to keep people safe.  Randy also is extremely aware of the opinions people have of Rocky Flats.  He states that he doesn’t mind so much all of the safety precautions because he knows it’s necessary.  He also talks about when the Rocky Flats firefighters once had to drive a fire truck through a residential area.  Randy says they threw eggs, which is just horribly disrespectful to me.  Yes, they work at Rocky Flats, and yes Rocky Flats might be unsafe but those particular people aren’t making Rocky Flats unsafe.  In face, those particular people are risking their lives to do whatever they can to keep everyone safe.  I was surprised to read of the possible tear down of Rocky Flats and extremely surprised that the government canceled the military mission.  Rocky Flats had been there for so long, done so much damage and the government had denied any issues for so many years, why would they just give up now?  People did the work though, even though it was for a different cause.

            Kris’ lunch with Diane reminds me more of an interview than a lunch, except Kris didn’t really ask anything, Diane is just all too willing to tell.  It was as if Diane let her ignorance act about Rocky Flats go for a few minutes.  It was just enough time to tell Kris the risk and danger, to tell her to get out.   After reading this memoir, I’ve grown to like Kris and so I much appreciated Diane warning her to get out while she can.  It was like a mother to mother, keeping her safe thing.  I’m glad that Kris records everything in her journal, to have some sort of timeline and recollection of the events that take place.  Yet, it is troubling to learn that she’s noticing herself not feeling too well already.  I’m happy she was smart enough to quite her job, smart enough to realize her kids need her in their lives.  I’m also happy to see that this chapter is where she realizes she wants to use her experience and notes to write about Rocky Flats, the truth about Rocky Flats because no one else will.  It makes sense to me that the first person she calls to talk to is Karma.  Naturally, Karma asks her if she’s scared and Kris answers that she wants to write about the two things that scare her most, Rocky Flats and her dad’s alcoholism.  This is where the book all makes sense, why she wrote about her family and Rocky Flats, because it came to a point where it all connected, right in this chapter.  At first, reading the memoir was confusing; the two subjects had nothing to do with one another.  Yet, her dad’s alcohol abuse inspired Kris’ life and caused her to be who she is, which is what drove her to write this book.  Therefore, the two subjects have everything to do with each other.

            I was sad to read that Kris is having health problems as well as her siblings, but relieved that she does not have cancer.  It’s sad to read how many lives were ruined by the contamination of Rocky Flats.  Randy will no doubt have problems because of his desire to help the people of Colorado and the workers of Rocky Flats.  How many people have to get sick and die before Rocky Flats receives the blame it should?