Distractions →← Not sure what's going on.

First things first. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure anyone was actually going to find this blog, or that people would care enough to leave comments. I guess I was wrong — I’ve had trouble keeping up with all of the messages of concern and advice you’ve all sent me. I promise I’m reading them, though, and I’ll try to respond if I can.

Unfortunately, that’s about the only good news I’ve had so far. It’s now been four days since I got Sam’s message… and five days since she left it, as one of you pointed out to me. I was so upset about her message that I didn’t even pay attention to the date at the beginning.

I still can’t reach anyone.

That means there’s not a lot to report, I guess. Like me, Kristen was surprised so many of you read the blog (and apparently a little scared, at first, since a lot of you offered to be friends with her on Facebook). She agrees that it’s a good idea, though, if only because it makes me feel like I’m doing something.

When I told her I was going to start the blog, she joked that most people probably wouldn’t even believe that Piedmont exists, since it’s impossible to find on a map. And I guess she’s right… from your comments, apparently most of you have never heard of Piedmont. It makes sense, though: if you aren’t from Piedmont, or the next town – which is well over 40 miles away – there’s pretty much no reason you would have.

Since a lot of you asked, though: the entire town of Piedmont, Utah, has a population of 183. 182, since I left for college…though the Ritters had a little girl just after Christmas, so I guess that evens it out. Aside from the occasional birth or death, though, not much ever changes in Piedmont. It’s an old mining town in southeastern Utah, so there are a lot of mountains, and a handful of nice camping areas up along the Henry River. It’s a small town, even as small towns go. We’ve got a single bakery, a single bar, and only one main road. And all the standard small-town staples: a neighborhood gossip, a town drunk, an old war veteran.

Until I left to come to Cal, I lived in Piedmont my entire life. At first, people here thought I came from an isolated town of rednecks. We’re not, though, and Piedmont isn’t so much isolated as self-reliant. Most of the folks living in Piedmont grow up there, get married there, and never end up leaving. For a lot of them, there’s no good reason to go anywhere else.

So there you go, that’s Piedmont. Hopefully that’ll help…

Tags: piedmont

Comments on “Still nothing.”

  1. I’m so glad to hear from you again!!!I don’t want you to misunderstand my curiosity as a stoic lack of concern, ok?!
    Not being able to reach your family or anyone in the town is
    a mystery that I cannot resist.I pray for you and everyone in
    the town of Piedmont.I have been inquiring of all that I know
    and I just feel as if there is a reasonable explanation for all
    of this.Be encouraged that “no news, is good news”

    ethel marie jones on April 17th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
  2. After looking at all the comments from both ” Not sure whats going on ”
    and ” Still Nothing ” as well as listening to the voice mail message
    10 times . Im certain there was / is something far worse about your mother than a blood flow problem . The sounds on the voice mail
    from the time your sister gave it away that she had seen what apeared
    to be your mom , sounded alien and not earthly or natural at all !
    I believe it sounded to be an ambient sort of growling or speaking
    that i didnt recognize . Then come the end of the message im certain
    i heard gunfire . Im not sure i would go home right now . Is there anyone in the military you can contact and trust with enough rank
    to forward some info . If im right police wont be able to help you .

    Baggund on April 17th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
  3. Like Min said, definitely go prepared. Bring a camcorder or your camera and your cell phone, as well as extra batteries, a flashlight, etc., so even if it is just something like a bad storm causing an outage, at night you’ll have a light so you can see.
    I still think that something worse has happened though….Maybe just my pessimistic outlook on life :P
    Can you contact anyone in the towns outside Piedmont? Maybe they can give you some info.

    Alice/Fencer on April 17th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
  4. OMG This sounds horrible…almost out of the movies. Have you heard any thing? You really should go back!! I agree with some of the others and you need to go prepared for anything. Good Luck!!! Seems like you need it!

    Jess on April 17th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
  5. My dad flys over Utah all the time… I’ll ask him to do a flyby. Where’s the track of your sister’s voicemail? I have sound equipment that might be able to isolate the background noise. Why is this on the TV? Was that something you did?

    Leah on April 17th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
  6. I grew up in a place like Piedmont. It is easy for things to get out of hand. It is easy for things to hide. My family are miners from Bancroft Ontario. They told a lot of stories. In your case … I hope they were just stories.

    Suzanne James on April 17th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
  7. Has anything like this happened before? i read a comment about blackouts and such. have you decided to try and go home check whats going on? if you do i would definatly bring more than one person with you and let people who arent going were you are at and if you are ok.

    Lorna

    Lorna on April 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
  8. Andrew,

    I am unfamilure with Utah and currently cannot research them. Anything…’interesting’ in those mountains? Prehaps some sort of…military or government base? That noise at the end of the sound clip was downright inhuman. Sounds to me like some sort of animal, but I have no way to back up such a theory…anyways, I for one and I am sure many others wish to stay updated on the situation.

    Good luck.

    DB on April 17th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
  9. you should go to your town and see if anyone is there bring a video cam and a gun and see whats going on beter yet go to the cops and ask for there help good luck

    tony

    tony on April 17th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
  10. I hope your sister is alright it sounded like something horrible was there. You should get that sound clip looked at by professionals so they can see what was in the background making noises.

    Joshua on April 17th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
  11. Andrew-
    Five days is a long time to be unable to reach your family or anyone else in your hometown. As I said before, if you plan on going back be prepared. If I were you, I would find a way to check on things from a distance. If it is surrounded by mountains, I am sure you can get a distant vantage point to see if anything looks strange. It is better to be safe than sorry; I have seen this before, and it always starts like this.

    Min on April 17th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
  12. i lived next to a town called Piedmont, wva so i checked out what happened in Piedmont.com now i am intrigued and concerned. if and when you find out what happened please e-mail me and let me know. thank you p.s. i hope everything is all right with your family and friends back home. kim

    kim poling on April 17th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
  13. i have a question, is it just your family that you cant get a hold of or is it anyone in the town?
    i mean it cant involve the whole town because there would be a bunch of other “reports”.

    Austin on April 17th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
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