Water and Ice/ Thoughts on Katrina
I'd like to announce that MYF, along with JD's Country Connection and our President, Sue Bess have been able to secure 10 loads of ice and water down to Katrina's victims. It is possible for us to get more. We have at least one more truck to fill, and if we are able to get more water and ice, we'll be able to secure more trucks. If you would like to contribute to the Ice/Water campaign, you can do so through MYF. It is tax deductible, and will be greatly appreciated. The address for the office is:
Missing You Foundation
300 Napoleon Road
Michigan Center, Michigan 49254
Checks and money orders should be made out to Missing You Foundation. In the memo line, please write "Katrina Victims". This will earmark your funds to go to specifically that.
If you've never been in a situation like this, you couldn't possibly understand just how much water and ice are needed down there. They have nothing to drink. The SAR people working on the rescue efforts have nothing to drink.
You know...I sit here, writing about stuff that doesn't matter. My headache. My sister's dumbness. And it's hard. Does anything really matter anymore? Does any of our little problems REALLY have ANYTHING to do with the overall picture of our lives? I don't think they do.
The looters are taking over the city. The city isn't in a position to fight back. The talking heads keep saying that NOLA was lucky. Were they lucky?! I don't think they were. We're talking about total devastation. What exactly is our perception of total devastation? Does the entire city have to be quiet, not a sound made, not a building standing to achieve such a classification? Does it? Because if you look at the photos, if you see what's taking place down there it sure as hell looks like total devastation to me. Not just to NOLA, but to Mississippi, to Shreveport, to Biloxi to Gulfport...to any town that is anywhere near that Godforsaken coast.
And...is it over? Or, while all of our SAR teams and environmental teams, and the Coast Guard are down there busting their asses to save the scraps of humanity that are left, is another hurricane going to sweep in and just pummel the hell out of them again?
Normally, NORMALLY I have quite a bit of respect for President Bush. I may not always respect his decisions. I may not always agree with what he does, but today, I saw the picture of him looking out of the window on AirForce One, and I literally wanted to throw up. I had a physical reaction to that photo. He wanted to see it with his own eyes...I get it. But to have that picture taken of him in his cushy little leather recliner on the Presidential aircraft, rubbernecking at what is going on...I found it...distasteful. Open up the floodgates, help be part of the solution. Help come up with some idea of what to do with the dead, figure out how theyr'e going to treat the injured and sick. Order empty apartment complexes finished, and the cruise lines....put our refugees in there.
One moment you're there in your home and you believe that everything is going to be ok. So much so that you kept your small children in your home with you to ride out this storm. You believe in your heart that your home will withstand the elements and you'll be fine. Instead, Katrina made a believer out of you. That's just incredibly sad to me. I read one headline that said "Die Hards will do just that: Die Hard"
One more note...9/11 caught us with our pants down. I would have thought that we as American's would have learned something from that. No one is exempt. No one is safe. Whether it be from Terrorism or Mother Nature...we need to be prepared. We have the technology to beat things like this. We had the technology that told these people to get out. And, thankfully, 80% did. From NOLA, anyway. But, the other places that were also near didn't get quite the same warnings. I'll concede that much. The national syndicates were hell bent on covering NOLA and only NOLA. But, my point is, that if you're told to get the hell out of dodge...DO IT. Your things are replaceable. You are not.
My heart breaks for these people. Just breaks. I want you to know that while I may write about other things in the coming weeks, that Katrina's wrath isn't being slighted, we're working our asses off to help in more ways than one. But...I need to keep sane too. So, if I happen to write about how stupid my sister is or how if the cat poops on the floor one more time he may learn what it's like to sleep in the elements...it's not because I don't care about what Katrina has done. I do, with all my heart. But, I come here to collect my thoughts...whatever they may be.
Uggg. My heart is so heavy. I want to be down there, RIGHT NOW. I know that I can't be and that is even more infuriating. But what counts is we're trying. Now, if we all, as a country would try we'd be able to get it taken care of in no time. Let's think about that...
If you have any more ideas other than sending in our SAR teams (when they can accommodate more people), sending ice and water and sending coordinators to help organize...I'm all ears. I'm looking for that epiphany for what we can do to make a difference. Tell me and I'm all over it. I am resourceful and I have amazing ways to do things with little money. You just tell me what you think needs to be done and we'll try...
sdk
posted by sdk @ 10:27 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
It's good to go on with life, while still acknowledging the tragic situation and doing everything we can to help. People still need to laugh, still need to have some sense of normalcy. It is awe-inspiring and scary to see how even with all of our technology and how sophisticated we think we are, we were powerless to prevent the destruction. I was watching today- all the people who were still stuck on roads and rooftops. They'd been there for two days with no shade. While they were getting water deliveries, there didn't seem to be a means to get everyone out. I was wondering about getting some kind of tent or tarps to people to keep the sun from beating down on them along with the water and ice. It also seems that in some of the flattened areas where people have nothing but the land their house was on, they might end up with "tent cities" or for a while. Tarps or tents maybe? Just thinking out loud...
that makes me think of the lines of a song "we think we're awfully smart/but we're not as strong as we think we are". Its SO hard to admit we're not in control...theres only One who is. I keep thinking of the kids who've lost everything in their houses. I mean, I know their parents n stuff have to, but don't you remember how devestating it was to lose something when you were little? Same with like teens...I know right now if I lost everything I'd be a wreck!! Maybe you could do something for them?
My only suggestion would be to get some information designers down there to help the people trying to sort this stuff out. These people (like me) think different and see different. It's a benefit to operations to have this skill handy.
BTW - Kudos on not having a freakin' password on the comments. I'm about to quit posting on half the blogs I visit.
LA is a poor state, and NO is a poor city. I remember growing up in the country - everyone was poor - and everyone had a car. There were no buses and no taxis, no public transportation in general. I never understood when people didn't have a car. Even teenagers all had a beater. Being a bit older and wiser, living in the city now - I get it. Where I grew up having a car was like what having a horse was in 1800 - it was a necessity. You would eat less, have fewer belongings, and be late on the mortgage to have that car running. It was the life-blood of your family. Without it there was no way to get to work, no way to get the 5 to 10 (sometimes many more) miles to the grocery store (and then having to come back) to feed your family. Without a car you had no means for anything. When you live in an urban area, cars are expendable. If you are poor, you don't have to starve your family to have a running car, you just take the bus. If you need milk and bread you walk the 4 blocks to the corner store. The people of NO did not just sit around thinking they would ride out the storm (I know some did) most of the ones left behind HAD NO MEANS TO EVACUATE. A mandatory evacuation doesn't mean anything if you are not provided with a way out. It was the end of the month, when paychecks are dry. We don't all have credit cars, Hondas, relatives with money. People died out there not for their belongings, but for their lack of them. Just another perspective - thanks for the page.
It's a hard old world. Sometimes, you can do absolutely nothing when disaster strikes. I lived through something similar (though on a far smaller scale) when Hurricane Frederic struck Mobile, Alabama in 1979. We were without electricity and safe water for 2 weeks. When you're a kid you don't seem to mind it as much though. I remember thinking it was great that we didn't have to go to school for about a month (though we did pay for it later in the summer with some Saturday sessions). My father made us work during our reprieve from school by cleaning up the remains of a huge oak tree that had fallen on our house. While this may have been considered tough at the time, it in no way compares to the situation in the Gulf Coast today.
It is definitely true that disasters bring out the extremes in peoples' personalities. Some rise to the occasion, a few completely fall apart and others exploit the situation with violence or inciteful speech. I honestly offer no real solutions to a situation as we're seeing in Katrina except faith. Faith is one of those seemingly irrational expressions of the human condition when a person realizes they are in a situation they cannot control.
I am a Christian, however, I do realize there are other people out there who are members of other faiths. As a result, I cannot help but acknowledge that other people with beliefs other than my own are sustained by their individual faith in times of trouble. I realize there are no doubt many people who stroll on these boards that are Atheists or believe that God may exist but that He is unknowable. I would be curious to know how you get along when you're in a situation you have absolutely no control over. Are you stoic? Do you despair? Do you blame others? Or do you console yourself at least that this was something you could have prevented being part of and resolve to be more careful in the future?
I am honestly curious and I realize that people who have faith and are devout also have some of these same negative emotions when in a crisis. So, this is no indictment on people of other faiths or those with no faith -- I'm just soliciting some feedback. I would really be interested in hearing your take on things like this.
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