Hurricane Katrina

As I sit here watching the live stream news and videos coming out of New Orleans, I find myself dealing with a number of emotions.

First and foremost is sadness. Sadness for those who have lost their lives. Lost their lives because some felt they had no alternatives. Some who lost their lives because they were too caught up in material items to leave them behind. Some who lost their lives because they were in that place and moment in time where a life was taken. And then there is my sadness for the people who have just lost everything they own, their homes, their jobs, their businesses. Their lives have been changed forever.

Secondly, I feel despair. Despair because so many people were still in the city that would have liked to have been able to leave but couldn’t. Many of them couldn’t because they didn’t have a vehicle to do so. Looking at the videos there is a common item throughout frame after frame. Vehicles. Vehicles parked. Vehicles under water. Vehicles floating. Vehicles that were left behind by those that either had more than one vehicle or vehicles owned by those who chose to not leave. Why didn’t the owners of the vehicles that were just sitting there or were being left behind throw the car keys to someone that didn’t have a car that DID want to leave? What would have the harm been to do this? Did they really believe that they were going to come back and find their vehicles still parked safely as they left them? If they did, then they sure weren’t actually realizing why they were even leaving. But earlier, on Saturday and again on Sunday, they showed videos of people leaving and they did indeed know why they were leaving. They knew New Orleans was facing massive destruction. And they knew that destruction was most likely going to be all encompassing. It sure wasn’t going to just destroy everything else and leave all the vehicles left behind alone.

There have been various times in my life that I had done various things for people because it was what was needed at the time. Had I been in New Orleans this weekend and had an extra car, I would have given the keys to another so they too, could get out. I would have simply given them my name, address (as I knew it at the moment), phone number or some other reference information and said, “Go. Go with my blessings.” And I would not have worried about it any further. If the car came back someday, great. If it didn’t, so what? From the experiences in my past, I have learned most people would go out of their way to make sure the vehicle got back to the person that lent it to them under these types of conditions. And to save another’s life would have been fantastic. A life is priceless. A car can be replaced eventually.

I also find myself appalled. There have been several videos shown of people staying and drinking in the French Quarter while evacuation orders were in place. Drinking and partying. Standing in the streets singing as the rains starting coming in. Why does alcohol have such a strong force to alter logic? What the heck were these people thinking? And where are these people today? I hope they were able to find logic eventually. I hope they are safe. I hope they now realize that not everything is cause for a party. I truly hope they had the hell scared out of them.

Lastly, I have become thoroughly disgusted upon hearing there are people already looting. Looting! For what good reason? I guess there are things that I will never understand. Just what do these people think they are really getting away with? They are not stealing food items and coats or shoes to survive. No. They have been seen taking electronics, jewelry and other items that certainly can not be considered survival necessities. If they were stealing for survival, I think it could be understood, perhaps even forgiven. But to take just because they think they can? And where the heck are they planning on 1) storing these items? and 2) plugging these items in or using them? What the heck is the purpose here?

For a number of those who have survived throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, survival will be bleak. While many will rebuild, recoup, others will never be able to recover. The areas hit hard by hurricane Katrina are also among the poorest areas of this country. For a large number of those fortunate enough to hold full time jobs prior to Katrina, there are no jobs to go back to. Many will not have insurance to cover their losses. The few articles of clothing and items with them are now all they have.

It is a very sad day indeed. My heart and prayers go out to everyone affected by Katrina.