As I watched the coverage (after I got home from classes… darn classes, I so wanted to be home watching the coverage today!) on CNN, I came up with the following random thoughts in response to things that aired. First there were the obvious thoughts of remorse at the destruction, at the loss. But then there were a few random thoughts rattling around in there, too. Here are some of those.
Looters. I just heard a report of looters. I'm not even sure what to say about that. Besides the stupidity of putting yourself in that kind of danger (why aren't the looters inside??), what on earth would possess someone to loot in these kinds of circumstances?
Did you think you were special? One of these guys was reporting that one of their colleagues in NY had family stuck in their house in Hurricane-Land. The family was on the second floor of their house, the first floor was flooded, and the waters were rising. They were awaiting rescue. And what were they doing in their house? There was a mandatory evacuation. So this family (and many others) stayed in their house why? I believe this particular family was in New Orleans because my first thought was, have you heard of the Superdome? I don't want to hear that you had nowhere to go. Clearly you do. You have relatives in NY! And you have access to the Superdome.
Do they really think they are so special that the flood waters would just skip their house? Do they really think it's acceptable to put the rescue workers in that kind of danger? I have news for them: they're not special, they're irresponsible.
And don't even get me started on the family rescued in a boat… the family that had an INFANT with them! This storm was not a surprise folks. You had plenty of warning. And you were ordered to get out. So you were there with your infant why exactly? Again with the irresponsibility.
A tropical storm in Ohio?! How bizarre would that be? Well, had Katrina hit as a Cat 5, they were saying that it would likely still be a tropical storm by the time it made its way to Ohio. At the moment, they're calling for 4 – 8 inches of rain up here. That seems incredible.
The beginning of the season. For those who don't already realize this, the tropical storm/hurricane season is really just getting started. The peak part of the season starts about now and ends in October. They were calling for a bad year. So far they've been right. If we don't have another such storm this year, the forecasts were right. However, it's not over yet. Per the expert they had not too long ago, we'll have several more storm to watch before the peak season ends.
Other countries sending us money? Heard some question whether other countries would send money and care packages our way as we did for the Tsunami (and as we do for disasters around the world). My guess? Nope. And should they? My response? Nope. We're one of the richest nations in the world. It would seem very odd to me for other countries (poorer countries) to send aid. I think cards/messages/"uplifting" care packages from foreign citizens would be a nice show of caring and solidarity.
The bright side of the storm. Two main topics here. First, and pretty much always when it comes to natural disasters, the people. Yes, there are looters and incredibly stupid people who stay in their homes, but there are also those who go out of their way to help. Disasters and bad times tend to bring out the good side of an awful lot of people. This time, there are all of those rescue workers (including those who delivered a baby in the get-out-of-Dodge traffic jams) and I'm sure there are tons of individual heroes out there, and some of those stories will come out in the days to come.
And have you heard about the dolphins? There were three dolphins housed in an aquarium by the water. The dolphin's keepers decided they were way too close to the storm and moved them to a hotel swimming pool treated with salt water. The good news is that there was indeed a lot of damage at that aquarium, but those hotel-visiting dolphins are doing just fine!
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