Little hero

I know I need to stop looking, listening and over absorbing myself in the news from the Gulf Coast, but it sure is hard to relax when you know that people so close by are suffering and possibly dying. I'm glad the news has some small stories of hope to report like people and animals being rescued and attended to.

Last night, in our much tamer version of the storm, a beautiful small pigeon got confused (with the barometric pressure drop I guess) and flew right into our glass front door. She was stunned, but not badly hurt from what I observed. K and I made her a little nest in a drink cooler with towels and bird seed and she stayed there all night and was gone by morning. I wish I could reach out to others in need right now like we did that pigeon last night.

All I can hope and pray for is that the Red Cross and National Guard can take care of the many hundreds of people and animals that need so much help right now. I wish there was more we could do because it seems like those of us that got spared should figure out a way to assist those who didn't. I encourage everyone reading this to donate to the Red Cross or contact your local agency to see what the storm victims down there need (canned goods, clothing, diapers. etc.). Surely if all the folks who got spared give what we can, we can help ease this awful burden of not only losing a home, but a city and an entire way of life.

Okay, I'm stepping off the soap box for the evening.

"Don't it make you feel bad. When you're trying' to find your way home, You don't know which way to go."

-- Led Zeppelin, "When the Levee Breaks"

Comments

mojoala said…

It is most sad event. I think you and everbody else was wrong in saying New Orleans dodged a bullet. I think they took a direct bullet hit.

Going east of New Orleans was worst case scenario. The Southward winds blowing storm surge across Lake Pontchartrain providing enough force to break the levee in 2 places. There might even be some leaks under the levee as well.

Currently victims are still held up in the SuperDome without airconditioning and water.

It's just horrible....

8:04 AM

Jamie said…

Brooks, glad you're okay but really sad for all those people who couldn't get out. I think people take for granted that everyone can just hop in a car and get outta Dodge. Not everyone has a car and not everyone can afford gas or find a place to stay. So sad. The only thing good that comes is that people (who got spared) wake up the good in their hearts and think about someone else for a while.It makes me feel better about all of the clothing, dishes, towels, etc. I donated when we moved a few weeks ago. My church runs a very efficient aid operation and my stuff is probably on the way to LA and MS by now! That's about all I can do from Montana besides pray...

11:32 AM

Brooks Brown said…

The sad thing is the city officials in New Orleans were right in that the storm didn't hit the city directly making the initial damage not seem so bad.The worse damage obviously came with the levee breaks. How sad that they breathed a sigh of relief only to realize that the worst damage was just beginning with the massive influx of water from Lake Pontchartrain.

I know someone down there who I chatted with on IM the day before the storm hit. She said the traffic had gotten so bad on I-10 that they couldn't get out of New Orleans. You're right Jamie, it was not as easy as everyone just being able to hop in a car and leave.

Thankfully ,the company I work for is very proactive about helping in disasters and I think they will probably match whatever employee donations go to Red Cross.That is the best and only plan of action I know of right now.

11:51 AM

Sangrocito -- I know what you mean. I love that city and have spent so many good times there. Seeing beautiful Canal street submerged and devestated is just so sad.

1:19 PM

Ticharu said…

I think we will have to pull together not just to help out the victims, but to recover as a country, the strategic value of New Orleans was tremendous, we didn't just loose a beautiful city, we have millions of people with no place to go, and national infrastructure that will take years to rebuild. Looking at the cost to a nation as heavily in debt as we are, I doubt that we can recover. Being a doomer comes natural for me, but I do see this as a monumental catastrophy.

1:48 PM

Speed42 said…

I know New Orleans is suffering major devastation right now, but please don't forget my home state of Mississippi in your thoughts. I've seen pictures from that coast of completely obliterated houses, apartment buildings, businesess. I keep thinking of the last time Christina and I were down in Biloxi. We stayed in a beautiful century-old B&B with huge ancient oak trees. We marvelled at the beauty of those old houses sitting proud and stately, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. It's very sad to think they're all gone now. Then I remember people lived in those houses. And I'm sure many didn't get out.

7:08 PM

Lee Ann said…

I know, I can't help but cry watching those poor people. My heart bleeds for them.

7:29 PM

Chris you are right about Mississippi. There are parts of Alabama that are in terrible shape too like Bayou La Batre. New Orleans is in a unique situation since it is below sea level and unlike other flooded places, the waters are not going to subside on their own.
The country might not recover financially in our lifetime, but what can we do about it? Borrow, rebuild and help those thousands of poor people in New Orleans and elsewhere that have nothing but the wet clothes on their backs. There is no doubt that this is a one of the most catastrophic events of our lifetime, but unlike the war, this is a situation we can rally around in unison and help these survivors by giving money, time or whatever resources we have available. For those of us that were spared the storm's wrath, it seems like the just thing to do.

12:59 AM