DISQUS

Jeremy Steele · 2 years ago

Excellent post, and thank god you didn't go on a rant about the govt. If I see another one of those rants I swear I'm going to scream lol.

JB · 2 years ago

Well, I debated it. But I have to agree its overdone. Besides, there were/are more important things to be said.

Still, I wanted to find a place for my favorite FEMA acronyms.

Fix Everything My Ass
Fumbling Emergencies and Mismanaging Assets
Former Equestrian Managers Association
Flood Evacuation? Maybe Afterward
Few Emergencies Merit Attention

We have a million of them here...

Lorelle · 2 years ago

I didn't know we shared Katrina, Jonathan. We managed to get out of Mobile, Alabama, at the very last minute. A 22 foot tidal surge destroyed much of our neighborhood, only a little of which has been rebuilt or restored in the two years since. It took a year, almost to the day, for some neighborhood stores and gas stations to get their signs replaced, a simple thing but continual evidence of our victimization by nature's fury. The economy suffered terribly, as many moved out and didn't come back, and businesses, scared to keep their investments in the Gulf Coast, took their work elsewhere.

We finally moved to Oregon, where earthquakes and the occasional wind storm are the most that threaten us, nature-wise, but the devastation of the area remains with me. I worked throughout Mississippi and in downtown New Orleans in the months after the hurricane helping out where I could, and was part of the Mardi Gras festivities in Mobile, original home of Mardi Gras. In 2006, they put on quite a show to make up for New Orleans. :D

The resilience of human beings stands as a testament. And I've learned the same things as you have. Fortunately, or unfortunately, after having spent five years living in Israel during the recent Intifada, with terrorism attacks a part of our day to day reality, I've also learned of the strength of humans to keep on trucking when their world around them is filled with horror and terror. The determination to keep going in spite of the walls blocking their path, is amazing.

Thanks for being one of the strong ones who speaks so well for the positive side of humans, defending our "rights" on all fronts.

JB · 2 years ago

Lorelle,

I didn't realize that we shared Hurricane Katrina either. I knew many people in Mobile before the storm, I didn't realize that you were among the people I knew who lived there. It is a small world after all.

I think that, like you, Hurricane Katrina was a lesson in both the worst and the best in humanity. I saw that humans were capable of so much, it literally filled my heart with hope.

I'll miss a lot of things from my pre-Katrina world. But, right now, one of the things that weighs on me the most is that I will not be able to share a coffee with a good friend. If ever you do visit Mobile, we will have to change that.

Keep us in your hearts. We will rebuild this place and we will welcome you whenever and however you decide to return!

Mr. J · 2 years ago

While we haven't had hurricanes before, I can relate when you say that home is home. Where I live (St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada), a lot of young people don't want to be here because there's not much to do. But I personally love it here. Then again, I've never been off this rock before.

JB · 2 years ago

Mr. J: I'm glad that you understand what I was trying to say about home. Some people don't but it seems more people do than do not.

I've heard a lot of great things about Newfoundland and definitely plan to visit sometime. If nothing else, I love the Arrogant Worms song about the island, it sounds like a place with a good sense of humor.

I can get behind that.

Mr. J · 2 years ago

I never heard of the Arrogant Worms Song.

JB · 2 years ago

Mr. J: Here's the lyrics to the song as linked from the official Arrogant Worms site:

http://artists.letssingit.com/arrogant-worms-ly...