OT: Going to Chicago

Dave, I'm with you. I've never wept so long or been so angry at our govt and ashamed to call myself American.

Keep up all the hugging, it heals!

Melissa in Seattle

As a Canadian who lives in the US, I would like to tell all my American friends that you should not ever be ashamed of being an American. As a people you are one of the most giving countries in the world and your hearts are always in the right place. Sometimes during an unbelievable tragedy plans just don't work as well as they should. People don't ask for aid as soon as they should, the help can't get through as fast as everyone would want.

The heartbreak and destruction and death is so hard for all of us to watch, and helplessness makes people angry. That anger needs to be directed somewhere and it is easy to pick a target, any target for our anger. The affected area is as big as all of Great Britain! Can you imagine just how large that is and how unprecedented that is? What they are trying to do boggles the mind it is so huge! We need to pray for all the people whose job it is to gather the information, for those who have to take the information and create and submit the rescue plans, for those who have to take what is given them and attempt to make the best decision possible under the circumstance. And we need to pray for all of the rescue workers who are putting their lives in danger to execute these plans so that the people whose lives have been so disrupted, and for whom we are praying the hardest, have a chance not just at surviving, but in time of living normal, healthy and decent lives. This is such a hard time for all of those people, but we should admit it to ourselves, this is a terrible time for all of us who are watching too. In a way we are all going through a grieving process and anger is a healthy part of that process. It is ok for us to be angry and sad and discusted and to feel helpless and depressed. We are lucky enough to be here for each other. Frankly I find it hard to go about normal business these days and I have to tell myslef that that is ok too. These are not normal times.

The reality is that right now it doesn't matter who is to blame. For the next 20 years or more, people will be throwing enough blame around to make us want to put our hands over our ears and scram enough already, get on with doing better! What is needed right now is our prayers, material donations, and where possible our volunteering. That, in my opinion, is what will keep us all mentally and physically healthy and allow us to cope with the many months that it will take to help our neighbors and families to the south rebuild their lives. I doubt that for any of us, life will ever be quite the same again. For the US, this is in fact another 9-11, natural in it's origin but just as if not more horrific and devastating.

As RJ says, TRUST in God and let me add, trust in your hearts that we will all come out better in the end and that as a result of all this misery we will create an even better, more prepared world for our children to live in.

M-C who really needs to donate her soapbox!

wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Hon, your doing such a good job on it... I wouldn't want to deny anyone your words! *G*

I agree M-C, We have no reason to be ashamed to be an American. I think no one realised how much devastation was caused by the hurricane. When there is no way to communicate, no electricity,many bridges and roads destroyed and so many people who could or would not leave...it took much too long for the ones in charge to grasp the scope of the devastation. We will take care of this and we will rebuild as we always do. We here in Louisville are getting some of the people too. I don't think there are any more caring people in the world than Americans. We will always rally and do what has to be done. What hurts so much is that the people who were left behind to suffer are the very people who should have been evacuated first! The poor and sick ,old and young are suffering the most. I am appalled at the looting and the shooting. I cannot understand the thought processes of people who have no place to go running and stealing things they have nowhere to store. I know that all of these people know stealing and wrecking property is wrong and there will never be justifcation for that. I am so sorry for all of our people, and they are our people, I am praying for quick relief and restoration of normalcy. I heard people calling for the government to send the army.... knowing that our army is at war in another part of the world. Yes ,it is awful to know that thousands of people are suffering but it isn't because the government doesn't care...we know that it takes time for huge operations to be set in motion. We have never had a disaster of this magnitude that I can remember. If this hurricane had struck Florida, it would have completely destroyed the whole state..that's how wide it was and if it had turned back at level 5 it surely would have done far more damage.

Hugs, Sabrina in Kentucky

Brain cells come and brain cells go.... but fat cells go on forever

I agree it took time to organize such a huge operation. I was just as frustrated as everyone else who watched and felt helpless to respond.

The one big concern that should come out of all of this is the response time for a catastrophic event such as this. It seemed like there was no one in charge and every agency that got involved had to keep asking through a disorganized chain of command for approval to get involved.

If this teaches us one thing, it's that we are truely on our own - at least for the first few days after a major catastrophic event. Many of those people who they are now finding still in their homes had enough emergency rations and supplies to sustain them for a few days. They were prepared. The hospitals were on their own and organized themselves. They are finding large numbers of people who banded together for survival in hotels and other buildings.

I hear all the talk of homeland security since 9/11 and I am now concerned about exactly what it really means. If the government is supposedly ready for anything that might happen - What Happened????

I get upset every time I hear the news media talking about who is to blame for the breakdown and the length of time it took to react and move-in-force to help the victims of this disaster. They were saying yesterday the Governor of Louisiana did not ask the government for troops. Did not ask specifically for 500 helicopters. I think that is an attempt to pass the buck. When a Governor asks for everything the government can get to them to help because of the sheer numbers and miles of disaster involved I don't think sitting back as saying "but you didn't ask for 20,000 troops" is a bit petty. I know what we went through in 90 with the tornado is no comparison to the Gulf now, but we had our emergency kit in a rubbermaid tote (flashlights, batteries, medicine, water, canned food, toilet paper, radio, etc.) We were lucky the National Guard was already in our community as we had already lost all of our water supply due to a major collapse of the water main going to our water tower and were in the middle of a drought. Water buffaloes were already in place throughout our community.

We still have an emergency kit - filled with enough supplies to keep our family going for a week if necessary. I am only concerned that we might now need to consider putting some kind of weapon for protection in there as well.

Sandy Who has now decided that she will not sit around and wait for the government to save her and her family after a disaster.

(((handing M-C a large cold water)))))

As an american it is hard to believe we could be so cold to our own people. But as I step back from my emotions, I have to realize help got there as quick as humanly possible. Roads, Bridges, and Causeways were wiped out during the storm and finding a clear enough passage is hard enough.

But I know first hand, your immediate needs makes it hard to see the greater picture. Help is coming, albeit slow thanks to Bush, but it is coming.

Dave, when we meet (if we ever do) I've got a hug for you.

Love to all, Kate

What I'm tired of hearing, and it's only just begun, is the race issue. The NO mayor threw it out there first I believe. It must be his own guilt over not seeing to it that his city was properly evacuated. It was his job to see to it that the sick, elderly, etc were attended to prior to the devastation. He sure got himself evacuated. I know it sounds like I'm placing blame too, well, I guess I am. To a degree anyway.

I know we all learn from our mistakes and life lessons. Maybe this'll give our local city officials something to think about and be a little more prepared for in the future. We all live in areas where there are natural disasters of varying degrees waiting to happen. Maybe now they'll prepare ahead a little more for just in case.

RJ, I know that God has us all in his hands right now and all anyone has to do is ask him for help. I agree w/ your outlook. What a great opportunity for outreach. It's time to start planting some seeds. I do truely believe that God is trying to get our (Americans) attention. It just seems that nobody's interested. Not enough anyway.

M-C, you stay on that soap box! A lot of the things you say I couldn't agree w/ more. I'm talking about this as well as all the other times you've been on your box.

Katrina in KS

The New Orleans Mayor did not evacuate. He is staying in what used to be the downtown Hyatt Hotel. He has been living in the same conditions as his people...no power, no water, and little food. All of the windows were blown out of the hotel. Other officials have gotten out, but he is still there working in the trenches with the people. His guards (such as they are) are having him stay on the 26th floor for safety reasons, but he climbs up and down all those flights to get out and help as best he can.

Selena

Katr> What I'm tired of hearing, and it's only just begun, is the race issue.

Thanks M-C, you said what I was thinking and you said it in a gentle and much nicer way than I could have ever managed to do. My gut reaction was to go for the throat but once again you managed to diffuse the situation through a calm and reasonable response. You ought to go work in a public relations firm, or as a conflict resolution mediator, you would be very good at it.

I want to be like M-C when I grow up.

Thanks, though certainly don't deserve it. I went through my own hell the day before I wrote this, even yelling at a very dear friend of mine. What I wrote here I dug from deep down after reflecting on my own feelings, the cause of my outburst and angst the day before. My words come from my heart and frankly are what I needed to hear myself to diffuse some of my anger. I wrote here, what I would have written to myself. I am glad if it helped even one of us feel better.

M-C

Selena, I'm glad to hear that I was misinformed. I couldn't imagine the head of the city, any city, up and running in a crisis. I do still hope though that others will learn by the mistakes that have been made during this horrible ordeal.

Katrina in KS

I just have to say something.. while our government might have let these people down.. the rest of the country is not.. I have seen so many displays of human kindness and its good to know we'd come to their aid no matter what the government does or doesn't do. I hope they know that. I watched a show where a woman picked out 3 families and took them home with her. In my area there are families from N.O. and my local Freecycle group got things together and we made pick ups and deliveries of furnishings,clothes etc that they needed while they are displaced here. Our kindness towards others is what we can be proud of.