WonL
The random thoughts of an architect-turned- lawyer from the deep south living in Washington, DC...
Friday, September 02, 2005
Katrina
Today is the first opportunity I have had to sit down and let this sink in. I have been responding to questions all week with "thanks for asking, my family is fine" and then entering into discussions spewing off the facts and statistics that have been flowing freely. Today, I stopped and watched TV, spoke to my mom, read the internet articles and checked the numerous emails. I let it sink in. Then came the tears.We always knew this was a possibility, but never thought it would be a reality. Every hurricane season of my life, the focus was on "the one" that would take out New Orleans. Yet, every season, Crescent City avoided disaster. But this...this is far worse than anyone ever thought. My home state is now defined by toxic floodwaters, impending diseases such as malaria and west nile, thousands of dead bodies in the streets, rampant de-hydration and starvation, violent activity, no medicine for ill patients, a police force that has all but given up, orphaned children, countless numbers of people who perished in their own attics, and many more horrific scenes that most of us cannot even imagine. This is surreal. We just do not have a clue.
The "lucky" ones are the ones who got out. They have no homes left, no jobs, no life to go back to...and we consider them lucky in this. Part of me just doesn't ever want to go home again. I just don't want to see it. The more people I talk to from home and the more I hear, the more numb I am becoming. I just don't even know where to begin comprehending all of this. I will say that I am so lucky to have such strong wonderful parents who will drop everything to help others' pick up the pieces of their lives.
Please support the efforts down there...be it through monetary donations, other donations, or prayers. They are going to need it for quite a long time to come.