Re: Ike report: LF and family are safe.
I was in north/central Florida on the day that Katrina hit New Orleans & the Mississippi gulf coast. As the news rolled in about damage, a report was made that the roof of the Superdome had collapsed. Since I knew by that time that there were 30,000 people inside, I was gripped with fear for them. All I could think of was, that the casualties had to be enourmous. As it turned out, all that had happened was that the roof coating had peeled and water was getting in the building.
There was a period after that, when it looked like New Orleans had actually escaped dire consequences, but then the reports of flooding began to hit the airwaves. Same thing with the damages to Mississippi. The emotional rollercoaster in this was very difficult to deal with.
Later on, after I had continued on and had arrived in North Carolina, where I have a family member, I watched the endless coverage of the flooding and human despair in New Orleans. I had no idea if my house had survived (it did) or if I would still have a job (I didn't). After a few days of this, I began to make preparations to go home. My family member was urging me to stay, but the drive to go salvage my life, in a place that was my own home, was too strong. As I think about it all now, I guess that part of the need to return was rooted in a simple need to do something, rather than to just sit and be miserable.
There were also many dark days after I made it home. At night, the entire New Orleans Metro area looked dead. There were very few lights. not many people around, and stench from rotting food, animals, sewerage, and other things. What was once familiar looked grotesque and surreal. It was as if the reality of what had happened just couldn't be. I remember thinking that the scene that my city/region had become, resembled news coverage of Beruit during the hostilities there in the early 1980s.
There is, however, another side of such circumstances, and this is why I have made this post. The ability of human beings to persevere and create a rebirth of those things that they treasure, is remarkable. There is a strength in people that I often think that even they don't know they possess. When family and friends join together and support one another, the "world" can be made right again. That is not to say that everything will be as it was. It won't be, but most of life will return to normal and new things, situations and circumstances will ease the pain of the things lost.
My thoughts are with LF & family, Ken, and all the others in the Galveston/Houston area. As one who knows, first hand, what you are feeling, I know you will be fine in the long run. In the mean time, stay "hunkered down" and let us know how you are doing.
Everything is still alive but the rabbits ain't too happy. Thanks for checking Oops.
