I'm not sure about any of you, but I don't think this nation can take another hurricane right now! Yes, Katrina was horrible and caused a great deal of tragedy. Rita was shaping up to be an even bigger mess, but miraculously turned out to be less costly in terms of damage and loss of life - but for those directly affected - it was tragic enough. I have a great appreciation for storms and the damage they can do to property and to our emotional sense of security. Personally, I'm one of those "nutz" who like storms! I love heavy winds and extreme weather conditions. I do protect and have concern for the safety of my family and I take precautions for my own safety, but I have to admit there is a part of me that makes me more likely to run into a storm rather than away from it. I think I would make a good tornado chaser if I didn't have a family to care and provide for. Afterall, I recognize a storm for what it is; violent and unpredictable. That is a storms nature. You would be silly to expect something different.
So, although my heart goes out to those who lost property and loved ones (including so many pets) to the recent storms in the gulf region of the United States, I am appalled at the stories I've heard coming from those who tried to evacuate the Galveston and Houston areas of Texas. I'm also disappointed in the behavior of some of the citizens right here in the Dallas Metroplex.
Thursday night, as people were trying to get out of the southeast Texas regions and head north to avoid REAL danger, some of the people in Plano and other Dallas suburbs were acting as if they had lost their minds! Gas stations were drained of fuel. Store shelves were stripped of merchandise like bottled water, flashlights and other "necessities". I suppose I could accept this if it weren't for the way I saw and heard people treating each other. I personally saw people deliberately cut off other motorists to prevent them from getting to the gas pumps first. I saw people hordeing groceries as if they were stocking up for a three-year stint in a bomb shelter. I saw a lot of pushing, shoving and jockying for "first dibs" on things!
I also kept checking with friends who had either evacuated Houston or were in the process of trying to get out. They told me horror stories of gridlock on I-45 heading north. If someone's car ran out of gas, or stalled for whatever reason, the other motorists honked, screamed, yelled and then eventually got out of their vehicles, not to help the stranded motorists, but to move their vehicles off of the freeway! I'm sure there are other stories of people who did good deeds - and I would have liked to hear or read about them - but none of those stories have made it my way.
I like to think that difficult times help to galvanize civilized people, but that was not the case with Hurricane Rita. Fear got the better of many folks. So, while it is not my place to judge anyone or to disparage them or their motives, I must say I was saddened and disappointed with what I saw and heard about. Perhaps many of us learned a little bit more about oursleves in the process - and if there is a "next time", we can better steel ourselves to act out of love and compassion rather than fear and self-preservation.
In the end, at least in the Dallas metroplex - Rita will be remembered as the "storm that never was". We got a bit of wind and even less than a bit of precipitation. Nothing to justify the panic behavior of our "good" citizens. Perhaps in the future, when we are faced again with uncertainty and trepidaton - we can hold each other's hand, help out those in need, and make sure that everyone is cared for in the same way we want to care for ourselves and our loved ones. We are all neighbors, and in a way, all family.
Love and peace to you all!
WOOF ya later!
- bbw
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