It's go time
Living in the Northeast for most of my life, I thought I had experienced some pretty severe weather. From the intense heat of summer to the blur of interminable blizzards, I have lived through some mighty impressive stuff. At least, so I thought. The minute I got to Houston I understood that I had never known what heat and humidity really was. Blizzards, well, are blizzards and will never be experienced in Houston. With blizzards, though, you end up maybe missing work, crashing your car, and losing power for a few days. Trivial impacts, nothing to be remembered as anything more than a slight inconvenience in the long run.
Welcome Hurricane Katrina. In New York we used to experience hurricanes, meaning that once they hit land somewhere around the Carolinas they eventually wandered up to the Northeast where they manifested themselves as a strong rain storm. Laughable, really. At least it is to the 25,000 people who will be coming to Houston over the next few days from New Orleans where everything they considered to be their lives is now under 20 feet of water. Another 25,000 will be making their way to Austin and it's anyone's guess where the others will go. The lucky ones escaped with the bare essentials: their lives and the lives of loved ones. The unlucky ones will be remembered as tragic casualties of a terrible event.
As a resident of Houston, I have the opportunity to volunteer my time to help out with all these displaced victims. I urge you to do what you can to help out. I know money is tight. It's always tight, especially with gas prices skyrocketing the way they are. But we have the luxury of buying gas, the luxury of driving, and the luxury of living normal lives. I know my readership is very modest, but I ask all of you to spread the word to your friends, post a request on your blogs, or do whatever it is you think will get people to make donations. From what I hear, monetary donations to the American Red Cross is really your best bet at this point.
Please, do what you can. Houston will be struggling for a while to support their new residents and we would all appreciate your help.
Welcome Hurricane Katrina. In New York we used to experience hurricanes, meaning that once they hit land somewhere around the Carolinas they eventually wandered up to the Northeast where they manifested themselves as a strong rain storm. Laughable, really. At least it is to the 25,000 people who will be coming to Houston over the next few days from New Orleans where everything they considered to be their lives is now under 20 feet of water. Another 25,000 will be making their way to Austin and it's anyone's guess where the others will go. The lucky ones escaped with the bare essentials: their lives and the lives of loved ones. The unlucky ones will be remembered as tragic casualties of a terrible event.
As a resident of Houston, I have the opportunity to volunteer my time to help out with all these displaced victims. I urge you to do what you can to help out. I know money is tight. It's always tight, especially with gas prices skyrocketing the way they are. But we have the luxury of buying gas, the luxury of driving, and the luxury of living normal lives. I know my readership is very modest, but I ask all of you to spread the word to your friends, post a request on your blogs, or do whatever it is you think will get people to make donations. From what I hear, monetary donations to the American Red Cross is really your best bet at this point.
Please, do what you can. Houston will be struggling for a while to support their new residents and we would all appreciate your help.
posted by The Rube at Thursday, September 01, 2005
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