Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Life in a Post-Katrina World
Hi again. It is I. I know it's been a few months. For those of you who don't know, I am alive, I did make it. Most of you do, as I have either e-mailed or spoken to you...unless of course, you're a complete stranger.
Life as I know it has changed forever. Life as many people know it, no matter where you find yourself, may have changed forever. The reality in which I live in at this very moment consists of a few tons of cleaning and antiseptic supplies, shovels, rakes, heavy duty garbage bags, incessant heat and humidty, the loss of certain creature comforts, the loss of certain peace of mind, the loss of a home...figuratively, thank God. It consists of armed guardsmen at every corner, sporting a myriad of high powered assault weapons. It consists of friends and family being scattered around the country. It consists of layer upon layer of confusion and mass amounts of ambiguous emotion. It consists of a 3 hour struggle in traffic to travel five miles. It contains thousands of relief workers and volunteers handing out water, bags of ice, MRE's, used clothing and glimmers of hope.
In the two weeks since the only hometown I've ever known endured it's largest beating in history, life is trying it's best to return to some type of normalcy. In certain instances, it succeeds. In others, it fails miserably. The debris extraction has begun. It gives us a false sense of life as we used to know it...that is, until you travel the 10 feet beyond the clean up point and you are quickly reminded of exactly what did happen.
In the stale, dank air of Southern Mississippi...air that is perfumed with the scents of rotting food and decaying cadavers of various species, in the heat of a mid September afternoon, you struggle just to keep your head on your shoulders. You struggle to save yourself from the pain that festers within. You fight your hardest to help your neighbor. Every day, you face your most difficult day...but in the midst of it all, you find a way, even if it's just for a split second, to hang on to a sliver of hope that one day, you'll remember once again where it is you are, and maybe not what it used to be like, but what it will be like...what it could be like.
I pray that's enough to pull everyone through...I pray that's enough to just keep myself fighting the good fight. Send your prayers and support, America. The outpouring has been beyond belief and the love that we all have for those that are helping cannot be contained. So, say a prayer and crack a smile...trust me...we'll feel it.
Goodnight, my friends.
Hi again. It is I. I know it's been a few months. For those of you who don't know, I am alive, I did make it. Most of you do, as I have either e-mailed or spoken to you...unless of course, you're a complete stranger.
Life as I know it has changed forever. Life as many people know it, no matter where you find yourself, may have changed forever. The reality in which I live in at this very moment consists of a few tons of cleaning and antiseptic supplies, shovels, rakes, heavy duty garbage bags, incessant heat and humidty, the loss of certain creature comforts, the loss of certain peace of mind, the loss of a home...figuratively, thank God. It consists of armed guardsmen at every corner, sporting a myriad of high powered assault weapons. It consists of friends and family being scattered around the country. It consists of layer upon layer of confusion and mass amounts of ambiguous emotion. It consists of a 3 hour struggle in traffic to travel five miles. It contains thousands of relief workers and volunteers handing out water, bags of ice, MRE's, used clothing and glimmers of hope.
In the two weeks since the only hometown I've ever known endured it's largest beating in history, life is trying it's best to return to some type of normalcy. In certain instances, it succeeds. In others, it fails miserably. The debris extraction has begun. It gives us a false sense of life as we used to know it...that is, until you travel the 10 feet beyond the clean up point and you are quickly reminded of exactly what did happen.
In the stale, dank air of Southern Mississippi...air that is perfumed with the scents of rotting food and decaying cadavers of various species, in the heat of a mid September afternoon, you struggle just to keep your head on your shoulders. You struggle to save yourself from the pain that festers within. You fight your hardest to help your neighbor. Every day, you face your most difficult day...but in the midst of it all, you find a way, even if it's just for a split second, to hang on to a sliver of hope that one day, you'll remember once again where it is you are, and maybe not what it used to be like, but what it will be like...what it could be like.
I pray that's enough to pull everyone through...I pray that's enough to just keep myself fighting the good fight. Send your prayers and support, America. The outpouring has been beyond belief and the love that we all have for those that are helping cannot be contained. So, say a prayer and crack a smile...trust me...we'll feel it.
Goodnight, my friends.
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