Well, as a recent evacuee of Hurricane Rita, I must say it was an extreme adventure to travel such a short distance in 13 hours on the road. And my story is very slight compared to my many friends that traveled 17 hours and as much as 47 hours just to get out of harm's way. Trapped on a highway crammed packed full of vehicles, I felt like we were about to embark on something of a very uncomfortable nature. It was hot, it was crowded, and no restrooms in sight. All I asked was for the "Porta-Potty" on highway 59 to be open. I mean, was that too much to ask??
My very brilliant husband, who by the way did not want to leave town, got us off of highway 59 and onto backroads leading to Crockett, TX with speeds up to 60 mph. Up to this point we had been traveling an average of 5 mph. From there we were in Lufkin, TX at our son's in-laws house in a matter of 35 minutes. Yes, Rita followed us there, but we survived and even without electricity, we were able to care for ourselves. So why didn't all of those people just spread out over the countryside to find their destination? I suppose because the news media was directing the million plus population of Harris, Galveston and surrounding counties to go up I-45 and hiway 59. What a gridlock of misery that was! But did they know the mind of Rita? She was all over the map and pushing through to her own path. It became a guessing game for the meterologists to predict her next move.
But now that Hurricane Rita has passed and some of us are all back in our places, I am listening to the CNN reports of "Who is to blame". What??? It was Hur-ri-cane. You know, an act of God. One of those things that us humans can't create or stop. So why all of this finger pointing?
It was overwhelming the number of human lives that had to be moved in such a short time. Of course, in the aftermath we know that too many people left one area in a narrow space of time and highways. But who knew it would be that way? I am so sad to see all of the polictical figures pointing fingers at others as if they could have somehow stopped those 150 mph winds and protected everyone in her path. Are they hallucinating?? Did they believe that another Noah would appear through FEMA and build an ark for all of those multitudes fleeing the rath of the winds? Did people really expect to see food, water, ice and electricty immediately after the winds ceased to blow? That is impractical and impossible.
There are too many power crazed, know-it-alls that can't stand the fact that they are NOT greater than GOD. They are just HUMANS. And as humans can not always protect everyone and provide them with everything they need. Death, starvation, homeless all because of hurricanes, typhoons, sunami and earthquakes...all acts of God that can not be stopped by man.
It is not a time to point fingers and try to find blame. It is a time to pull together. It is time to appreciate what has been done. FEMA paid people with credit cards to get things they needed. They are trying to do the best they can and now they are being blasted for not taking low bids on the purchases they made for those in need. Just today I heard that the Red Cross is under fire because they didn't get to a remote part of East Texas as quickly as they got to the Golden Triangle. The volunteer that responded to the accusations simply said they were trying to deliver supplies to another place and were trying to get to people as fast as they could. The Red Cross is run by volunteers. Vo-lun-teers!! Do you know what that means?? They-aren't-paid!! Give them a break! Too many people in need and not enough time and resources make people on the receiving end impatient. It is time to stop being selfish and mad. If you don't have what you need, stop just sitting there and leave. Forget your precious property and go somewhere else where agencies that are giving aide can find you.
I am sadden and terribly sorry for all of the people that lost homes and in some cases lives of loved ones. It is tragic that so many people have lost so much. However, when I am seeing black two-bladed helicopters traveling between Houston and destinations east of here, I know they are delivering supplies to the hurricane demolished areas. When I hear that FEMA is cutting 2000 dollar checks for those that are in need, I think that is great. When I watch the TV and see that the Red Cross has driven their trucks into a remote area and are passing out supplies, I say hooray. If it didn't come as quickly as the people wanted them, its a shame, but they came. Those people are finally getting help. Why not celebrate what they have? Why not pray for patience and healing?
Who is to blame for this tragic act of God? Maybe we are.
September 29, 2005
September 14, 2005
Where's the Blog?
Like our brain, if we don't use a blog, we lose it. Such was the case with ETXgirl when I tried to connect to my link for ML's Musings recently. I had not posted since September 5. I discovered that I was not to be found in the blog world. ETX girl appeared to be deceased. But never fear, she's alive and well, typing to you now from her Mac.
Since my school year has started back up, I don't seem to have the time to sit and record my many ramblings. And I do mean "ramblings"! My brain is like a flea market of odds and ends with more being brought in everyday for storage. Retreiving the information takes a little longer to find these days.
Last summer (so sad to use the word last) I started a project to organize and file our family photographs. I suppose it was a bit too ambigious and I quit before it was completed. So a perfectly usable bed remains covered by shoeboxes filled with a photo library of the Martin's memories in various stages of completion. It was a neat idea I had gotten from HGTV to organize your photos in purchased photo boxes, the only difference being I saved and painted shoeboxes. My intention was to label each box with a person's name or event which would house the photos that fit the appropriate title. The trouble with the idea was I had more categories than boxes with even more photographs in each cardboard storage container that I opened. It was too much and I needed a better method to complete my project. So I quit and took a trip to Michigan.
The photo marathon took so much effort and remains incomplete to this day largely due to the opening of school for the 2005-2006 year. Preparing a classroom to teach an elementary grade level is like no other preparation you will ever do with the exception of getting ready for a new baby. Much like readying a nursery, the classroom must be decorated and organized for optimum efficiency. Fresh, clean reams of handwriting paper and manilla drawing paper fill the trays. Posters with cute animals showing strategies for decoding a word, adorn the large sand colored walls. New pencils are sharpen and crayons unpacked while the adult caregiver reads, and plans for the "big day". It is enough to boggle the sharpest of craniums let alone my feeble brain.
With the blessed event only two weeks old and the offspring from so many community families filling the hallowed halls of the school; one huge "Katrina" rampaged across the Gulf Coast. Many of us fortunate enough to be out of the hurricane's path felt her effects just the same. We felt the pain as we were forced to witness the 24/7 news coverage of the massive storm destruction. I spent one weekend volunteering in a shelter where I helped to distribute basic toiletry needs to those left with only the clothes on their backs. Lesson plans for school took a backseat to the images and thoughts that engulfed my awaken consciousness. My addiction to the aftermath news coverage was undaunted.
It is now the fifth week of school and many evacuees of Katrina are finding apartments. Even though their need of help will be a fact for many months, getting back to some form of normality is the goal. With the goal for them set, I am faced with a backlog of paperwork on my teacher's desk. My students haven't really suffered from my leave of absent-mindedness. They have gotten all of the lessons of routine and schedules, homework and discipline they need. I have stayed at school a couple of days after the dismissal bell rang to rearrange student desks and copy worksheets for the next week. More than one night found me sitting at my dinning room table grading papers or writing lesson plans long after my husband went to bed.
So here I am semi-caught up and writing a blog once again. I can't promise that I will write with any regularity. Life is uncertain and my routine is anything but established. Keep checking in on my blog though, and I'll try to post as I am able. That is unless I find a better way to organize those darn photographs.
Since my school year has started back up, I don't seem to have the time to sit and record my many ramblings. And I do mean "ramblings"! My brain is like a flea market of odds and ends with more being brought in everyday for storage. Retreiving the information takes a little longer to find these days.
Last summer (so sad to use the word last) I started a project to organize and file our family photographs. I suppose it was a bit too ambigious and I quit before it was completed. So a perfectly usable bed remains covered by shoeboxes filled with a photo library of the Martin's memories in various stages of completion. It was a neat idea I had gotten from HGTV to organize your photos in purchased photo boxes, the only difference being I saved and painted shoeboxes. My intention was to label each box with a person's name or event which would house the photos that fit the appropriate title. The trouble with the idea was I had more categories than boxes with even more photographs in each cardboard storage container that I opened. It was too much and I needed a better method to complete my project. So I quit and took a trip to Michigan.
The photo marathon took so much effort and remains incomplete to this day largely due to the opening of school for the 2005-2006 year. Preparing a classroom to teach an elementary grade level is like no other preparation you will ever do with the exception of getting ready for a new baby. Much like readying a nursery, the classroom must be decorated and organized for optimum efficiency. Fresh, clean reams of handwriting paper and manilla drawing paper fill the trays. Posters with cute animals showing strategies for decoding a word, adorn the large sand colored walls. New pencils are sharpen and crayons unpacked while the adult caregiver reads, and plans for the "big day". It is enough to boggle the sharpest of craniums let alone my feeble brain.
With the blessed event only two weeks old and the offspring from so many community families filling the hallowed halls of the school; one huge "Katrina" rampaged across the Gulf Coast. Many of us fortunate enough to be out of the hurricane's path felt her effects just the same. We felt the pain as we were forced to witness the 24/7 news coverage of the massive storm destruction. I spent one weekend volunteering in a shelter where I helped to distribute basic toiletry needs to those left with only the clothes on their backs. Lesson plans for school took a backseat to the images and thoughts that engulfed my awaken consciousness. My addiction to the aftermath news coverage was undaunted.
It is now the fifth week of school and many evacuees of Katrina are finding apartments. Even though their need of help will be a fact for many months, getting back to some form of normality is the goal. With the goal for them set, I am faced with a backlog of paperwork on my teacher's desk. My students haven't really suffered from my leave of absent-mindedness. They have gotten all of the lessons of routine and schedules, homework and discipline they need. I have stayed at school a couple of days after the dismissal bell rang to rearrange student desks and copy worksheets for the next week. More than one night found me sitting at my dinning room table grading papers or writing lesson plans long after my husband went to bed.
So here I am semi-caught up and writing a blog once again. I can't promise that I will write with any regularity. Life is uncertain and my routine is anything but established. Keep checking in on my blog though, and I'll try to post as I am able. That is unless I find a better way to organize those darn photographs.
September 5, 2005
Hurricanes and Blessings
Nerves are frayed and people are exhausted in the aftermath of Katrina as we realize the magnitude of the past week's events. When I see the news clips exploited by the media of anguished individuals trapped between their former lives and their uncertain futures, I wince.
Any amount of time spent waiting for relief from such a horrific experience is too long. Any time one is stuck in the middle of what is happening, efforts to help from the outside can't be seen. I believe that anyone trapped on a rooftop or lying exhausted and scared in a putrid shelter would be feeling lost. My heart went out to all of the Superdome victims.
However, in the wake of Katrina, I see tremendous outpouring from caring people to right the situation. We can point fingers and gripe and try to place blame on whoever didn't make decisions fast enough. It is unfortunate, but even with our modern technological machines of prediction and the intelligences of individual people, the fact remains that not since the Storm of 1900 in Galveston, the American Gulf Coast has never experienced a storm of this quality and it was a lot more that any prediction imagined.
I'm not writing this for a stream of debate. I DO NOT want responses to blast Bush or any New Orleans official and their presumed negligence in this situation. The point of this blog is simply to say this:
Appreciate the huge efforts being made now by so many. The National Guard is doing what they can to protect and aide individuals in NO. The American Red Cross has set up more cots and dished out more food in the past 6 days than ever before. Countless man hours are being spent by volunteers to collect donations, serve the evacuees, and channel monetary funds to various relief efforts.
It is heartbreaking to watch the TV coverage. It is heartwarming to see a family reunion of a displaced child or other family member. I'm blown away by the babies that were born during this storm and brought to tears at stories of those lost. Watching a New Orleans police officer cry as he boarded the last helicopter out of the Superdome was enough to bring me to sobbing tears.
Today I am counting my blessings and praying to God for the citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as they begin the monumental task of starting over. It won't be easy and it will take years to recover. But God is good and they were saved for a reason. As a Christian I have an opportunity to serve God, to minister to the victims of this hurricane and to rise above where I have been.
May God Bless all involved.
Any amount of time spent waiting for relief from such a horrific experience is too long. Any time one is stuck in the middle of what is happening, efforts to help from the outside can't be seen. I believe that anyone trapped on a rooftop or lying exhausted and scared in a putrid shelter would be feeling lost. My heart went out to all of the Superdome victims.
However, in the wake of Katrina, I see tremendous outpouring from caring people to right the situation. We can point fingers and gripe and try to place blame on whoever didn't make decisions fast enough. It is unfortunate, but even with our modern technological machines of prediction and the intelligences of individual people, the fact remains that not since the Storm of 1900 in Galveston, the American Gulf Coast has never experienced a storm of this quality and it was a lot more that any prediction imagined.
I'm not writing this for a stream of debate. I DO NOT want responses to blast Bush or any New Orleans official and their presumed negligence in this situation. The point of this blog is simply to say this:
Appreciate the huge efforts being made now by so many. The National Guard is doing what they can to protect and aide individuals in NO. The American Red Cross has set up more cots and dished out more food in the past 6 days than ever before. Countless man hours are being spent by volunteers to collect donations, serve the evacuees, and channel monetary funds to various relief efforts.
It is heartbreaking to watch the TV coverage. It is heartwarming to see a family reunion of a displaced child or other family member. I'm blown away by the babies that were born during this storm and brought to tears at stories of those lost. Watching a New Orleans police officer cry as he boarded the last helicopter out of the Superdome was enough to bring me to sobbing tears.
Today I am counting my blessings and praying to God for the citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as they begin the monumental task of starting over. It won't be easy and it will take years to recover. But God is good and they were saved for a reason. As a Christian I have an opportunity to serve God, to minister to the victims of this hurricane and to rise above where I have been.
May God Bless all involved.
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