Well - it's been a bit since I last posted in this blog. Just for info ... I was one of the thousands of Gulf Coast residents hit pretty hard by Hurricane Katrina - and I've been busy with rebuilding. I'm pretty much done with that now - and have a lot more time on my hands! So hopefully I can get this blog up and running again - especially seeing as how there is so much liberal foolishness in the air! I certainly can't use "lack of material" as an excuse to NOT post !!!
But ... back to the topic that derailed this blog ... Hurricane Katrina.
Now that my life is back to normal ... it's almost a bitter-sweet thing. For all the horror of that storm - and for all the harm it caused me and my fellow residents on the Gulf Coast, it did do some good.
1. It brought me and my neighbors closer together as we helped each other through a difficult time. My neighbors are no longer strangers to me. Shame on me for having to have the storm force me to learn about them. How about you? Do you know YOUR neighbors? Or, are you just waiting for a storm to force you to get to know them??
2. It "re-taught" me self-reliance. My Dad taught me not to take things for granted. He told me that all this civilization stuff could go away in a heartbeat - and he taught me that, if that ever happened, I'd have to rely only on my smarts and physical condition to get things done. He was right. In the months immediately after Katrina, I was required to perform some of the most dirty jobs you could imagine in literally scortching temperatures. I had to function up to 18 hours per day like that - and then sleep a few hours in equally miserable conditions. I learned how to hang and float "sheet rock". I learned how to repair home electrical systems. How to repair Air Conditioning systems. I learned how to lay tile, install trim, hang doors, hang cabinets. I learned how to repair washers, dryers, diswashers, refrigerators. I had to learn these things in order to quickly get my family back into a semi-normal routine.
My Dad had always taught me to never rely on the government - and my Grandfather, who lived through the depression used to say ... "If your only hope left is the Government - you've truely lost the war you were fighting". They were both right. I have some neighbors who really didn't come back to the mess the storm created - and they won't be back until the Government fixes all their problems for them. Needless to say - I don't think I will see these neighbors for a very long time - if ever. Clearly, the people who rolled up their sleeves and went to to work after the storm faired a lot better than those who sat around complaining. Contrast the Mississippi Gulf Coast with Urban New Orleans and you'll see what I mean here. Now, some might say that I've just made a "racist" observation. Hehe ... no I haven't. I live in an area of Slidell, LA that is 80% African-American. They rolled up their sleeves too. No - I didn't make a "racist" remark - I made a "cultural" observation.
3. The storm taught me that the corrupt politicians of Louisiana may have lent a certain "cultural charm" to Louisiana politics in the past - but we can't afford that in the future. We simply have to get these guys and gals out of office. That includes impotent one's like Governor Kathleen Blanco. Her "Blame Bush" rhetoric for all our woes did absolutely nothing to help a single person down here. VOTE BOBBY JINDALL next election!
I could go on and on with the "good" lessons taught by Hurricane Katrina - but I'll stop there. I wouldn't "wish" a calamity like Katrina on anyone - it was tough. I wouldn't want to go through it again but ... aren't the tough times equally important as far as "molding" one's character and teaching them what is really important in life?? I believe they are - and for that, I have that terrible, massive storm named Katrina to thank.
But ... back to the topic that derailed this blog ... Hurricane Katrina.
Now that my life is back to normal ... it's almost a bitter-sweet thing. For all the horror of that storm - and for all the harm it caused me and my fellow residents on the Gulf Coast, it did do some good.
1. It brought me and my neighbors closer together as we helped each other through a difficult time. My neighbors are no longer strangers to me. Shame on me for having to have the storm force me to learn about them. How about you? Do you know YOUR neighbors? Or, are you just waiting for a storm to force you to get to know them??
2. It "re-taught" me self-reliance. My Dad taught me not to take things for granted. He told me that all this civilization stuff could go away in a heartbeat - and he taught me that, if that ever happened, I'd have to rely only on my smarts and physical condition to get things done. He was right. In the months immediately after Katrina, I was required to perform some of the most dirty jobs you could imagine in literally scortching temperatures. I had to function up to 18 hours per day like that - and then sleep a few hours in equally miserable conditions. I learned how to hang and float "sheet rock". I learned how to repair home electrical systems. How to repair Air Conditioning systems. I learned how to lay tile, install trim, hang doors, hang cabinets. I learned how to repair washers, dryers, diswashers, refrigerators. I had to learn these things in order to quickly get my family back into a semi-normal routine.
My Dad had always taught me to never rely on the government - and my Grandfather, who lived through the depression used to say ... "If your only hope left is the Government - you've truely lost the war you were fighting". They were both right. I have some neighbors who really didn't come back to the mess the storm created - and they won't be back until the Government fixes all their problems for them. Needless to say - I don't think I will see these neighbors for a very long time - if ever. Clearly, the people who rolled up their sleeves and went to to work after the storm faired a lot better than those who sat around complaining. Contrast the Mississippi Gulf Coast with Urban New Orleans and you'll see what I mean here. Now, some might say that I've just made a "racist" observation. Hehe ... no I haven't. I live in an area of Slidell, LA that is 80% African-American. They rolled up their sleeves too. No - I didn't make a "racist" remark - I made a "cultural" observation.
3. The storm taught me that the corrupt politicians of Louisiana may have lent a certain "cultural charm" to Louisiana politics in the past - but we can't afford that in the future. We simply have to get these guys and gals out of office. That includes impotent one's like Governor Kathleen Blanco. Her "Blame Bush" rhetoric for all our woes did absolutely nothing to help a single person down here. VOTE BOBBY JINDALL next election!
I could go on and on with the "good" lessons taught by Hurricane Katrina - but I'll stop there. I wouldn't "wish" a calamity like Katrina on anyone - it was tough. I wouldn't want to go through it again but ... aren't the tough times equally important as far as "molding" one's character and teaching them what is really important in life?? I believe they are - and for that, I have that terrible, massive storm named Katrina to thank.
1 comment:
Good article. Well written G-man
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