It's these personal glimpses into Katrina
that ALMOST brings home the unthinkable, incomprehensible tragedy of that disaster.
Strangely, though, there were some people in New Orleanas who escaped nearly unscathed other than having to endure the storm. I have a friend who is an attorney and his house was not damaged at all, other than some trees and shrubs getting demolished, and all the food in his refrigerator was rotten since the power had been off for so long.
As soon as power and utilities were restored, he was able to return and nearly immediately resume his life. (He had gone to Texas to stay with relatives and was there about two months or so.) Of course, the first time he returned he did not know what to expect and can you imagine the sense of overwhelming relief to find that not only was his house still standing, it was nearly untouched.
His law office downtown was a different story -- it, along with all the other businesses in the building it was located, was a total loss. All the client files, records, computers, research materials, etc. were lost. Rebuilding his practice is proving to be an incredible and daunting challenge and more than once he has almost "lost it" when the task starts to overwhelm him.
But then there are so many, many more whose homes AND businesses or livelihoods were completely, totally destroyed. (See next post for another story.)
And for those people who lost everything, all the rest of us with a heart and with deep love for our fellow humans, do grieve and mourn.
If only the leader of this country and his cronies had a heart and deep love for their fellow humans, maybe the tragedy might not have been quite so bad. But I won't get into politics - since that topic, along with religion, only tends to get one into hot water!
Jason, even though I do not know you I do feel deeply for you and hope that time will continue to heal you and restore your sense of self and bring back some serenity and peace of mind. At least you ARE alive. That's the one gift that's greater than any other.
God bless,
"Maggie~Hamilton"