Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado, click
here to update your pages on AuthorsDen.
A Nation Grieves For The Stricken Southland (By Bill Sandusky) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Rated "G" by the Author.
Bill's thoughts on the situation at hand in the stricken south after a monster hurricane hit the coastlines of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.
I sit here, in front of the television, not believing what I am seeing, what I am hearing, on CNN as the news reports of more heartache, more heartbreak for an area of the country where Hurricane Katrina definitely left her mark. New Orleans, Louisiana, once a thriving, bustling city of activity, is now a shell of her former self, and now she lies flooded and in ruins; the scene is reminescient of the tsunami/earthquake that hit South Asia last December, and once again, the world mourns.
Biloxi and Gulfport in Mississippi also got hit very hard (at last count, over 112 people are confirmed dead in Biloxi and Gulfport), and like New Orleans, Louisiana, these once vibrant cities are decimated, forever changed by a killer storm's fury. Alabama and Florida got hit as well, but nothing to the extent that New Orleans, Louisiana, and Biloxi/Gulport, Mississippi, did.
Over 40,000 people had been rescued by the National Guard and by the Red Cross, but many more people stranded in their homes may be unaccounted for; so the death toll may very easily rise. This disaster is quickly becoming one of the worst in our nation's history (it is even surpassing the carnage of September 11, 2001, and also the tsunami disaster of last year in South Asia), and all people can do is wait (and hope) to hear from family or loved ones in the stricken areas.
The hurricane was bad enough, but then two levees broke in New Orleans, further aggravating the situation; while waters in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are receding, the waters in New Orleans, Louisiana, are only rising, and people are feeling powerless as to how to stop the problem and making the problem worse by the rising waters. There are many people still trapped in their homes, and people fear that by the time rescuers get to them, they may be too late, as the people will then be dead. There is also the danger of disease (typhoid, cholera, mosquito-borne diseases like malaria or yellow fever, etc.), gas leaks, toxins seeping into the putrid waters, and the danger of poisonous snakes, hungry alligators, and other critters lurking in the stagnant floodwaters. It is a desperate situation at best, and it is crucial that help be on the way to these stricken areas as soon as possible.
Besides the fear of death and disease, there is also the economic factors: gas, oil, and food prices will more than likely rise to record levels because of the destruction of a bustling area of the country, and everyone, even those not directly affected by the hurricane's wrath, will surely feel the pinch in their pockets or pocketbooks.
I wish I could do something to help those desperate people down there; but until I think of something, all I can do is sit, watch in horror, and pray my fears to God, in the hopes that He can do something to help those people. I wish I could go right down to that area, but I am not able to get around easily on crutches, especially if there are obstacles afoot, and I would only be a hindrance rather than a help; so maybe it is best that I DON'T go. Now, my wife, Louisiana, is thinking of going (in fact, she has been calling members of our church, in the hopes of getting a group together and go to help out in Louisiana); she should, as she is a nurse, and she can take care of people in the most need; but I really don't know if she should. I would be so worried about something happening to her if she DID go to Louisiana; but she can be a very big help to those stricken people down there. After all, my wife DID go to Sri Lanka to help out with medical and relief efforts there, and she was okay; maybe I need to stop worrying so darned much and think of all the good she could be doing for people who are most in need!
But until she DOES go after the floodwaters recede, I need to think of my priorities here, and think of all the good that my wife could be doing for those people down south in Louisiana! She would certainly be making a huge difference, and I need to think of that instead of worrying about stupid, inane things that I have absolutely no business worrying about!
Until she does make that decision to go, all I can do is pray for God to keep her safe from harm once she and her group DOES go down to Louisiana to help out with the relief efforts! I am just glad that she IS able to go and help; she IS a true angel in every sense of the word, and those people down there could use her medical knowledge and expertise!
God be with those poor people down there!! And God be with our nation as a whole as we try to deal with the storm's aftermath and the building disaster that is surely looming!
Well done Karen, its a sad thing what has happened but WE WILL SURVIVE and for every looter there is there are so many more HERO's! From the common folk that give and donate all they can to the doctors, emergency workers, red cross and members of that area that reach out their hands (empty of material wealth) and offer comfort to each other. They more than any other know what they have lost and suffer. My prayers go out to them all!
Once again you wrote with great empathy and your deep desire to be helpful came through loud and clear. Well done Karen! It's always hard to believe, but prayer truly is the best we can do for them,and if you can donate do so.
It should bring us together as a nation and use all our resources to help these stricken people. Prayer is needed and any money one can spare. Great compassionate write Karen on a National disaster.
Hurricane Katrina is our tsunami. If anything good comes of all this, it will be Americans reaching out to their brothers and sisters in peace and assistance. Maybe how we treat the poor and less fortunate will change. God have mercy...a powerful, compassionate, heartbreaking write; well done!
Spoken Word
This CD will touch the deepest inner part of your humanness and spirit, you will never be the same after listening to the depths of struggle, the reality of life, the touching voice of truth. It will shock you, move you to tears. It w
A poignant story about letting go of a narcissist in your life. Have you ever been attacked FULL force by a narcissist? It's the closest thing to being stabbed over and over in the back.
Suspenseful and close to home, Rain of Deception 2 will leave you in Tears. Much like Part 1, this will shocking sequel will keep you on the edge of your fingertips.
I sit here, in front of the television, not believing what I am seeing, what I am hearing, on CNN as the news reports of more heartache, more heartbreak for an area of the country where Hurricane Katrina definitely left her mark. New Orleans, Louisiana, once a thriving, bustling city of activity, is now a shell of her former self, and now she lies flooded and in ruins; the scene is reminescient of the tsunami/earthquake that hit South Asia last December, and once again, the world mourns.
