I received a letter this morning from an old family friend who lives near Spokane. She's Native American and Rodeo. Her husband's a horse trainer. The family members, including two kids, have competed around the country on the rodeo circuit. I'm waiting to hear if she'll allow me to post her rather long letter on my blog today. It's worth the read.
I read several paragraphs aloud to Bill this morning, who, of course, with his Louisiana roots, has been paying close attention to news of the hurricane aftermath. This woman sat down at her computer last night after watching hours and hours of news coverage and her wisdom flowed. My only comment in responding to her was that her thoughts were powerful and offered much to chew upon.
This whole situation offers all Americans much to chew upon as we approach this holiday weekend where folks usually take the last trip of the summer or enjoy such events as pigging out in the park before entering the September routine of weekend sporting events, school-related activities and new television shows. We start spending more time inside, enjoying our comforts. We have homes.
Somehow, after reading news accounts in the Spokesman and watching my share of television coverage, events like pigging out in the park do seem sinful on this Friday morning, especially after reading Dee's letter. One thought that comes to mind, as it has often in my life, is the fate we're dealt by the geographical setting and the family into which we're born or reared.
There but for the grace of God go I. What a statement at a time like this! I was fortunate to have spent my life in this area on a farm with a stable but modest upbringing. Throughout my life, there was never a doubt that I would graduate from high school and earn a college degree. That was a given. From that point, I've pretty much lived the American dream of the job, the cars, the husband, the kids, the happy retirement on my little farm here in North Sandpoint.
I complain a lot----about the growth infringing on my peace and solitude, the changes in our beautiful little community, the way some people act, rainy, gray weather, the incidental items around this farm that need tending to yet never seem to get done. And when I complain, often bitterly, those items rank as major problems in my day.
All things are relative, they say. Well, this morning all those crazy little problems that so often feed my Irish temper seem grossly insignificant in comparison to what is happening in another part of our great nation where other people were dealt a rather cruel hand of fate----ranging from where they happened to born, how they've been educated, and what Mother Nature has dealt them because of their geographic location.
I can't help but feel guilty about what's bugging me in comparison to what's bugging them and what will continue to bug them because of the events associated with Hurricane Katrina. Right now, it seems, the whole scenario opens up a huge distasteful container of food for thought---the storm's initial wrath and destruction, the subsequent human and ecological tragedies, the hideous scenes of desperate people resorting to desperate measures, the apparent slow response of governmental aid, the ominous signs of a beautiful city's total destruction, the world's sudden exposure to the ugly side of that great city.
The answers to any of this catastrophe don't seem easy. The lessons of this disaster will be in our face for decades. Let's hope that, with time, the story turns from one of deep sorrow and sour thoughts to another inspiring chapter of humanity at its best where blame is cast aside and collaboration toward solving the problems takes the lead. I have yet to decide what my gesture of helping will be. I'm watching and taking my time because I want my money to go to the best possible situation. I would love to be there to help personally in some way, but other responsibilities keep me here.
I do know one thing for sure: the next time I complain about an incidental conflict that seems to be disordering my life, I'll think twice before complaining too loud. I'll also take time to think of how fortunate I am because of what fate has handed me.
Hurricane Katrina
by Dee Biegler of Spokane, Washington
Through my emails I have discovered those that only get a snippet of the real news in this country, have a very distorted view of what is happening in this terrible tragedy around the Gulf region of the USA. Tonite I received a email that set my blood boiling, I discovered that some people only see the picture of the most horrendous disaster to hit this country as: Black people looting stores
Below is my take on the situation I have sent this back to those that can not see past the color of our American citizens in need; now you, my friends and family, can read my stand on this situation.
I have been listening to all the news coverage, from CNN - FOX - MSNBC - C-Span, our government screwed up big time on this one. Here is this near-uneducated Indian woman here in Spokane, Wa. saying from nearly the first few hours of the storm hitting the gulf, "Where is the Federal Government's help there?
If you remember I told you the very first night, I knew that storm had done more damage than the news people were trying to convey. I have spent a lot of time in that part of the world it was not hard for me to realize things were way worse than the news people trying to report on a part of the country they obviously had no knowledge of. So much for our Homeland Security, if we were to be hit right now with a terrorist attack, our country would go right down the tube.
I'm totally sick of the politicians saying what they are going to do, four days after this monumental disaster, there has been very little seen of the Fed. gov. doing much of anything there, both Leaders of FEMA & Homeland Security, have said "well we were not prepared for this" Hello, but they expected thousands of poor people, to be prepared? When even wealthy tourists that were in New Orleans could not get out of there. I have watched all these channels nearly 24 hours a day off and on, I have to wonder just what kind of disaster our Homeland Security, or FEMA has had plans for? This was a disaster that the Fed. government through several administrations, has known would happen, with those leveys not holding. The state of Louisiana, asked for Fed. help years ago to rebuild those dikes/leveys like the ones that are in Holland that hold back the Black sea, those have like gates one after another to protect the inland population. Our federal government chose to not help the state of Louisiana put in these dikes, even though a bulk of this country's resources depend on those ports around New Orleans.
I realize non gambling person would not want to live on the gulf. However, there are entire cultures of people that have lived in that part of the US for 100's of years, French, Cajuns, Blacks, Creoles if these people are dumped in other parts of the US they will starve to death. So many have never been out of their own counties, let alone out of that part of the country, they know no other life. The Cajuns living in those Bayous, one can hardly understand their language. While rodeoing in that part of the country, I have been back in those Bayous, have met so many wonderful people of every one of these cultures, simple people most are not even aware there is another part of the US. They are hard working, religious, fun loving cultures many have survived on so much less than main stream Americans. I'm totally appalled our government was so busy at their cocktails parties or wherever, to not even turn on a TV set to witness the horror these people have gone through in the past four days. Sending 5,000 National Guard into those three states, is totally ridiculous trying to help a population of 1 and one half million people. They should have a recollection of Custer with his 7th Calvary regiment, trying to control 10,000 bow n arrows with less than 500 troupes. Hello.
Those thousands of people trying to stay alive on those 10 mile sections of bridge highways all this week, could not get to shelters, unless they were to swim with tiny babies & old people to the Stadium, that was over populated already. I too have witnessed a lot of looting, some I am sure is total thievery, that is committed everyday every where however, there is also such a thing as "Survival Skills" think about it, if you had tiny children with nothing to eat, babies with out diapers, no water, in 95 degree heat + humidity would you not do anything to help your children survive? I know you would. I doubt you would bother taking a TV set or electronic equipment, but I am assured the bulk of those people that are now refugees in their own country, are good Americans. The only thing that is going to pull this thing off with out another depression disaster of some kind is another FDR plan, there are millions of people now with out jobs, while our gov. continues to allow our borders to be flooded with with non- American citizens that are filling any jobs that our tax paying Americans are going to need. Those states taking in the influx of American refugees are not going to be able to support these people all that long, someone with brain power better than mine will need to have a educated plan to keep all of them and ourselves out of a real bind here. I have not heard one politician as of yet, that has sounded like they have a clue the magnitude of this disaster, even Bush in his inarticulate way, used the words, like "this is a real problem" that's an understatement for sure. This is the largest disaster to hit this continent since 1905 San Francisco Fire/earthquake. At least Bush's brother was right out there immediately after the hurricanes in Florida with his shirt sleeves up. All the news channels now are on the same page on this one, the state of Louisiana's politicians promptly left New Orleans and simply could not get it together from their aloft positions, or convey to the Fed. Gov. somehow the enormity of this disaster.
There were many people that did not leave for all kinds of reasons, old people simply do not move....others had no way to get out, hospitals were not evacuated, rest homes, for one thing there was no way they could have evacuated 500,000 people out of that city if they had all tried to get out in the 24 hours. Can you imagine, telling the people of New York to get out in 24 hours? even though its much larger, there are those that could not get out, its a fact of life. I still believe as the wealthiest country on earth its out cross to bear, those that are less fortunate than we are, either by lack of education, cultural inadequacies, ignorance, whatever we should take care of our own first. Price gouging by business's started in New Orleans before the hurricane even hit, tourists from all over the world could not get out of New Orleans, even when a hotel paid a bus company $25,000. to take some out.
Americans in many parts of the country have never seen that many blacks during their entire life time as those they have seen on TV of late in New Orleans, many of our citizens feel all blacks are on welfare. Many of those black people work jobs that pay not much of anything, so white upper class citizens can eat their fancy Shrimp dinners, harvested in that part of the country, gas up their SUV's and other low paying jobs that still provide for the betterment of those that have. I'm sounding pretty liberal right at the moment, however I simply do not think because someone is poor in this country, they do not have the same rights that others do. Our country has touted itself as Aid to the world, at this moment I am pretty ashamed of our government's lack of haste getting into that disaster zone to help our own people. Where are those damn movie stars now with their big mouths I have to wonder, its only by the grace of God some of them were not laying on the beach for that Tsunami overseas.
One friend of mine said that it was amazing how fast news of the West was lost as soon as something happened in the East. quote from one email I got.
I don't think I would like that friend of yours, she probably wanted to hear about some movie stars latest botox treatment or who ran off with who's husband in moviedom. That's part of the problem with Americans today, nothing is real to them, some people might have missed their soap operas or reality shows, while a history making event that could for all likelyhood have a major impact on their own life. You know Harry Truman I believe it was said, a good elected official or president, can't remember exactly how it was worded, "should have a good knowledge of history" at this moment I am wondering if there is more than a handful of those in Washington, that do have a brief knowledge of the history of New Orleans. The scientists for years have warned our government about this disaster, no one paid a bit of attention it appears Rep or Dem.
There is a Pulitzer Prize winning photo in our, Spokesman Review newspaper today, I am sure, taken in New Orleans of a woman with a baby, it should tear at the heart strings of every man & woman that has ever had a child. I have a notion to scan it, whom ever took it, captured a scene portraying thousands of women there these past few days in New Orleans. There is not a name on the photo, only its a Associated Press photo.
Each night when I go to bed, and try to remove the visual scenes I have witnessed on TV of the sadness in the gulf region. I think back about the darling little black boys that would show up at the big indoor arena rodeos in Louisiana & Mississippi, years ago, while we rodeo'd in those states. They didn't have the money to get into the rodeo, most didn't have shoes on their feet, but they had the biggest white toothed smiles that won the hearts of every rodeo cowboy in the parking lot, getting ready, with their rodeo gear, to enter the building. On the first night of a rodeo performance, a few, little black boys, would show up and hang around asking the cowboys all kinds of questions, about their horse? did they live out west? how much did it cost to get into the rodeo? before long, a cowboy would show up that was from somewhere in the southern region of the US. This cowboy, would know these little boys would perform a sort of cultural dance, custom that most cowboys & cowgirls had never seen, the "Hand Jive". I was one of those cowgirls that had never seen this rapid moving hand & feet gyration, only heard the words in a old rock n roll song, each night thereafter, more would show up to entertain us. To this day, this happy image has never left my memory, of those cute kids, smiling through shiny white teeth, performing for all the rodeo cowboys & cowgirls. I have never seen the "hand jive" performed since, odd since its a unique form of cultural entertainment.
You bet! those little performing kids got into the rodeo each night, by one way or another, those grateful & tickled cowboys, would not have climbed on their rodeo stock one night, leaving those kids out in the parking lot, not able to witness a real rodeo...some got tickets, others got passes, some cowboys would sneak others into the building however they could. (this may have been thievery too, but its a colorful happy memory I shall never forget.
Tonite when I go to bed, I am praying for those cute little boys in the Gulf region of the USA, I'm sure they are now grown men, with cute little boys of their own.
DEE
No comments:
Post a Comment