Tom's Unedited Rants

It's so sad what's happened to those poor folks who didn't have the means to leave New Orleans last weekend. So many of them are dead, so many of them are still stuck in their homes waiting to be saved. And shockingly, so many of them are stubborn & won't leave! That's unbelievable. It amazes me to see video of these people sitting on the 2nd story of their homes, the 1st story filled with water to the ceiling, and they refuse to leave when rescue comes. Don't they understand how unsanitary it is?

My first impulse is to go down there to help. I wish I could be on a boat, going house to house to rescue people. I've had dreams about doing just that at night. I wish I could, but I can't because my family needs me here. It's too far away from Minnesota & I can't afford to skip work for a few weeks. Texans amaze me. When the chips are down, they always seem to be the ones who are quickest to help & do the most. They can be big talkers, but they sure can back it up. If we lived in Texas I'd definitely be helping too. It would be a lot closer & easier.

We gave money to the Red Cross, but it feels a bit inadequate. As time goes on we need to keep giving, keep helping these people. This is the first time a major American city has been destroyed since the Civil War. The scope of damage done by this hurricane is on a level not seen since Galveston, Texas in 1900. That hurricane killed over 8000 people. It looks like this will easily be the second deadliest hurricane ever to hit the USA, exceeding the 2500 plus who perished in south Florida in 1928. Most of the dead ended up that way simply because they were unable or unwilling to leave New Orleans. What I've seen on TV is unimaginable, but it's real. I can't turn it off.