Our sunny, 80 degrees has taken a turn for the autumnal...winds from the west at 25 mph, rainy, 37 degrees. It feels funny to have a sunburn from taking the girls swimming yesterday when it's this cold outside!
However, you won't hear a murmur from me because I am safe and comfortable in my house when the south east is without power, air conditioning, clean water, and for some of them, shelter. I felt terrible watching the news today, especially since there was still no way to get help to people in places like New Orleans. Our thoughts and prayers and offerings are with the people there.
Yesterday on Limbaugh, a caller asked why don't these people move--these disasters hit every year and they cost in insurance and gas and construction materials. Limbaugh argued there was nowhere safe to go, that there are disasters everywhere. I would beg to differ, as I have spent my whole life in the mountain west and never experienced even one disaster that compares to hurricane season in the SE. Oh, sure, Tucson had it "Floods of '83" and they are having them again, and Montana gets iced and snowed in and maybe we loose power for a few hours, but there is never the scale or the mortality of these floods, mudslides, tornadoes, fires, or hurricanes you see in the SE, midwest, and California.
I am not suggesting anyone move--there is agriculture and oil and history and family in the southeast--people need to live there to make life happen. I am just saying that the rocky mountains are the safest place BY FAR in the United States--we are lucky. And again, we wish the best for those suffering from the hurricane's impact.
7 comments:
AMEN TO THAT SISTER!!!
GOOD THING I WENT TO JUMP SCHOOL IN JULY AND NOT AUGUST.
MATT-
I second the amen! Jill
I want to move!!!! I love you J-me...Hey, go look at my blog...I linked you...go Lu lu go Lu lu! :)
We're safe in Texas (but burning hot in this heat!), a lot of Louisianans in our hotels in Lufkin. Been to New Orleans a couple times in the past, hard to believe its a "ghost town" now. Yeah Montana is a safe and BEAUTIFUL place, but anything can happen in these last days. But thinking about how many nails you and Rich put into that new house of yours, I believe it can withstand anything. Love ya guys!
Mike G.
MIKE & PAGE!!! Glad to hear from you and know you are still alive (if boiling....) Send us your address if you see this [jamiemelin@msn.com] so I can mail you the CD of photos I had promised Page. We sure miss you guys!
I think New Orleans in many ways was just a sitting duck, an accident waiting to happen. I am really sorry for the poor people who have been stranded, but I don't think the answer is as simple as just moving. A lot of poor people in the South stick close to their region because that is where their families are and to the poor, this is one of the few resources they have. My dad's folks are from south Alabama and although their area was not devastated as hard as the coast, they have been through their share of violent storms. My parents in Missoula don't have to deal with these types of storms, but have had friends who have had to evacuate because of fires. I have asthma and spent an entire week's vacation indoors in Missoula because of the thick smoke. Seems to me like every region has its risks, some are just more dramatic and deadly than others.
That's exactly what I was saying my post, Brooks. I don't think people should move, I was just saying that Rush was wrong about every place being dangerous. I mean OBVIOUSLY any coast is more dangerous that mountainous inland, but it's a matter of cost/benefit, jobs, family, etc. I was just saying that in my entire life, 2 bad things have happened to my people in Tucson: the floods of '83 and the fires of '03. Those arent' bad odds for 34 years. But we all gotta stay where home is, you know? People can't just up and move, for all the reasons you and I both listed.
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