Sep 01 2008
Pausing for Hurricane Gustav
I do hope you will all forgive me for taking a break today from posting about Frugal Living in order to talk about what I believe to be a more pressing issue - the devastation of Hurricane Gustav.
About two months ago I was blessed to have the opportunity to visit New Orleans. Because of a novel I am writing I asked to be escorted on a short tour of the Lower Ninth Ward but I was in no way prepared for what I would see there.
It was just one house. One house with the spray painted reminder of three years before and the utter devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That one house had me in tears though.
When I saw that simple phrase “1 Dog Saved”, my eyes welled up with the memories of the hundreds upon hundreds of faces I saw firsthand at the Red Cross shelter in Birmingha. I remembered the unconsolable child who was whimpering into her mother’s chest that she wanted her dog Amber. In the chaos that was three years ago, many people were forced to leave their beloved pets behind to fend for themselves.
As evidenced by the photo above though, some of those precious animals were saved from certain death. 1 Dog Saved. Thank God for 1 Dog Saved.
I know I am probably sounding sentimental and overly emotional, but the gravity of the destruction that was not even recovered from two months ago did not escape my thought when I heard that Gustav was making his way toward the same destination. The homes that were abandoned, those who were struggling to rebuild amidst the greatest of odds only to have to evacuate again so soon…
My heart breaks for those people, but I was heartened to learn that plans were in place to enable evacuees to take their pets out of harms way this time. 2 Million souls fled the New Orleans area this time, many of them taking along their precious pets so that another disaster relief worker may not have to have his heart broken by that little girl missing her dog.
1 Dog Saved. Indeed.
Let’s be thankful today for the blessings we have and keep those who are less fortunate in the forefront of our thoughts and prayers.
