The doctor finally did call me back yesterday just after I posted; he apologized for his secretary not understanding what I wanted the day before -- how hard is it to understand "Call me back"? -- but he reported no anomalies, no active h. pylori, just your basic GERD and esophagitis and all that good stuff. Take antacids, don't eat spicy foods. Yeah, got it.
I haven't written anything at all about what's going on down south because I think I cannot comprehend it. I am awed by what people can survive even when they have lost, seemingly, everything, and I am revolted by what looks to me like administrative obliviousness that contributed to this. Not that anyone could have predicted or certainly caused the storm, or even the failure of the Superdome as an effective shelter. But if it's true that money was diverted from storm-protecting New Orleans to the war, well. I also understand that there are 7000 - 8000 members of the Louisiana National Guard in Iraq. I'll bet every single one of them knows that his or her real mission is at home now, setting up field hospitals or flying rescue helicopters or patrolling those streets.
Also, and this is something I've been thinking about for a long time, what on earth is it that makes people live where they do? I know that a lot of it is just circumstance; I mean, what am I doing in New Jersey? But when I think about that -- what am I doing in New Jersey? -- and go beyond the fact that I grew up here and my family is here, I have to see that it is not, all things considered, a bad place to live. We have change of seasons, and although the temperature will go from nearly 0 in the dead of winter to nearly 100 at the worst of summer, it is not as bad as some people have it. Yes, it's humid, but it's not Florida, and I didn't find the dry heat in Colorado two summers ago all that pleasant, either. We get the occasional hurricane, but never a severe one, and in the winter we get the occasional blizzard/Nor'easter, some worse than others, but none of disaster proportions. Earthquakes are generally too mild to be felt at all, and do no damage. I have never seen a tornado. There are mountains and lakes and sea shore, all within an easy hour's drive from here. There are cities and untouched forests. We don't have a big problem with bugs like they do in the south, and animals like mountain lions and stuff don't roam the streets, as they do in some western areas. Okay, there's the occasional bear in towns not far from here.
Why do people live in places where disasters strike again and again? There are places in Florida that are hit by hurricanes repeatedly; why do they stay there? How many times do you need to see stuff destroyed in an earthquake or a giant fire to leave southern California? What on earth would make anyone look at a city below water level and surrounded by water and think "Hey, this looks like a good place to live!"
I know that these are simplifications, and that these places have other attractions. The people I know who live in Florida love it there and would never leave. When I saw southern California myself, I could not get over its beauty, and I almost understood wanting to take the risk just so you could live there on the good days. I know that the culture and life of New Orleans has been unique and charming and special.
I am also getting somewhat disgusted with the media coverage. I watched a lot the first day, but less the last two; even so, reading the stories on CNN.com is as bad. Depending on how they want to spin things at the moment, either everyone there has degenerated into sub-human beasts who are gleefully wading through diseased water hefting useless TV sets over their heads, or they are horribly broken over the recent or imminent deaths of loved ones or they are unexpectedly giving gasoline or food or emergency aid to strangers. Everything is portrayed in absolutes, even if each succeeding story is in conflict with all previous ones. Once again, the goal of the media is not to provide information or news, but to out-scoop every other media outlet so that they will get better ratings. It's that worst-side-of-humanity thing again, isn't it?
Nevertheless, the stories coming out of there are unbelievable. And, barring administrative shenanigans, it isn't anybody's fault; it defies the current American mindset that says everything must be somebody's fault, there must always be someone to pin the blame in. The blame here goes to the hurricane, and the time it takes to get everybody out of there with the resources that exist. The only thing the rest of us can do is send money, and I hope it helps. For some, for too many, it will be too late.
