Katrina on Pencil Stubs Online

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Katrina

Another day of wind and rain
Another cyclone headed my way
Another trip another ride
Another day someone died

Another day of trees on the ground
Another day of the lost and the found
Another push to the edge of the clouds
Another cry to this silent crowd

Another day of wind and rain
Another night in the eye of the hurricane
Another wish to make it out alive
Another day someone had to die

Reader Comments

Name: Entered by PSO Editor from Email from Cindy Hanson	Email: Unlisted
Comment: I saw 3 hurricanes last year but was spared the worst. NEW ORLEANS#comma# today-sept 02#comma# 2005 My saddest thought is that the people without transportation needed buses the day before the hurricane not days later. Being below sea level#comma# below the levees#comma# and near the Mississippi that might swell with water even after this storm went north- this sad event was bound to happen. Citizens should NOT have been housed in the superdome; that was super dumb. The mayor and others should have evacuated the poor the HIGHEST ground or away from the levees and its potential to cut off the city and AIDE. Once again#comma# we neglected out poorest souls as those with means fled. Where were the buses before the levees broke? We need to have people in charge that can think faster and with more progressive and cosmopolitan views of humanity. Where were the logical people when plans were made? Next#comma# I agree that we help many countries and mobilize quickly. HOWEVER#comma# it is easier to mobilize when your sea ports and roads out of the helpful country have NOT just been terrorized by nature. It is hard to get in when your own (the assisting country#apos#s) infrastructure is in shambles. We were the country demobilized by nature. Not to focus only on the flood#comma# there were bridges on main highways blown out; the ports were blocked#comma# and so on. Nearby resources did not exist so it is slower to mobilize when you (the helpful) country were the one hit by nature or any blow. As far as lessons#comma# the thing that screams out first is you cannot win against natural events. So- you should guard against them. For example#comma# why build below water when you know it wants to rush downhill? We need to rebuild New Orleans on the high ground but- maybe- the swamp needs to return to nature. Maybe#comma# we need to redevelop it smarter. Not with strong levees but without them letting nature design the land#apos#s use. Meanwhile#comma# we need to look nationwide and see if similar disasters are waiting. It is smarter to fund a move before the disaster than to move in and help and help after a disaster. We need to move towards more intelligent infrastructure that keeps in mind we are a part of nature not the dictator of it. Intelligence is the ability to shape our environment. Meanwhile#comma# higher intelligence is the ability to know a harsh environment should be avoided rather than shaped to our will. Now#comma# for the Karma or God#apos#s Will#comma# that good will prevail can only be expected when so many strikes seem against it. I for one hope that good in the end will prevail. The little acts of kindness will sustain the overall outcome in New Orleans and this nation. I for one do not think this is as much a punishment but another opportunity to think of others rather than the selfish self. We need to find it in us again and again to find the path that is more baneful of all. It is easy to say they had it coming but it is wiser to say BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD GO I. No one can sit in an ivory tower thinking it will never be them. The will of God is not the destruction but the lesson. Which comes first the human or the buck? I vote the human so I will send at least a buck to the disaster relief agencies and hope for the best! Last year this weekend#comma# my family was trapped inside by hurricane 2 (Frances). This year#comma# we gave up our plans to consume gas to save a gallon or two for those buses in New Orleans. It will be our second BORING Labor Day weekend in a row#comma# but it is- somehow- the best solution in response to such horrifying pictures of those struggling in New Orleans. What will you do? Cindy Hanson author at www.lulu.com/mchanson714 or www.lulu.com author Meyers-Hanson Cindy Hanson
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Katrina

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