Hurricane Ike

I can’t explain to you what has gone through my mind these past few days.  The sheer emotional roller coaster and memories of Hurricane Katrina have come flooding back (bad choice of words) since Hurricane Ike decided to hit Texas on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Oh how my heart goes out to all those people that have lost everything.  Oh how my blood boils when I think of all of our people left stranded for days on end with little or no relief from our own government but they are trying really hard to make sure the mistakes they made back then, aren’t made again.  I must commend them for seeing the error of their ways and honestly, I don’t think there really is a good way to prepare for the enormous amount of help people need after these types of storms.

How can anyone know where to be so that everyone can get to the fresh water, ice and food they are going to need.  They can’t exactly just drive in.  I guess they could ‘drop’ supplies in like they do for people stranded in mountainous territories but how do you know where you drop it is safe for the people to come to?  How do you know that most of the people will be able to make it to the supplies?

I’m so glad I’m not the one that has to figure that all out.  I’m just glad I left town and wish others would heed the warnings when a storm of this magnitude is headed their way.  You would think seeing what New Orleans went through would be enough to make them aware of the dangers of staying to protect your home.  You can’t protect it from winds and water like that but you can protect yourself and your family by leaving.  A life saved is worth far more than any worldly possession.  That’s just my opinion.

See ya later old friend

I hate good-by’s so I prefer to say “See ya later” to everyone but especially to old friends.  Unfortunately I have to say just that to an old friend.

He was called Poet by those who knew him and I remember very well the first time I saw him.  Honestly, my first thought was “What the heck is this walking in my door?”  He was with a very dear friend of mine and I wasn’t sure I liked her choice in men.  Well it didn’t matter if I liked him or not because she loved him and that meant I had to accept him or lose my friend.  That was never going to happen so I accepted him, tattoos and all.

Acceptance didn’t come easy at first but once I finally got to know him, I hated him as much as I liked him.  He was just that kind of guy.  A scooter tramp all the way with a rat bike, top hat and cane.  That was Poet.  And what poems he could write!!!  They were the type that made you go “Did that come out of him?”  Well yes they did.

Unfortunately we lost him yesterday after many years of pain for him.  He’s riding the wind now with his hair blowing and his old rat bike screaming like an eagle flying high.  See ya later Poet.  Catch ya on the other side.  Don’t worry about your ol’ lady.  I’ll take care of her which you knew I would do, didn’t you?  Shiny up Poet!!! 

65 year old Triathlete dies

Did you hear about the 65 year old Triathlete that died from an injury sustained in a race?  She was a twin and her sister also is a Triathlete.  She had a wreck on her bicycle during a race and the result was she break her neck.

I think it’s wonderful that these ladies remained so active but what a loss to her twin.  It was not only a terrible loss to her twin, this is a great loss to our country and our generation.  God bless her family.

Brea

I decided I needed a new companion.  My old one passed away a couple years ago and I felt that I had mourned long enough over him so I needed to find a new one to take his place.  Then I saw her.  She made me feel that no matter what came my way, she would be there with nothing but pure joy in her heart and eyes and would be by my side through thick and thin with all the love she had inside that big heart of hers just for me.

She is a West Highland White Terrier or ‘Westie’ for short.  What did you think I was talking about?  Samson, my trusted and loyal German Shepherd Dog passed away a couple years ago and I swore I wouldn’t ever have another dog.  Well the moment I saw that adorable white bundle of fur with all that energy and love in her eyes, I had to have her and I named her Brea.  Nothing like having a baby or a puppy in the house.

Congress names names

How in the world did I miss this back in July?  I must have been really busy not to catch this but on July 9th the Congressional Democrats finally named names in the investigation of all those formaldehyde contaminated FEMA trailers they gave to Katrina and Rita survivors.  It’s about time Congress named names in something that has affected so many who were victims anyway and then victimized again by what appeared to be our own government.

These individuals should be sentenced to live in the same conditions they placed our good people in by having to move them into these trailors and forcing them to live there as long as the longest person had to stay in one of them.  An eye for an eye if you ask me.  Shame on them!!!!!

Gulf Stream Coach, Pilgrim International, Keystone RV and Forest River Inc. officials should all have to pay for any and all medical expenses for everyone that lived in one of their trailers.  These companies made a lot of money from the government and I hold them responsible for the whole situation as should the government but that my friends, is totally my opinion and mine alone.  Well that is unless some of you agree with me on this one.

Katrina Doctor cleared

I was just heart sick when I heard that Dr. Anna Pou had been charged with manslaughter.  This woman went above and beyond to keep her patients safe and to continue to care for them as did every single employee at the hospital.  They had to work under horrendous conditions and did what they could and had to do for these poor patients only to be accused of terrible wrong doing.

So where is the blame for the government officials that allowed these patients to remain in the hospital in the first place.  Our government mishandled most everything with Katrina.  Yet we are ready, willing, and able to send help to other countries that suffer from terrible tragedies similar to that of Katrina?  What is wrong with this picture?  We are still too busy trying to take care of the world at our own peoples expense.

 

Myanmar

Myanmar was hit by a horrific cyclone named Nargis, which is the equivalent to our hurricanes.  The loss of life was staggering.  An estimated 84,530 people died and there are over 53,856 still missing.  This is a poor country anyway and then something like this happens and the resources are not there to help these poor victims.  According to the United Nations, it will cost approximately a billion US dollars over the next three years for aide and to rebuild Myanmar.

We thought it was bad here when Katrina and Rita hit, well at least we did have someone come to help even if it wasn’t as fast as we thought it should.  These poor people have very little to begin with and very little that is available to help them.  I’m sure the world will rally around to help.  My heart goes out to them as I know in a very small way the devastation they feel.  God bless them.

Recycling

I told you I was big on recycling.  I was on the computer last night and found ‘The ultimate recycling guide’ on green.msn.com.  I found the whole article very interesting and enlightening.  People know all about recycling plastic, glass, and paper but there are far more recyclable items than I even realized.  I told you about recycling old cell phones, remember?  Well you should also recycle most any type of electronics including your TV’s because these items contain lead and mercury.  It is a great article and certainly opened my eyes.  Maybe you would find it interesting too.  Heck, you might even learn something too.

Strange ‘Mother’

I have been trying to avoid voicing my opinion on this so called ‘Man’ that gave birth.  This is not a man, this is a very confused individual.  Imagine how this poor little girl that ‘he’ gave birth to is going to react when she finds out her ‘Daddy’ gave birth to her.  Imagine her on the play ground and the other children learning who she is and who her ‘Mother/Father’ is.  This is a recipe for disaster if you ask me but no one really did.  Well no one other than every single person that steps foot into my establishment.  I just thing if this person wanted to be a man so bad, then SHE would have done away with everything that made her a woman but HE didn’t do that.  It needs to be on Dr. Phil because he’ll straighten it all out. 

Water everywhere

The water damage was horrific here.  Deadly mold overtook most everything.  It was not something that could be easily fixed by just ordinary people.  I had to hire professionals to clean up the water damage and restore my building so we could return to a safe place.  This took a long time but was worth every dime.  I must make sure everyone is taken care of properly.