Storm Sickness

I just returned from a meeting of ministers from our city. The meeting updated us on relief efforts in our Parish since hurricanes Gustave and Ike came calling. Over 1500 homes were lost in Cameron Parish alone. All the churches there, most of which had just been recently rebuilt, are ruined again. Many people have had enough of hurricanes and are not planning to return to Cameron Parish. Ever.

The city of Hackberry, also in Cameron Parish, has been hit hard with flooding. The same is true of Bridge City, Texas which was almost completely covered by storm surge. Neighboring Orange, TX has also suffered massive flooding.

In our area, places that no one remembers having ever flooding were under water after Ike hit. In fact, the storm surge from the massive hurricane arrived some 20+ hours before the winds and rain did.

All of this has left many people dazed. Some had flashbacks of the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, which hit three years ago. People evacuated for Gustave, but had no money to evacuate for Ike. They couldn't afford the gasoline, food, and other expenses of such a trip. Others were without work during the periods of these hurricanes making landfall, and thus were hit doubly hard.

Added to these facts is the perception that Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas didn't get hit very hard because the storm damage is not as visible. You can pass by houses and outwardly, they appear fine, but inside they have mold, water damage, bad smells, and who-knows-what kind of creatures inside.

All of these events and much more has brought our area a massive case of storm sickness. To be sure, many folks have not had damage, and have gone right on with their lives. This week, the Red Cross is shutting down its feeding operations after providing thousands of hot meals.

Folks are still living in motels. Some landlords have evicted their tenants in order to raise the rent and take in new tenants. Some people, barely scratched, are lining up for food stamps and other amenities believing that they are owed such. Some people have even taken to selling relief items to family members. Every church leader this afternoon had some sort of storm story to tell.

But despite the shenanigans, there remains great human need. Thousands of homes need to be "mudded out." It takes a couple of days for a crew of 4-5 people to do the work, meaning that a team sent to spend a week working will only be able to do a couple of homes per crew during that time.

In short, hurricane relief for Southwest Louisiana is going to be a long, long haul.

The ministers and church leaders discussed action plans, expressed their frustrations, swapped stories, and organized for the long haul today. Long after the last chain saw crew packs up their cases, there will be people attempting to get back on their feet.

Which leads me to the real point of this post. Not only is the toll great physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. Imagine having everything you own taken in one fell swoop. Imagine being left homeless, jobless, and having a family to feed and clothe. Imagine having to stand in long lines for supplies, and even face the humiliation of even having to ask for help. Imagine the helpless feeling when you don't know what you are going to do. Imagine doing that twice, three times, in three years.

If you can only imagine, you are getting to close to understanding the psyche of folks in our area. To be sure, many are doing just fine. But many others aren't. Many of them are proud and independent, never expecting, nor asking for help. But remember, fatigue makes cowards of us all, and we have had our share in this area of storm fatigue.

Our churches and people are working together to help as we can with the limited resources we have. I left the meeting thinking of the story of Jesus and crowds of people who had listened to his teaching and by the end of the day were hungry and tired. Jesus asked his disciples to go through the crowd to scare up some food. What they brought back was a few loaves and fishes. The comment made was to the effect, "what is so little among so much?"

We have a little. But we have a lot. We have strong people. We have a strong faith community. We have a sense of helping our neighbors and being independent at the same time.

And we have faith. Those loaves and fishes, given to Jesus, blessed and distributed, fed over 5000 people with plenty left over.

In ministering to the storm sickness of our area, I'm praying for another miracle just like that.

And What A Piece Of Home, Friend!!!

Things don't always translate well from one language to another. In fact the results can be both puzzling and hilarious.

The other day I was surfing the internet and found a website in Spanish. It was apparently a music site, for it mentions an old time rock act, T. Rex. For the fun of it, I decided to experiment with Google's translate feature and did so. If you can figure what in the name of Berlitz these words are intending to say, then "Mr., you're a better man I."

"I have a friend who says that he would like to be a woman, traveling in time to 1972 and brushing Marc Bolan. I do not get to both, which does not prevent me from recognizing the leader of T-Rex to a guy with real class, unique and unrepeatable.

"Electric warrior" is not only where the disc is "Get it on", on the other hand vast, incontestable and perfect cadence with his vicious elegant but that by itself would define the entire genre rock. In this record we also have the best of a type to which no one managed to imitate, nor his verses let alone his attitude. And what a piece of home, friend !!!!!

Needing A Raise

Dr. Hymie Gordon (Mayo Clinic): “By all criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception.”

Dr. Micheline Matthews-Roth (Harvard University Medical School): “It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception.”

Dr. Alfred Bongioanni (University of Pennsylvania): “I have learned from my earliest medical education that human life begins at the time of conception.”

Dr. Jerome LeJeune, “the Father of Modern Genetics” (University of Descartes, Paris): “To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion . . . it is plain experimental evidence.”

Rick Warren: At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?
Sen. Barack Obama: Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.

SurvivIke.

It was quite an anxious Friday and Saturday.

My family and I prepared and braced to greet the arrival of hurricane Ike. Our area called for a mandatory evacuation only for low lying and mobile home residents. I have bum foot after recent foot surgery. Yes, I know- I picked a real good time for this. We were under curfew since yesterday morning and it continues today. We are getting a bit stir crazy, though I must admit that I haven't been at home this many consecutive hours since I broke my hip.

Our power remained on until about 1 am. Nothing left to do but try to sleep and listen to radio reports of how others were weathering the storm. Those moments were a bit anxious and sleep did not come easy as I wondered what we were in for. Houston and Southeast Texas got it far worse than we did and are in our prayers.

Calcasieu Parish did get some wind and rain, but by far, flooding is the issue. Lake Charles mayor Randy Roach put it well when he was asked to compare hurricanes Rita and Ike. He said that while Rita was destructive with some flooding, Ike brought flooding with some destruction. Places have flooded where people don't remember ever seeing floods before. Many people have had to be evacuated today by emergency personnel. Because of the false alarm with hurricane Gustave, a lack of funds for many to evacuate again, and also due to the mandatory evacuation applying only to low lying areas and mobile homes, many chose to stay home. It was bad, but we have seen worse.

As the wind is dying down, and my power is restored, I can't express enough my gratitude for these blessings and pray for the folks so deeply impacted in Texas and others in the path of the storm.

An old friend, "Ol' Roy," (the man- not the dog) sent me this the other day. I enjoyed it so much I felt is was worth passing on.

He sent it with the disclaimer that he didn't write it- he was just the messenger. But you know, messengers don't have to tell everything they know!

I won't.

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like Christmas

Number Ten:
Decorating the house (with plywood).

Number Nine:
Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season.

Number Eight:
Last minute shopping in crowded stores.

Number Seven:
Regular TV shows pre-empted for 'Specials'.

Number Six:
Family coming to stay with you.

Number Five:
Family and friends from out of state calling you.

Number Four:
Buying food you don't normally buy . . . and in large quantities.

Number Three:
Days off from work.

Number Two:
Candles.

And the Number One reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas:
At some point you're probably going to have a tree in your house!

Gustave and Ike

I have to admit that in this case, I don't like Ike. Ike, the hurricane now in the Gulf of Mexico, that is.

Just last week, our family and many others from our entire region made hasty plans to evacuate in the face of the coming hurricane, Gustave. I spent the better part of two day boarding up the house, getting things out of the yard and into the garage, and otherwise tying down what was loose. Then there was gasoline and supplies to buy, as well as other preparations that needed to be made. Gustave just skirted our area but lowered the boom on Baton Rouge and points to the south and northwest.

It was no fun to feel the stress and uncertainty of exactly when and where the storm might strike. It was certainly no fun (and not cheap) to make an evacuation run to my son's house in the Dallas area. All along the route, traffic was heavy, gas stations were crowded, and fuel pumps often covered with a plastic bag to indicate that they were out of fuel. No vacation here.

The storm passed. We get the "all clear" word and join a convoy headed south. More stress and time. As we arrive home, exhausted, we hear another storm is brewing and possibly headed our way. Thoughts of moving to safer locale did enter my mind.

But then, another thought came. If I moved to California, I would have to contend with mudslides, wildfires, and earthquakes. Much of the middle Atlantic states this year faced tornadoes and floods. The northwest areas often deal with subzero cold temperatures and long winters. Most of these weather events give little time to prepare for their arrival.

We have been praying for the victims of Gustave and want to help, but with Ike's uncertainty that has been something on hold. Last night, our church hosted a prayer meeting for safety and protection from the storms. Now we are praying for the folks on the Texas coast who may have an unwanted arrival on their doorsteps by week's end.

You can run but you can't hide. The best thing I think you can say about hurricanes is at least there is some advance warning.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Many times I could use four arms!

Those Who Live In Glass Houses Shouldn't Put Lipstick On Pigs

Much has been made of Barack Obama's comment about putting lipstick on a pig. Some have contended that it is a veiled reference to McCain's vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin. Seen that way, his comments would be an insult.



But John McCain himself made a similar comment:



The point? I am a public speaker. At least three times a week, and often more, I address groups of people. That amounts to a whole lot of hot air. With the making of many words, there is bound to be a blooper or two. Add the element of fatigue and the stress of a presidential election, the viral effect of the internet where any potentially foolish statements made by a politician will take on a life of its own, it is a small wonder that there are not more misstatements being publicized. I'd hate to have some of my off the cuff remarks, feeble attempts at humor, or some of my pulpit bloopers make their appearance on the internet.

Many times, I've said things publicly that I wish I had not. Unlike blogging, when one is speaking, there is no chance to edit statements before the "return" button is pushed. Just a couple of weeks ago, our church held a luncheon welcoming teachers at the school across from our church back for the new school year. Being called on for a few "words of welcome" and to "say the blessin'" I did my best to make the teachers feel appreciated and loved by our church. I should have stopped there. But, no, a fleeting thought of humor entered my mind and exited my mouth. What I was attempting to do was relish aloud the opportunity to have these teachers listen to me for a change after all the years I had to listen to teachers. I had some sort of notion of now being control. I tried to state this fact with a smile and humor. Honestly, I can't recall my exact words, but instead of hoots of laughter all I got was stunned silence, and a feeling of my cheeks suddenly getting red.

So being quick on my feet, I said, "Let's ask the blessing on the food," and proceeded to do so, with high hopes that the food would remove the memory of a foolish preacher trying to make a joke that wasn't well thought out and certainly wasn't funny.

So instead of my disgust, Obama has my sympathy.