Katrina
These past few days have been an interesting period at our household. As you all know by now, the big news is Hurricane Katrina and the devastation she has caused on New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi and other surrounding areas. It sort of hit close to home for us because of one of our best friends, Jeremy. (I'm sure he won't mind me blogging about all this.) His parents live in Covington, LA, which is situated on the North Shore, outside of New Orleans. Coincidently, Jeremy flew into town to pay us a visit on Sunday night. So we were all together when everything unfolded Monday morning. We had our TV constantly switched on to CNN and our laptops ready to get onto the internet to find out about anything we could find. Jeremy's mom evacuated and went to stay with her relatives in Miss. His dad, however, stayed behind in New Orleans and dared the hurricane to take pictures for the newspaper. Yeah, we thought, CRAZY, but being a professional photographer that was what he had to do. So we were worried.For 3 days Jeremy had no contact whatsoever with his parents or even the relative whom his mom was staying with, for obvious reasons. He tried every way he could think of, but to no avail. We carried on normally with life, going out and doing fun activities (as we always do whenever Jeremy's in town), but I know in the back of each of our minds, we were constantly thinking about his parents. We had to presume that his mom was alright since she was in a much safer place when the hurricane came through. And the only way we knew that his dad was also okay was by merely seeing the pictures that he had taken being posted on the newspaper online.
Anyway, Jeremy finally got to talk to his mom last night. She was doing alright and was preparing to go back to their home in Covington today, to see what the damages are. Then this morning, we read something from his dad when he left a comment on Jeremy's blog, telling everyone that he's well, but is experiencing firsthand the awful aftermath of Katrina over there. I was personally relieved to know that Mr. Jackson is doing fine. I bet this was also a nice 'send off' for Jeremy as he departed Dallas this morning. He has been amazingly calm through this whole process. I know I personally would have drove myself insane just worrying if my parents were in the same situation.
Apart from all that, I still have many lingering thoughts and raw emotions--many of which similar to how I felt during the great Tsunami in Southeast Asia a few months ago. And a little while ago I thought I would blog about them, and about the various discussions Jeremy, Josue and I have had these past few days about Katrina. Perhaps this might not be such a good idea. We are each experiencing different emotions as we observe all the happenings, and of course, we are entitled to our own opinions, but considering the current situation and the environment in which it stands, I feel I personally should be more respectful especially of those directly affected by this tragedy.
I have things I want to say. I am both angry and sad, and my heart aches with all those who have to deal with the hurt, pain and loss for many months (or years) to come. New Orleans will never be the same again--not as wonderful as how I remember it to be from my previous 3 trips there. For now though, it's best to keep praying for God to bring comfort and relief to the victims, and to be ready to help monetarily or physically.
And praise God that the Jacksons are just fine. =)
:( Me too. And, I'm glad your friends are safe.
Posted by
Sarah |
Friday, September 02, 2005 1:00:00 PM