Katrina

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This is a tough one. No doubt you have all read about the distruction that has taken place in my home town. I'm sort of glad I don't have any extra pictures on this one. Most importantly, my family is safe and out of New Orleans. My parents are in Savannah, GA staying with my father's sister and their mother. My Uncle Charlie and Aunt Jill are in Baton Rouge with their kids and Charlie's mother and are staying with friends there. Luckily, our homes were spared by the hurricane and it does not appear that there was any flooding in our neighborhoods.

This event has created some unimaginable living environments for my family. While there is a possibility and likelihood of them returning to New Orleans later this year, they have effectively started from scratch in Savannah. My dad is looking for a new job, and they have only the clothes that they brought with them. Luckily, they have a place to stay and my mother can continue to do her job remotely. Can you imagine your entire life being pulled out from under you? Thankfully, they have family to support them, good educations and good work experience. My cousins are attending public schools in Baton Rouge and my uncle is applying for jobs there. What do you do about car payments? house payments? how do you get $ for food or clothes? It's just a crazy situation.

Beyond just the living environment, the political and social environment in New Orleans has disgusted me. Since I left New Orleans 10 years ago, I have never planned on moving back. I have never been able to put my finger on why, but the social and political response to an event like this definitely highlights some of the major issues I have with the city. Socially speaking, the looting, and the shootings have made me so angry. For me, I can't think of much worse than taking advantage of other people's dire situations. I just know that there were tons of people who couldn't wait for the city to be evacuated so they could start the looting. Who are these people and how did they get this way? I have no sympathy for them and I hope they are all captured and dealt with severely. There is a large population in New Orleans that is unmotivated, uneducated and uninterested in contributing to the improvement of their community, and I hate that about the people there.

Then you get into the politics. I have known since I was a young boy that New Orleans is a corrupt city. It's run by politicians who are unqualified and people who are unmotivated to do anything. Sadly, this has no resulted in the loss of many people's lives. I can't get out of my mind the video clip I saw of new orleans police, in uniform, looting at Walmart.

Maybe this will give New Orleans a chance to rebuild from scratch. I certainly hope so because the good parts about that city are amazing. The culture, the music, the art and the food are unbeatable in this world. It's too bad they have been surrounded by the mess of people who inhabit most of the city.

The only thing I can be thankful for here is my health, my education and my family. My parents have emphasized all of these as critical parts of my upbringing and they are the most critical for surviving and even thriving in such difficult situations as these. And beyond that, for the ethics and morals I have learned from them. To help others, to be compassionate and to treat people well. I feel strongly that you have to live your life as an example for others if you want them to change and I am proud of my parents for doing that.