Reading about the devastation in the Midwest from all the flooding is very heart breaking. The thing that always bothered me when I was working the disasters is that the rest of the nation is hardly aware when people are on the brink of losing everything. This was a quote today that really struck me:
"For some it's a bad year, a terrible year," he said as he cleared corn stalks from the propeller of his boat. "But for some, it's the end."
What do you do when it is the 'end'? Hopefully the government or churches or friends step in and help but so many are totally unaware when it is the "end" for anyone.
I will never forget when we had lunch in a small town on the way to Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina. The waitress was totally unaware of what was happening. Strangely I have found if you happen to miss the news when the little blurb is on, you don't know about the tragedies of people's lives. Everyone goes on talking about movie stars, politics, losing weight, buying cars and life goes on as before.
I remember when Richard's brother died. After the funeral and his return to San Diego he was having a hard time realizing that other people's lives go on the same when his world had been turned upside down and would never be the same again.
Still it is gratifying to read about all those who come out to help. I was reading about the yellow shirted LDS youth who were cleaning out all the debris and damaged walls from homes, working long hours serving these older people who couldn't do it themselves or afford to pay someone else to do it. And all of the yellow shirted that were there sandbagging in every TV blip I saw. Every disaster I was in the yellow shirted LDS were always there. It is always amazing to others how quickly they can be organized and get people or trucks of food out to others.
Richard would have so loved to go on one of the Humanitarian missions that they have today...
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