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Location: Longview, Washington, United States

I live in a small town in Washington State, USA, with my wife, two sons, two dogs, a cat, and family nearby. I work at the local community college as an I.T. Specialist. In March of '02, we bought a 70-some year old house that needed a lot of work. When I'm not working on the house, I like to throw pots, be outside, and read a lot.

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Friday, September 02, 2005

Back in the Saddle

I don’t feel right blogging about the day-to-day stuff in my life until I get something out of my system, so bear with me.

My first reaction was a little nod at sadness, then alarm, then anger, then deep sadness. I’ve be back and forth on that scale since. My gut reaction was to load up the truck and start driving but I know that wouldn’t help anybody. By the time I got there the really crucial time would have passed (let’s hope). My next thought was to jump on a plane and go there to lend a hand where I could but then I realized I can’t do that either. I have more responsibility now than I ever have had in my life. I have a little son and a pregnant wife and a mortgage and a job that makes the first part of this sentence possible. So, I threw off the romantic and emotional responses and did the best thing I could do – drove down to the Red Cross to write a check and give a pint of blood. I hope we can connect personally with some of the poor people who have lost everything but their lives and send them some of the items they need to rebuild. Other than that the best thing I can do is keeping going to work, work on the house, mow the lawn etc. That and keep voting.

‘Nuff said. I am taking the last week of the summer off to work on the house before the kids and faculty all come back to the college. The contractor called the other night and said he doesn’t know when he is going to be able to get back to the house to work on the bunk room. That was stipulated when he started the project so no worries. The target moves instead to getting the boy’s room habitable. I have the carpet and linoleum torn out. Today I moved all the boxes and furniture out of the room and started preparing to sand. This will be my first experience with the shellac and poly process I’ve read about on the likes of Aaron and Jeanne’s and Gary’s and Greg’s blogs. I’m excited.

posted by Scott in Washington at 5:58 PM |

3 comment(s):

  • I have mixed emotions about the Katrina crisis. I feel sorry for the loss of property but those able bodied people who ignored the mandatory evacuation order in New Orleans should not be complaining and griping. Their lack of effort to leave has created many of the problems with evacuation and supplies. As for looters, they need to invoke Medieval justice if people take anything unecessary for survival. Of course if these people had left the area, they wouldn't have the opportunity to loot.
    I hate to say it but it seems that many poor people feel that they are above the law or that it doesn't apply to them. This is true everywhere though.
    I'm sure I'll get a whole lot of flak from the more liberal of you reading this but I consider myself a fair person. Cruel sometimes, but fair.

    By Blogger Gary, at 9/02/2005 08:19:00 PM  

  • I wonder at the wisdom of bulding a coastal city below sea level...but the masses of humanity showing an absolute lack of humanity is very...shocking. But not. I don't know. It's all very unreal. I imagine there's a great deal of sensational media hype going too. Are there communities in the area that are holding themselves together with love and selflessness? I imagine so. Is it going to be on the news? Unlikely.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 9/03/2005 04:39:00 PM  

  • I too think there must be many stories of hope and people pulling together that we aren't hearing.

    Gary- I can see your point, but what about the old people stuck who didn't have money for a tank of gas to leave (and the public transportation system was shut down)?

    I also understand the feeling of wanting to go there and help- I felt that way too, but of course no one should go there except for the national guard, army etc...

    I am planning to give some money for my own piece of mind. And not think about it too much because I agree it can paralyze a person.

    By Blogger Jocelyn, at 9/05/2005 02:23:00 PM  

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