man, oh man

have you watched the news this week?

surely you're aware that hurricane katrina obliterated parts of louisiana and mississippi over the weekend. i was shocked yesterday when talking with friends that they knew hurricane katrina existed but they didn't realize how bad it was and hadn't looked at the pictures online or on the TV news.

every morning, after i work out, i eat a bowl of grits while watching msnbc for 15-20 minutes to catch up on what's going on in the world.

watching the video from new orleans this morning literally made me cry. it's painful to watch this many people suffering and dying right in front of us, but with rescue efforts unable to continue right because of so much desperate crime.

i don't have answers for it; it just literally makes my heart break.

i'm sure the whole country is feeling the loss, whether you're close or not. people complain that gas cost $2.50 here on tuesday (when i luckily filled up), $2.99 yesterday, and $3.15 today... i saw on the news that it's $6ish per gallon in georgia and hear from friends that gas stations in south carolina are just plain running out.

i've got news for you. at least for people complaining about the prices at the pump in places far away from the gulf -- europe's been paying twice what we pay for years... we're not getting hurt by prices so much as getting unspoiled.

my plan? my car sits in front of my house except to get me the 25 miles each way to church on sunday mornings this semester, or to get me to an occasional doctor appointment 6 or more miles away. there are enough stores within a 2 mile radius of my house to get me what i need just walking, and even if the undergraduates on some of the campus buses can be obnoxious, the campus bus system is free and picks me up just 3/4 of a mile from my house, and with just one bus change, drops me off a 5 minute walk from the math building. i did that today... 37 minutes door to door... not much worse than the 15 minutes each way by car, and better for me to fit in the walking too. the least i can do is not be a gas hog.

so if it's your pocketbook that's hurting, yeah it sucks that life's gonna cost more even for basics (food, etc.) for awhile, if not permanently, but it could be much worse. i almost feel guilty that i actually have a roof over my head and running water right now. the incongruity and arbitary-ness of natural disasters is heartbreaking. one day people are making it by alright, the next they're trapped on rooftops and elsewhere with no food or water because they couldn't afford to leave and everything they did have is gone. like i said... it makes my heart break, and it literally makes me cry to watch the news this week. the least i can do is share a little more, conserve a little more, and not complain that things cost more, because i'm far from the only one, and i'm far from being the worst affected.

done with semi-incoherent essay... praying for the hurricane victims... the end.