Despite our President

My wife and I have watched in awe as the people of Texas banded together and helped each other survive a horrible disaster. From the smallest, rescuing bats from the water under a highway bridge with a fishing net, to the most challenging, plucking entire families off of roof tops in helicopter baskets, the images and the actions displayed on my television screen this weekend have been both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

I have seen the stunned faces of families first hand when Hurricane Hugo ripped through South and North Carolina 28 years ago. I have helped clear debris, and I have given people hugs and promised them that everything was going to be okay. At that point in time it is hard to conceive that everything will be okay but in 56 years of living I continue to be amazed at the resilience of people. We are, if nothing else, a hopeful breed.

I thought last night as I watched darkness fall on Houston, and Rockport, Texas about how much stress these people are under, how hard this is for them now and how hard it will be in the days, weeks, months and even years to come.

Several years ago my city experienced an ice storm that knocked our power out for eight days, it was a very cold and very dark week. I prepared as best I could to keep my family safe, warm and feed but I didn’t anticipate having to do it for eight days. We got through this ordeal with the help of others, neighbors that I knew, some that I didn’t, and others that I didn’t particularly enjoy being around. We took care of each other. We gave what we had and took what we needed, that’s what neighbors do. Care and concern, empathy and compassion got us through our eight-day adventure and that is what the citizens of Texas will need in the weeks and months to come.

I decided as I began writing this that I wouldn’t point out all the silliness “our” President has tweeted about as the state of Texas dealt with this horrible event. What is happening in Texas is bigger than “our” small-minded President. This isn’t about him despite his efforts to make it about him. His thoughts and his tweets should have been focused on one issue and one issue only. Sadly that is just too much to ask of our narcissistic Commander-in-chief.

If you would like to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey below are some organizations you might want to consider donating too;

The Red Cross       

The Salvation Army

Catholic Charities USA

Austin Pets Alive!

“President Donald Trump had a parting message on Friday for the more than 4.6 million Americans who are in the direct path of Hurricane Harvey, a massive storm set to ram through Texas’ Gulf Coast this weekend: “Good luck.”

Asked what his message was for those who could be affected by the hurricane, Trump gave a big thumbs up to reporters and wished the best of luck. “Good luck to everybody” he said as he was boarding Marine One outside of the White House.” – Business Insider