The Hopes
At 3 am I woke up with that feeling that my sleeping had officially ended. I wandered downstairs and couched it, listening to cnn. 25,000 body bags have been ordered for the corpses in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. That number's haunted me all day and I hope that the death count will be no where near that number. I also hope that the press will find a way to keep covering the story. A kid in homeroom talked about an interview he had seen where a kid cried about leaving his dog. The reaction was so strong among the kids that they would never leave their pet behind. I hope for them that they will never have to make a choice like that. Sad today, but remember what time I woke up?
Comments
Bob
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What is amazing about this story though is the subtext. The man standing beside the young man was saved by him and refuses to leave him or the dog. And when the dog gets saved, the young man continues to cry but its a complete shift. It's an outpouring of relief and gratitude and grief about absolutely everything.
On animals and Katrina--I was holding it together, watching stuff, hearing about the dead and all the horrors, but staying dry-eyed. Then one day I was driving home and on NPR that had a story about a private copter pilot who dropped in supplies to an animal hospital, where people had stayed behind to take care of the animals. I just burst into tears. Then I thought, Julie, you knucklehead, why didn't you cry for all the human suffering? I have no explanation except that hearing about the people staying behind to care for the animals was just like the last straw in my ability to keep it together over this whole thing.
i've had the same unsettling feelings about the focus on pets when so many people are dying and hurt and homeless, but then I think that the way we treat the powerless is the way we are as people, so we should be concerned about all sentient beings. I just feel that we're not getting the big picture these days. the story seems to be slipping away.