*Fwump*

When I was a little kid, I couldn't seem to grasp the concept of severe natural disasters.

I didn't see a bunch of people dying when I saw floods and tornadoes. When the Missisippi River flooded back in '93, my family went to help sandbag down by River Des Peres. I got to see the relief effort- but I didn't get to see people's objects swept away. Being young, I remarked, "I think I know why God makes floods and earthquakes and stuff. It's his way of forcing everyone to care about each other."

Stupid, foolish, naiive child. Can I believe now that Hurricaine Katrina was the work of God with some plan for the people in Georgia or Missisippi? "Bourbon Street"'s about to be renamed "Bourbon and Water". Can I believe now that the recent Tsunami in December of last year was a miracle? I'm... shocked.

Fearful. Worried for people I've never met or seen. Worried for those who haven't been saved from their houses yet. Fearful for those who were seperated from their families. Shocked by the sheer magnitude of reconstruction needed. The death toll that might never be completed. The looting. The top being peeled from the superdome like an anchovy lid.

How could I have thought that something as terrible as this could be a blessing?

Prove me wrong. Go to http://www.redcross.org/ and be one of those pulling togeather to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

It's not sandbagging- but at least it's something.