Hurricane RITA Living Nightmare

The Houston evacuation for Hurricane Rita was a living nightmare. My nephew was trying to get out. He left his apartment at 5:00 Thursday morning. I went to Huntsville to meet him and I arrived there at 8pm Thursday night. It's normally about a one-hour drive from Houston to Huntsville. He arrived at around 9am--- FRIDAY MORNING. Meanwhile, his car had caught fire on I-45 inThe Woodlands, and he had hitched a ride the rest of the way.

A blessing from God, he's safe and even happy after his ordeal.

I know athletes who could have walked that distance in the same time frame, including water and rest breaks, with less wear on their bodies than the people I saw. I was at a Dairy Queen down the street from Sam Houston State University and I have never seen such squalor. It didn't look like anything American (or maybe it did.) Law enforcement was sparse, traffic looked like some kind of maze with cars going different directions in the SAME LANES, doors were locked on churches and hotels, people were SLEEPING with their families in DITCHES... animal waste on the roadways, stores with food and water CLOSED. I felt like I was in a third world country. I would have been EMBARRASSED for visitors to see us live like this.

Thankfully, people are essentially decent. It renewed my faith in humanity. I didn't see one fight amongst all that confusion. No looting, even though people were hungry, thirsty, and tired with no food, water, or lodging. People were just scared and exhausted. Nerves were frayed. There were accidents and near misses in every direction. I could wander through roadways and thoroughfares on foot among the stalled cars and traffic gridlock.It was a horror movie in 3-D.

Homeland security, my ass! We're just fish in a barrel for terrorists or anyone who wants to take advantage of a natural disaster. Just the mere threat of wind and rain turned the city of Houston into two million refugees. There were enough people around me to fill a FOOTBALL STADIUM... totally helpless. I felt so bad that I couldn't help people more. I let strangers make calls on my cell phone. I felt like Donald Trump. People with POCKETS full of money were unable to get gas and food or a place to stay; I was full, well rested (through most of it), and had a full tank of gas. I wish I were rich enough to have trucks brought in with food and water for at least some of those people who were still stranded. I was on I-45 at aDairy Queen for 13 hours and there were I don't know how many people who couldn't get any further waiting for gas. Restaurants and buildings were EMPTY but no one was breaking in--- yet.

While it's sad, my spirit has been refreshed and my drive has increased to be a better performer so I can work to decrease or eliminate some of these incidents. I'm sorry that I forget so often how much I have in spite of myself.