Sunday, September 25, 2005

Shyness causes problems

I am basically a very shy person. The problem with being shy is that all too often you are deemed "aloof." That most certainly is not me. When you total it up, I probably would be on the far spectrum of aloof. I don;t have a very high sense of self esteem. When I get to know someone, I am completely different. To strangers, I am not outgoing at all. I am reticent and almost withdrawn. When I know you, I am very outgoing.

I mention this because I suppose that is the reason I have not posted much about me. My profile is basically nill. I have not said where I live or anything more personal about me than the posts I have done. It's just that I don't know you. I guess when some others get "hate mail" and the like I think that if you don't know much about me that will protect me.

Well, that is going to begin to change, especially after this Rita thing. I live outside of Houston, Texas. You know, that small town near the gulf coast. I'm sure you've heard of us somewhere. This Rita thing has really gotten me thinking. I would like to share some thoughts.

We always said that if we were threatened by a category 4 storm or above, we would evacuate. That was our stand. When it seemed that was the fact, we couldn't. There was no way to get out of our place. We live along the Highway 290. Since my husband and kids had at one time been members of the local volunteer fire department, we still have a scanner we bought when they were in service, I listened to the calls for help from the local EMS. I listened to all the ambulances being called for. People were having heat emergencies. One elderly woman died. There was absolute gridlock on the highway. We were stuck right here. Even if we wanted to leave, it was not practical.

My daughter and I made the decision that we shouldn't add to the congestion. There were people trying to get away from the storm surge. We would have wind and rain. Perhaps I would be flooded in because the bayou backs up all around us, and we get cut off. We were not ever faced with a 20 foot surge of water. Plus, we didn't want a 4 year old and a 14 month old to face the hours on the road. I cannot tell you how my heart broke for all those people who were stranded on the roadways. They ran out of water; ice was not available for the food they brought, and gasoline had been depleted a day and a half before.

The media sources made this situation sound like it was just a minor inconvenience, and that it really just turned into an unplanned picnic. It was not like that at all. There were fights. There were assaults. There was probably much shoplifting from the stores that stayed open, and if they had not stayed open there would have been attempted looting. The police were there. All this still happened. This situation didn't make for a people who were kind and gentle to one another. Around one convenience store, the smell of urine and feces was overpowering. The litter was mnd boggling. It looked like a garbage truck exploded. And many lost their cars. They simply broke down from overheating.

And it will happen again. There will be more storms. There could be terrorist attacks. The gridlock will happen again. The results will be the same. We were so extremely lucky this time. Now we are poised for 2.5 million to return. Does the state really believe these people will follow the plan to come back? Obviously the evacuation plan - what ever that was - didn't work. Can we expect these people to remain in hotels for two more days? They probably can't afford that. They are going to be flocking back - today.

So I have shared a little more with you about me. It's still more about what's going on around me, but I think we still may become friends, and you will know much more about me. We will have a good time.

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