September 5, 2005

• MONDAY BOOK

  In lieu of a book this morning I wanted to share a wonderful poem that RainyDar wrote back on Friday of last week. It says it all:

  Katrina and the House that Jack Built

  Look…
  there, in the raging waters of Katrina is the roof
  that covered the walls at the plant where Jack worked,
  that housed the payroll department that issued Jack’s paychecks twice a month
  to pay Jack’s mortgage and buy food for Jack’s wife and four kids,
  that paid for insulin for his 14 year old daughter,
  that paid for the cigarettes Jack still smokes when he’s having a rough day
  when he feels the world closing in and wonders how he will ever be able to swing sending his kids to college
  when he worries how long he will be able to manage his job with a bum knee and a tired back

  This is the street where Jack lives, look… these are the neighbors, or some of them anyway…
  see?
  they are sitting on their roofs, they are clinging on for dear life, thirsty and hungry after days of nothing to eat or drink
  they have no idea when help will come
  they have no idea IF help will come
  what will they do if no one comes… WHY isn’t anyone coming yet?
  and if they do come, where will they go?
  where will they sleep? what will they eat?
  forget about the holiday weekend and Labor Day barbecues planned a different lifetime ago
  what about work? suddenly there is no job, no business, who knows if there are any records
  where is there an ATM?
  was my deposit made on August 31st?
  what will happen to my check that’s mailed each month?  WHERE will it go?
  I have no address now
  no job
  no bathroom
  no mailbox
  no possessions to speak of…
  nothing

  this was the roof
  that sat on the house
  that Jack built……….

   ~ Doris E. Gruber
  

  ---

  Deep Thought:”If you ever crawl inside an old hollow log and go to sleep, and while you’re in there some guys come and seal up both ends and then put it on a truck and take it to another city, boy, I don’t know what to tell you.”
  Today I am grateful for: Everyone who got in their vehicle and went to New Orleans while the government was saying it couldn’t be reached.
  Guess the Movie: “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.” Pulp Fiction, 1994. Winner: tearsign.
  Bush Team Tries to Pin Blame on Local Officials
  by Julian Borger in Washington
  Bush administration officials yesterday blamed state and local officials for the delays in bringing relief to New Orleans, as the president struggled to fend off the most serious political crisis of his presidency.
  His top officials continued to be pilloried on television talk shows by liberals and conservatives alike, but the White House began to show signs of an evolving strategy to prevent the relief fiasco from eclipsing the president’s second term. (Rest of article here.)
  End of Day: 7:59 pm
  + = Kitty home from vet for second time and hopefully won’t have to go back.
  - = Total cost – $750**!!&&&!!

  • 11:43 am
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