Mess it up to clean it up?

It seems to me that the more passionate you are about something the more you should let it set before blogging in an attempt to not put your foot in your mouth. I've been stewing over this one three days. So nearly a month later and (in some places) the mess still sits. Why? Perhaps it isn't messy enough yet.

I read with interest an article yesterday about the City of Birmingham, who has yet to begin their wide-spread storm cleanup. The main sticky point is that Mayor William Bell does not want to hire the Corps of Engineer to do the cleanup as some others have. Both Bell and Councilman Johnathan Austin have issues with the Corps. Bell talked to Congressman Bennie Thompson from Mississippi who said that the Corps has a poor record of encouraging minority participation. Austin says that the Corps has no personal interest in what happens in the city.

Setting aside those two specific issues for just one moment, let's look at what could be. I believe it was Council President Roderick Royal who pointed out earlier in the meeting, if the Corps cleaned it up the cost to the city was 0% with a private company the cost was 15%. I believe the number is more like 10% w/Corps, 25% w/private company, but regardless while the total figure is unknown at this time, any idiot can figure out the 0 (or 10) percent of anything is less than 15 (or 25) percent of the same amount. One estimate I saw indicated that Jefferson County's costs could equal their sewer debt. Fifteen percent of that is still not chump change. Speaking of Jefferson County, they are using their own personnel to oversee the cleanup. Even that would be cheaper than paying a private firm to oversee it. Back to Birmingham, how many times in the last year have we had to hear about budget woes? The city is not made of money though it spends like it is.

Part of my disgust with this article is that the Corps lives in communities all around the state. They participate in civic functions, elections, and all kinds of activities. They are members of the community just like everyone else. Well, except maybe the politicians. The Corps people have volunteered to set aside their current workload to assist the special mission that this cleanup is. They get paid the same money they would if they remained in their own house, went to their regular job, did the same things after work, and lived their lives as if nothing had happened. Instead these workers volunteered to set aside their lives temporarily to work on an important project for their community or sometimes a community they don't live in.

Anyone who believes that it is a wiser decision to spend 2 and a half times as much to accomplish the same end doesn't run in the circles I do. That must be a different segment of the community. Seems to me those people have a disconnect and no personal interest (regardless of their job title) in the community. That screams of personal interest in the company being hired.

Mayor Bell has a past history with the firm he has chosen. He is unwisely spending the city's money by hiring them, and I hope that whatever amount he is putting in his pocket is worth it to him for selling out the city. And if he does not have an arrangement where he is getting money from the overpriced firm he did not have to hire for a job that he could have done for free or reduced rate then he is even dumber than that.

So why is it Bell found a congressman from Mississippi? His district is not adjacent to Alabama or the affected area. Thompson is over a district that includes the Delta area. You know the spot, where there is flooding in the rural area to keep from flooding the populated urban area. Just like the agreements made when the floodgates were built. So a Congressman from an area angry with the Corps for doing what they said they would do, intimates that the Corps has a bad track record. The Corps that is bound by the federal government to operate in a certain manner. Said manner being to encourage minority and small business participation. Why did Bell have to go so far for an opinion that mimics what he hoped to uncover? Same reason community-disconnected Austin throws out the unsubstantiated claim that people who volunteer to put their lives on hold to serve a capacity that assists other communities. It all boils down to what Ben Franklin said when he tried to justify why a self-proclaimed vegetarian ate meat: "So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do."

http://mobile.al.com/advbirm/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=OGfiBFH7&full=true#display

http://blog.al.com/archiblog/2011/05/birmingham_doesnt_need_to_chan.html

UPDATE 30 May 11: Governor Bently has talked with FEMA and convinced them to extend the deadline from 12 Jun to 12 Jul. This is a good thing, as counties and municipalities now have another month of government cleanup help. On a not so good note, someone at the federal level has decided that instead of paying 90% of the cost for those using federal cleanup resources and 75% for those using private, it will now pay for 90% of the cleanup regardless. Now the argument gets a little stickier, because the actual cost of the cleanup oversight comes into play. Once all the numbers have been revealed, we will all learn what our share cost us that went directly to Bell's buddies, because it will be more than what it cost to hire the Corps.

The Bright Side of Destruction

The storms of last week still seem to dominate the attention of all in my neck of the woods. While I did not plan on having multiple posts linking the tornadoes of 27 Apr to Hurricane Katrina, I appear to be doing it once more. Yesterday I read a blurb that said Alabama had done in a week for tornado victims what it took six months to do after Katrina. This morning I read several articles and blogs that highlighted small wonders of the storm and aftermath. Small wonders are nice, but this is only the beginning of them. The tip of the iceberg if you're into clichés. Because it is still too early to see the bigger picture from this storm, I will share an example from my family and Katrina.

Prior to the hurricane, my cousin had a job in a casino restaurant. He had maxed out his pay scale and after a bad night when he had been given more responsibilities, the supervisor said he would never get another shot. So, basically he was as high as he could ever get, making as much as he could ever make. Not a bad thing, but no possibility for upward movement. His casino was devastated by the storm. When things got back to operating (not to normal mind you) he got a job at a land based restaurant, making more than he had been previously. He didn't like the place that much and took a job at Lowe's, making more money, where they were taking everything from the left side of the store and putting it on the right, and vice versa. After several nights of nothing to do and his boss telling him to just hide until his shift was over, he left that job. The next week he interviewed for a job with the first casino to reopen, and got another job, just like he had before, except this one: 1) paid more than Lowe's, 2)had upward mobility, which he was able to take, and 3) ended up being much closer to where he lived, which was very handy when gas prices spiked a few years later. He wasn't looking for better, but it found him.

Even the town I grew up in is better than it was pre-storm. One of my last employers was a municipality in Alabama that was founded by carpetbaggers in the early 1880s. It was 125 years old, and the state of its infrastructure was bad. Crumbling in spots. Biloxi was founded in 1699, way over twice as old (plus no carpetbaggers) and yet its infrastructure is much better shape. You get that when you have to rebuild the town every four to five decades, but that's not the point. Everything is better after the storm. You can't and don't see it while you're in it, but it is. It will be.

His is one of many stories I know. They contrast with what was lost, but taken as a whole, I do not know any person that went through Katrina that is not now in a much better place for it. Share your stories, you won't have to think hard. There is a bright side to destruction, it is Romans 8:28.

Related Articles

• After Alabama Tornadoes (John Archibald, Birmingham News)

Not Alabama's Katrina

This past Wednesday's storms in Alabama have become the most deadly tornadoes in Alabama's history. Over 250 confirmed dead, still over 500 unaccounted for in Tuscaloosa alone. Still at least 40,000 without power, expectations that some will be without power until next week. Power lines down, houses crushed, cars thrown about and missing, pets missing, loved ones gone, there is nothing good about what happened, yet.

But for all its destruction, the event was no Katrina. Locally the damage was equal, fatality-wise it greatly exceeded (more on a par with Camille), but there is one huge aspect that this storm does not share with the windy bitch. Katrina-type damage is not merely the widespread destruction of property, belongings, and deaths, but one where everyone is in the same exact boat. Tornadoes have the ability to cause destruction like hurricanes, but their path is minimized. Yes, it's odd to say that a mile wide path over 80 miles long is minimized, but when compared to the damage of a hurricane, it is. In the coverage of every tornado there are pictures, and at least one reporter who comments about how one side of the street was completely destroyed while the other side was untouched. For the most part, this storm did not leave many streets untouched, however, there remains people who are going about their normal lives as if it has not happened. Some went to work, some went on vacation, I live on a lake that had at least one fishing tournament on it. I saw the truck and trailers on my way to help someone without power and storm damage. Fast food restaurants were open, for lunch the couple I went to help provided hamburgers from Burger King (I was expecting canned spaghetti served cold). Normality has continued. Sure the talk at work centered on how people were, did you get damage, what are you doing to help? But the talk went on at work. At least 2 music and art festivals went on mere miles from areas under National Guard enforced curfews.

After Katrina, everyone was working, but no one was at work. Your house was damaged, your job location was damaged, the corner convenience store was damaged, the grocery store was damaged, Wal-Mart was damaged. Nothing escaped the storm, and even if it did, everyone was so busy picking up the pieces of their own lives that no one was expected to be at work as usual. The word normal took on a new meaning. Even if they had opened up, no one could deliver new products, no new food, no new gas. No one could buy a new designer suit and shoes from the cute boutique in downtown because even if there was still a road beneath the debris, there was no downtown.

Many would say that the events of this storm changed them and the way they feel about what God can do. I do not. My Katrina experience did. I know what God can do. It does not amaze me how temporary what we build is. This is not to say I am unawed by the destruction. This is not to say I am unmoved by the damage. All I am saying is that I finally realized the ephemeral, transitory nature of our impact on this world.

On 29 August 2005, I heard a man on the radio say, "It's worse than Camille." My first thought was, "No it's not. You do not know what you are talking about." As the day wore on and the destruction became more clear I conceded that the man, whether he knew it or not, was correct. This was not a matter that mere pictures or video could relay. It took standing on the ground, surrounded by 360 degrees of destruction for as far as the eye could see--even over the water--to truly grasp the enormity of it. It was/is this immersion in the power of the Almighty's hand in wiping out not only our fleeting attempts at change, but His own work of geology, geography, and botany that changed my outlook on all I see. That is what the phrase "like Katrina" means to me.

It is not a simple show of destructive force. It is not a simple swath of damage. It is a mind alternating, view changing, epiphany of a glimpse into the will of God. Strong words, for a strong adjective. Anything less would be like describing World War II as a disagreement between a few people. It would be like saying that someone knocked down the World Trade Center a few years ago. Accurate statements? Yes, but do they convey the depth of emotions or the complete range of actions? Never, not even close.

I was moved by Hurricane Katrina. I was changed in a way that I cannot be changed back. I no longer need to be reminded of God's destructive power because I carry a constant reminder. After being engulfed in Katrina I cannot look at anything the same again. Big events like storms, fires, floods, small events like recessions and political elections, even mundane events like a lone driver with a flat tire as I drive to work. The power of God, the opportunity for His will shine forth in everything after seeing the transitory nature of our best efforts. 

No, this was not Alabama's Katrina. Or was it? I can only hope.

Update: After Hurricane Katrina, the state of Alabama put into place a system whereby the official death toll of a natural disaster would not exceed the actual total as normally happens (and alluded to in my previous post). A doctor or medical examiner are the only people who can elevate the death toll, as a result many people were not counted until the day after the storms. When this post was first written, the death toll was over 250, as of the morning of 3 May, it is at 236. The more things change, the more they stay the same. It may be cliché, but it is still true. // <![CDATA[ var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24249479-2']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);</p> <p> (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); // ]]</p></div>

Tornadoes, Pop Tarts, and Canned Spaghetti

Yesterday, my home state experienced a bad weather day. Very bad. As of the time I am writing this, the fatality toll is well over a hundred, nearing a hundred-fifty. Oftentimes in such a wide-spread disaster event the death toll will rise and begin to fall as things are sorted out. This number is nowhere near a peak yet. None of my comments will be trying to make light of those deaths or the destruction. Remember that as you read. Among the reports I have heard yesterday and today have been comments of this having been a historic storm and eye witnesses who have said that they have never seen destruction on this scale. Every storm, whether natural or man-made is a historic storm. It will never be repeated, and should never be repeated. I chalk that one up to someone who is trying to use fifty-cent words to sound more intelligent. Some people think I do that, but those who talk to me on a regular basis know I write like I talk, and I talk like an arrogant prick who uses big words, only I use them because they are more precise. Because I can justify it proves the label, but I did not hold the words against the speaker.

The second statement, however is not so. To those who say that they have not seen destruction on this scale I say, you need to get out more. This is not a statement lightly made. I have witnessed first hand some destructive forces of nature. I was in Hurricane Frederic and Elena. My Katrina story is coming, but I was there to retrieve my mother, father, sister, and nephew 5 days after it hit. I saw things that no one ever imagined being destroyed that were destroyed. There is not one second where I would claim to have seen the most destruction or the worst destruction. What I have seen is enough damage and destruction to know what it is like to see it, experience it, be immersed in it, and to come out stronger because of it.

When a hurricane is coming, seasoned residents cut their grass the day before. The really seasoned ones have an ax in the attic. You just cannot tell when you may again be able to cut the grass after the storm so you cut it beforehand. During the storm you call everyone you know to check on them. The power goes out but the phone still works. You hang up with one person and call another. It is just what you do. It sounds dumb, but it is what you do. The first night after the storm, your whole neighborhood eats like a king. Steaks, chicken, pork chops, deer, vegetables, everything in the freezer is put on the grill. Ever had a moment when you could not give away a filet mignon? I have. Your neighbors eat like you because there is no power to keep it any longer. Again, it sounds dumb until you are in it, then it is just what you do.

The morning of 29 Aug 2005 I talked with my dad, my mom, my sister, my aunts, my uncles, my grandmother, my cousins, until about 10:30. The storm was well ashore, but it had not finished passing through Biloxi yet. After 10:30 I could only get my sister and the relatives that lived away from MS. Last I heard my parents' house had 4 feet of water in it. Then nothing. Everyone I called knew nothing. I talked to people I had not seen or heard from in 15 years. I kept everyone else informed, and started collecting water, food, tools, etc. for a relief run. Katrina hit on my sister's birthday, she was born 2 years and 2 days before me. Wednesday afternoon my dad called. I told him I was worried about him because of the 4 ft of water. He asked why, and I said, "Dad, Mom's only 5 feet tall." He said, "Whatever." Over the course of the next 2 hours I found out every one of my relatives was alive. It was the greatest birthday present I have ever received.

At that time, many people around me were incredulous that people stayed, that they were going to stay. I met a carload of people from New Orleans at our church shelter who had been wiped out three times by hurricanes and were anxious to get back home and clean up (I could only keep my parents in central Alabama for 3 days before they went back). No one seemed to understand it. I was interviewed by one of my local television stations down in Biloxi on the grounds of the Church of the Redeemer. While they filmed me, behind me was not the bell tower that had withstood Camille, Betsy, Elena, Georges, lighting, the War Between the States, etc. It was the foundation only. The bell lay amongst the ruins of the Camille memorial to the cameraman's right. I summed up all the emotion and the disbelief of others by telling the reporter: Come back and see what is here. It may be months, it may be years, but the same spirit that kept these people in their homes during this storm will rebuild this town. It will again be the jewel of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

I have seen destruction. I have seen personal belongings destroyed. I understand the difference between seeing something and thinking, "Wow! What damage" and "How will I find my life, where will I sleep, what will I do." I do not take damage lightly, I do not take destruction flippantly. I have seen the highs and lows, I have lived the highs and lows.

Yesterdays events began early in the morning on my way to work. My town was hit with straight line winds around 6 am. Then the weather turned nice for 12 hours. Then the tornadoes came by.  After work I went to help a friend who had already re-found his totaled car and house from amongst the downed trees. Tonight after work I will look to find someone else I can help. Whether you live in Alabama or somewhere else, put aside your disbelief and wondering eyes and pitch in. Go help rebuild something even if you do not understand why someone would want to live there. In a trailer park, in the line where tornadoes blow, by a hurricane, earthquake or volcanically active area. And bring pop tarts and canned spaghetti. They taste great hot, but you can eat them cold; they clean up quick and they taste like fine dining after a day of sweating, cleaning, clearing, and getting to know the person whose house was destroyed, whose car was swept away. Connect with another human for the sake of no personal gain of your own. You will be amazed at what you will take away, and you will never again hear "historic storm" or "destruction on a scale like this" the same again.

Updated with a link I found on Twitter:

I like pictures 13, 9, 4, and 1 best. What about you?

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/04/tornadoes_kill_over_200.html

Updated Update:

Tomorrow my 12-year-old is going out to help others with the Illumin8 Leadership Team of 5th and 6th Graders of First Baptist Pell City. Now she's throwing out the gauntlet, too. Who's going to take that challenge?