Tuesday, October 23, 2007

We May not Know How to Drive in the Rain but We can sure Drive in a Fire


….ummm.. we’re still here. Long story short: because of the fires and the absences at work caused by them, it was felt that our overall benefit to society and the project office as a whole would best be served ashore rather than at sea.

As noted by KT over at The Scratching Post, the post below, and in an article we're trying to relocate and will link to when we find it, the general behavior displayed by the citizenry in the face of this disaster has been outstanding. And you want real Sunday manners? Just wait ‘til FEMA gets here!

We were struck by the irony of getting word this afternoon that the first of FEMA aid and support will start arriving tomorrow after it appears we may have turned a corner today with the winds dying down and the first evacuation cancellation notices being issued this afternoon.


Hey, what if FEMA showed up and there wasn’t a disaster?


And this isn’t to slam anybody’s performance or lack thereof at either the Agency or the upper levels of government. It is simply indicative of how much inertia is to be overcome when you are talking about getting a huge federal bureaucracy off top-dead-center. Its just a fact.

But anyway, back to our uncommon civility that has been on display here. Let’s not get too congratulatory – let’s not do too much back-slapping. We live in San Diego, afterall, where it is humanly impossible to be angry, upset or angst-ridden for too long.

Back in ’99 or ’00 the WTO or some such other NGO was having their get-together up in Seattle to plot the crushing of the world's underclasses and the disgruntled ones showed up and trashed the city in protest . The WTO was going to convene down here in San Diego the following month and everyone was worried that these middle-class anarchist knuckle-heads would do the same thing to our fair city.

We recall telling several friends that nothing of the sort would happen. The coddled little brats would show up with their placards and black masks all full of ill will and discontent and upon descending on San Diego they would…… they would….. go to the beach…. go to Balboa Park…. hang out and take pictures from Mt. Soledad or Cabrillo Nat’l. Monument. "….hey, do you want to take a drive up the coast? or maybe chill in O.B? I hear they have actual hippies there….."

… and that’s precisely what happened. Don’t get us wrong – we’re proud of our city. We’re coping but this isn’t going to be a sprint. This particular disaster is going to have a very long tail as people try to put their lives back together absent a place to call home. We aren't near out of the woods yet but we do see a glimmer of hope off in the distance.

6 comments:

Road Dawg said...

I had projects in San Diego Monday.

Went to order flooring for a project Monday, while I was placing the order, the rep got the call from his wife to come home to evacuate. I told him to go, but he still tried to place my order. He couldn’t do it, the distributor had shut down.

Went to Dal Tile, to pick up odds and ends, they were closing up shop, “ got people with families, let’s make it quick” a lady patiently stood by while I presented a company check. I was the last person out the door.

On the way home from San Diego to Menifee, (Temecula area for all you people that still consider us hayseeds) I was amazed that detour signs, re routing traffic weren't posted. Instead, commuters calmly shut down their engines, and engaged in commiserating with their fellow man. I was duly impressed. It seems that commuters to SD had some of the same spirit as those who lived there.

Being made of sterner stuff, however, I was determined to make it home. With my laptop providing the location of the fires, and my Thomas guide in hand, I proceeded to venture the trek east on Old Castle, and umpteen miles north on Lilac road, much of it windy and with little room for two way traffic.

I was apparently not the only scout among the travelers, but was still impressed with the courtesy of the more adventurous commuters.

Good to be home, praying for all. Doug and Debbie Clark's home still in question. Brandon's (Christopher's J-tree friend) parents in Alpine under required evacuation.

K T Cat said...

This is directed at all the FEMA bashers both from this and from Katrina, not at you.

FEMA is not here to help you in the middle of an emergency. YOU are here to help you in the middle of an emergency. Carping because an agency headquartered thousands of miles away hasn't come by to cart you off to safety seems kind of silly.

Road Dawg said...

Mr. Kat, well put.

And in light of the circumstance and in retrospect, I'm glad that the locals didn't give away my detour. It was probably not capable of handling that kind of traffic.

K T Cat said...

It's Cat, not Kat! Cat, like the animal! The creatures we all serve and worship, 24/7.

See Ay Tee, Cat!

Sheesh!

:-)

Anonymous said...

Mr. Cat, so sorry, I would attack your masculinity over being a cat person than a dog person, but alas, I am in love with my poodles. Not just any poodles, but the SUV version (standard)taller than most Retrievers.

How did you get your photo on your post, I wasn't able to follow the directions?

Road Dawg

K T Cat said...

Road Dawg,

In order to have an image icon, log in to Google, go to your profile, edit your profile, upload a photo.

Dean and B-Daddy, if you could forward this on to the dawg, I'd appreciate it.