I am heading for another heartbreak. It is the ghost of disasters past. This summer marks the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Many of us will relive the old experiences, feel the old wounds again. But we must go. Just as we did in 2005.
Those of us who will attend the reunion on August 27-29 in New Orleans, will reconnect with their sisters and brothers in arms. We are all veterans of the struggle to overcome the impact of the worst man-made disaster this nation has recently seen.
The organizers of this reunion are in search of those that were part of the rescue efforts and anyone that would like to attend this special reunion.
If you have an interest in joining the celebration or in volunteering, please visit the Facebook Page.
David Meyer, one of the many heroes I found (and never met) in Katrina said:
"Something terrible happened in New Orleans--to people and to animals. Those words will always be how I begin when I describe this experience and how I end it. But what I do know is that a bunch of people, a bunch of heroes, showed up and saved thousands of animals. In a society whose government works to recover every dead human body but made no official effort that I know of to save one live animal, thousands of people just showed up. They were young and old, men and women. They just got on a plane or got in a car, paid their own way and just showed up, like me. They went on boats, broke through windows, climbed though rancid sludge, saw nightmarish sites, carried emaciated animals in their arms, drove for hours, provided emergency vet care, fed and walked and cared for animals, and shipped animals around the country. As I drove the streets of New Orleans one more time on the way to the airport, there was not a block without our tell-tale spray paint saying "pet rescued".
...
Image by Chris Wieland via Flickr
"Many of us walk away with guilt and nightmares. If you are a rescuer and you are reading this, we understand each other. We left and felt terribly guilty. Most of us came back. We felt more at home in the horror, taking action, than at home with our friends or in our jobs. We had a purpose--a meaning--an urgency to life that just makes everything else seem so boring and unimportant. We carry guilt and memories that we feel no one can understand except someone who was there. We look at our own pets, happy and healthy, and feel somehow guilty. We hear a dog bark and think to find and rescue them. We know how fast things can go from fine to disaster. We look at healthy pets and can see emaciated pets inside them. "
...
"So the next time you hear of a need or a crisis, before you think “how sad” and move on with your life, just take a second and consider maybe taking a chance and just showing up. You never know where it might lead. Make a call, send some money, or maybe, just that once, get in your car and go. Just decide now that you are going to reserve a few days of your life this year, and when the right thing crosses your path that moves you, just throw logic aside and just show up. That is how we can change the world."
...
"And my last word on New Orleans, as of course it must be, is the animals. All the dogs and cats and horses and hamsters and birds. All the "pets" and even all the wild animals whose homes were flooded and destroyed, not only in Louisiana, but in Mississippi, Texas and now Florida. This story is about them. I saw something traumatic--but they lived it. Please tonight, say a prayer for all those that died--that drowned, trapped by the rising waters, or that starved because we did not get to them in time. Please say a prayer for the ones we rescued that are still in cages, awaiting a home somewhere. There is no clear ending to this story. A terrible thing happened in New Orleans...Let's not forget, and let's do better next time."
David is right. The job is not yet done.
