Good news was hard to find
It was hard to find good news this past week. The disaster in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina is of epic proportions. One report said that the damage covers about 90,000 square miles-an area about the size of Kansas.
There is so much blame being spread around for how badly the situation was handled, especially in New Orleans. Thankfully, many people found ways to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
Of all of the people who were interviewed on the myriad news reports, I thought the mayor of New Orleans and the commander of the 82nd Airborne made the most sense. They saw what was happening and saw what needed to be done.
It will be decades before the outcome in New Orleans will be fully realized. How do you rebuild a city that is for the most part under sea level?
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Some of our local industries are to be commended for taking the initiative to send several semi-truck loads of water and other necessities to those who were in so desperate need. Countless others have also stepped up with cash and other donations to help alleviate the situation.
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It appears the price of gasoline will never go back down to where it was even a few months ago. It's no consolation that the present price is about where it should be if the price of gasoline had kept up with inflation over the years. We have grown accustomed to having cheap fuel and our economy is built on that premise.
Now we will have to be creative in dealing with these impact of these prices.
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Would there now be interest in having a spectator-bus organized to away sporting events? Would anyone be willing to pay $5 to $10 for a ride to Nickerson, Lyons or Chapman?
Considering the real cost-not just the gas but the wear and tear as well-of driving one car 100 miles, $5 or $10 isn't much.
Or maybe we're still too independent to abide by someone else's schedule.
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I was looking at the lines on Tabor College's football field while walking the other day and was utterly amazed at how straight they were. Not a waver anywhere. Impressive.
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Through the power of the Internet I found boyhood friend Billy Eitzen, whom I used to know growing up in Mountain Lake, Minn. His wife had seen my post on the Mountain Lake Observer guest book telling of my impending visit in July.
We are now e-mailing back and forth in an effort to catch up on the past 50 years.
