Fragile

Do you remember how you felt four years ago? When you watched the first tower come down. When you saw the hole in the side of the Pentagon.

How you felt when you saw Donald Rumsfeld do something good for a change and run back into the building to get people out. When you heard about Michael Judge, the NYFD chaplain that was killed by falling debris. When you saw the flag raised in the rubble.

Do you remember how you felt last week? When Tippitina's was silent. When the Famous Door Club was empty. When Pat O's was boarded up. When the helicopters turned away from Charity hospital because of shooting. When you first saw Interdictor's livejournal. When you found out that your friends were okay. Maybe homeless, but okay.

I feel fragile in moments like this. I feel helpless, and that burns me to the core. I am not inclined to sit by. It galls me to be unable to physically help people, but I can't. I can't go to Biloxi and clear the streets. I can't string new power lines through Gulfport. I have given of my money and will give of my time in the ways that I can, but I can't help but feel frustrated that it's not enough.

But we all do what we can. And what I can do, coupled with the efforts of all the other people that are helping, will be enough. Eventually.

These are not pretty times. Our government has failed us in our time of need. I don't need to dick around the blame game. I don't care whose fault it is. The fact of the matter is, four years after the 9/11 attacks, we still cannot handle a major catastrophic event in our country. So it's up to us, the people, to band together and fix things. And we will.

We will.

New Orleans will rebuild. Hopefully stronger. Hopefully as diverse. But she will rebuild. And I will be back there, drinking Hurricanes and watching Al not be able to hang. Wanna come?

But she will be back. Because this IS my South. And we take care of our own. She's like that classy lady from church after a stroke. She's down for a little while, and we'll need to take her a casserole or two for a while, but next Homecoming, she'll be in the front pew and she'll bring the potato salad.