Wasteland

I found myself riding in a U-haul Sunday to Lake Charles with my buddy to get some stuff from his house. I like my buddy. He's a bit of a Good Ol' Boy. He's in town with me while he waits for his hometown to get back to normal from the hurricane. So, I'm riding in the U-haul. We're going down I-10 towards Louisiana. We just filled up w/ gas at the last place that I think we were going to be able to get it. In front of us is his wife in his father's truck pulling a U-haul trailer and we're riding like gypsies in the U-haul van that's definitely not made for comfort, but rather made for noise. So basically, we're going into a warzone, for what we know is going to be nothing short of a miserable day of work without electricity, and knowing that getting cold drinks is going to be a heckuva lot of work. It's 100 degrees outside and, even though I allowed myself to be available for this help, in no way, was I feeling self-righteous about it, and the joy of helping my fellow man.... well... let's say I left that bullshit in a drawer at home. I was not looking forward to this, but I can honestly say that things were much worse for the man next to me. He had not seen his house since the hurricane. His family was displaced from their home for the 2nd week. He's living as a hurricane evacuee, and getting word about when his life will be back to normal is non-existant. So sitting there, in the U-haul, we're following their truck, and I'm thinking, "Wow, things just can get any worse for my friend!" Then, I think...

"What's that smell?"

"Smells like road tar"

"No it's different"

"Burning rubber?"

"Oh, crap! Smoke is coming out from the bottom of his dads truck!"

....Sunday afternoon, about 1PM. You would have found me in the middle of nowhere on I-10 standing next to a truck that just blew transmission fluid all over the windshield of the truck we were riding in.

My buddy's day just got much worse.

When we finally made it to his place, the devestation was amazing. Large trees were snapped in 2 or pulled completely from the ground. Building were demolished or ripped apart. Those large billboard signs were twisted and bent lying on the ground. People at the store were selling pain pills for food money. Some people had generators, but everyone was sitting outside to get a little wind. The air everywhere smelled like a mix of stagnant mud and dead animals. Swarms of mosquitos came around like dark clouds. It was hell. I couldn't believe there were people trying to live there. You think about the ones who can't afford to leave. We left after dark, and the police were on the main streets spotlighting all the business looking for signs of looters. No street lights, or stop signs. It was a very eerie feeling. I got back home about midnight and I can't tell you how much reflection I did that night, in the dark, trying to go to sleep.

For those of you that are the type to pray, give some thought to my friend. He's living away from home, he's got his wife, 4 kids, sister, her 2 kids, mother and father in one place. (That's 11 people). Beds are air mattresses, and the kids are going to a school now where they have no friends. The kids wore uniforms in Louisiana, now they have to buy all new school clothes.

Now is a good time to reflect on all the things we take for granted. I know after seeing this with my own eyes, my life really has no tragedies.

-Gary