MONDAY THOUGHTS : IRONY

The waters, courtesy of Hurricane Helene, are slowly receding, and the debris she left in her wake is still piled up in many places. 

News is being announced of meteorological history (3 storms spinning simultaneously in The Atlantic), and yet another hurricane potentially eyeing the places torn apart by Helene's rains, wind, surges, and floods. This one, upgraded to Category 5, and boasting 160 mph winds, is called Milton. 

It’s ironic that Mother Nature, who we often envision as a pleasant, nurturing, floral wreath-wearing, chiffon clad caregiver, is relentlessly, wildly, and indiscriminately doing to neighborhoods here, what bombs, missiles, and drones are strategically, vengefully, and mercilessly doing to neighborhoods there. 

Just as they are settling in shelters, with friends and relatives, or in neighboring towns, people here AND there, are being ordered to immediately evacuate. Even higher ground no longer guarantees safety.

Aerial footage shows how landscapes have been drastically altered by the force of water, here, the way they’ve been altered by tanks and bulldozers, there. Infrastructure has been reduced to rubble. Access has been cut off. People are trapped. Here AND there, people are remembering where landmarks once stood.

Here AND there, frantic people are combing through rubble to find their loved ones, and belongings. 

Here AND there, people are mourning losses—particularly children--and advocating for the missing. 

Here AND there, people are crying:

“We didn’t see it coming”, 

“Everything is gone”, 

“Where do we go now?”, 

“We have no food, utilities, or running water”, 

“We thought this was a safe place”,

“Why don’t we have help?”, 

“What did we do to deserve this?”, 

“Why is this happening?”,

“Make it stop!”

It seems that there’s little distinction between the comfortably situated, formerly affluent, now homeless people, counting on supplemental, emergency income, and insurance here, and the ever-relocating, fleeing people, counting on humanitarian aid, there. 

People are wondering why there always seems to be endless resources and empathy for one cause, or group of people, but little concern for, nor media attention to another.

It’s all a testament to the truths that:

Some people don’t see the need for assistance to, nor compassion toward others, until tragedy shows up on their own doorstep,

People still exist who are willing to lend a helping hand—to anyone,

There are those who use even tragedies to grift, and hawk conspiracy theories, 

People come to regret how they've demonized, ostracized, and misjudged others, when help is desperately needed, or scarce,

There’s nothing like a crisis to demonstrate how much wisdom, integrity, intelligence, maturity, experience, and competence matter, when choosing representatives and decision makers, 

No matter what zip code, people live in, or how much they possess, their circumstances can diminish in an instant,

Warnings aren't suggestions, 

Mother Nature is a beast, and is no respecter of persons. 

As one woman in Asheville suggested, as she surveyed what was left of her home, “Look around at what you have—even what little you have—and be grateful.”