All of us woke up this morning and probably turned on the television to see how Hurricane IKE has affected the Gulf Coast. I have experienced weather events like IKE while living in Okinawa. When we arrived in Okinawa in August of 1990, we were told the typhoon season would be “interesting”.
We had six typhoons in six consecutive weekends with 102 inches of rainfall in one month! We often experienced winds of 150+ miles per hour over the island. My wife will tell you I did not experience these as I would hop on my KC-135 and flee the islands. We had no hanger space for such a big airframe. I would call from Guam, our usual hiding place from the weather battering Okinawa.
She and my young daughter (1 1/2 years old at the time) would ride out the storm in our little steel reinforced cinder block apartment. The forces these storms generate are unbelievable unless you have lived through one. One typhoon had winds 185 gusting to 197!
The people of the Gulf Coast will all need our help. Some may have lost everything. You may be surprised at what people hold valuable and dear. Your efforts will be one of those things they will value. I urge those of you in the area to get involved in any way you can. You will feel the sore muscles and the lack of sleep will drag on you for a few days but the feelings you will have from the joy of helping will be a benefit to your soul.
Many organizations will need volunteers… manpower the largest resource required for the daunting cleanup task… which will seem like a big elephant in the room. How do you tackle such a large task? One bite at a time. I saw similar tasks here in Cedar Rapids when the floods damaged all of the downtown area. Remember, one bite at a time one day at a time.
You may be handed anything from a mop to a chainsaw when volunteering for the cleanup crew there. My personal favorite was the chainsaw. There was immediate satisfaction when moving a four foot diameter tree from a road and then seeing the looks on people faces that were stranded in some neighborhood driving by thanking you for allowing them to reach the outside world.
You would not think being able to get out of a confined neighborhood would bring such smiles and happiness to the faces of people stranded in million dollar homes. Seven trees had fallen across Little Neck Road in Virginia Beach. We had to move all seven before anyone could get to the main roads.
The touch of the outside is a need for all of us in this flat world of ours now. We feel lost when not connected. The connections you will make with those needing your help may fill your soul with a sense of accomplishment.
Get up… Get out… Get involved!
I’m a dot!
