Heartbreak

The Coast of my childhood is in shambles. I closed the office down yesterday around 10:30 when I noticed the wind kicking up. I made a dash to fill up my tank to prepare for the coming storm. By this time, the winds were already so strong that I could barely stand. At about 2 pm, the power went out. We sat quietly and listened to the howling wind and driving rain. As we endured this monster storm three hours away from the shoreline, I wondered what it was like for those people who were only a few miles away when Hurricane Katrina came ashore. Frantically, we tried to contact my family... a sister and her grown children in Ocean Springs, my parents in Gulfport. I tried to get them to leave, but they were convinced, having survived Camille, that they were safe. As the hours passed with no word, I was not so sure. Finally, the connection was made. One by one, we got word. They were all safe. We breathed a sigh of relief. Then we started to see the pictures of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It's stunning. So many lives lost. So many people displaced. So much devastation. I can barely comprehend the effects of this natural disaster. Of course, the price of oil is already starting to rise, even as the flood waters recede. But I don't seem to care. This event gave new meaning to Black Monday. Dow -50.23 NASDAQ -7.89 S&P 500 -3.87