The kindness of strangers

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I haven't been watching the coverage of Katrina.... I just can't handle it, so I've done all I can to avoid it.... but it's near impossible. I saw a report profiling a group of new mothers in a maternity ward.... their babies were being air-lifted to distant hospitals, but there was no room in the helicopter for the mothers -- they pinned notes to their babies' clothing, begging the people on the receiving end to care for their little angels until they could be reunited -- maybe it's because I was separated from my own baby for his first 5 days of life, but I shut the television off -- I couldn't watch anymore.

So much coverage has been devoted to the who said what, who did what, and mostly who failed to do what..... there is plenty of blame to go around. The government didn't do nearly enough, the people are not blameless either -- they were advised to leave, but didn't -- the local government didn't ask for help soon enough, the federal government knew the risk was there... they've known since the 60's, so.... we can blame this administration and the dozens that preceded it. Politicians and celebrities are very quick to say very stupid things and they get headlines.....

But what about the random acts of kindness..... the countless number of people who have given more than they could afford to give to help strangers -- sadly, those stories aren't sensational enough to grab headlines -- you'll see a lot of media coverage when a rap star calls the president a racist, but you don't see much about Curt Schilling & his wife anonymously seeking out a family of 9 (2 parents with 7 children) and offering them housing for a full year (it was the father of this family that outed the Schillings -- they wanted to remain anonymous). My sister works with a man who cleared out an in-law apartment and called Red Cross shelters looking for a family willing to relocate to Massachusetts....yes, he's bringing an entire family into his home indefinitely -- this site pairs up prospective hosts with families in need. There are children putting up lemonade stands and churches taking up collections.......

As the water pours out of New Orleans, the stories on the news will likely get more sad, more gruesome -- the celebrities and politicians will continue to say stupid things while pointing fingers in a variety of directions -- but, God willing, the kindness of strangers will continue to ease the burden of the true victims.