She has cut our hearts to pieces...
I can't find a place to start with all I have to say. (Ahead of time I should apologize for the length of this entry)
I feel so guilty for not paying attention to the news once the hurricane hit, dismissing it as another horrible disaster to hit the south...not thinking it could be so devastating.
Monday night I watched a bit online of the coverage inside the superdome and slammed the computer shut when I saw the faces of all the children,that was too much to see. Even then it really hadn't sunk in how much destruction had taken place. Then last night while Jasha fell asleep out of exhaustion, I watched Larry King. I was hysterically crying until it cut to a commerical.
A fucking commerical for a Sandals vacation, "once in a life time opportunity" What a thoughtful way to transition to advertisement after they show people living and dying in filth. After a man screams in the face of a camera HELP US NOW, WE ARE DYING AND ITS YOUR FAULT with a chorus of men, women and children of all ages behind him.
I realize this may be terribly inconvenient for all of those multi billion dollar companies who happened to already have purchased the air time for their commercials, and I know their PR departments aren't as quick witted as their CEO is greedy. But for fuck's sake, cut the commercials and donate that money to any of the many organizations collecting money and continue to air coverage of the devastating situation in the south. Make everyone safe at home eating their dinner, put their forks down and really see, and feel what has happened to our own people.
At the same time, I have this hateful relationship with the media, especially when they prey on the misfortune of others. I've experienced this on a personal level when my cousin was brutally murdered at the young age of 17. When I got home from my classes that day, my father had barely told me what happened when I flipped on the tv and spotted Chad's face on tv. I couldn't escape it, on every channel, at work the next day on the lips of every customer, on the front page of our newspaper. My aunt had not known 30 minutes about her son's death when the news cameras showed up on her front door, and like the good man he is, her brother punched a camera man and destroyed the camera.
But I digress, this is not about me.
I couldn't watch anymore, mostly because I really mean it when I say I have a fragile heart. I obsess over these things and sink into a depression over my inability to do what I could deem enough to help the situation at hand.
I shut the T.V. off and went home, I wanted to to scour my house for anything possible that I could donate. Money just doesn't seem like enough, I feel the need to physically share whats mine, I don't feel I deserve it right now, having so much when people have lost so much.
New Orleans is one of the truly most amazing places I have ever seen. With its decayed and decrepit buildings there is an elegant and sometimes sinister beauty. Despite the hundreds of years of urine, bile, sweat, and alcohol that creates that funky smell in the air I thought it was one of the most beautiful cities I had ever scene. I was lucky enough to be there for 6 days, and I begged not to go home. It was right before I was to move up here, and I even looked into moving there for a brief time instead. My biggest regret is all the times I kept saying I would go back over the last 3 years. Just recently I babbled to Josh about all the wonderful places/things in NOLA I wanted him to see.
Though my heart aches for the destruction of the city, its the voices of the citizens I can't get out of my head. Just an hour ago on the radio I heard a man telling how he was separated from his wife and she yelled to him to take care of their children, of her parents of himself. And he said he doesn't know how to go on now that he has lost everything he has had...his wife.
My mind spins, my heart is shattered, I'm filled with a such a desolate sorrow and a growing anger.
Anger for how casually that piece of shit who is known as our president has responded to this situation. I find it unacceptable how long it took me to grasp the brevity of the disaster, but for him who has lackeys to update him every second, who has any piece of desired information at his fingertips chooses instead to linger on his vacation. The man absolutely disgusts me.
I refuse to let that negative energy remain and will try and use it to fuel my will to do as much as I can, and encourage others.
Unfortunately right now since our company has been bought and being pieced out to other companies we've had a pretty big re-org take place. Our VP of Communications was fired, and I couldn't find anyone in HR today. I am hoping that we'll do the same thing we did for the Tsunami and donate all the proceeds out of tasting rooms for a weekend. But being the step child of Pernod Ricard and not fully acquired yet by Fortune Brands I'm not sure who if either will decide to do anything...but I will keep you Bay kids posted should we have an event.
Much love to you all,
RM
I feel so guilty for not paying attention to the news once the hurricane hit, dismissing it as another horrible disaster to hit the south...not thinking it could be so devastating.
Monday night I watched a bit online of the coverage inside the superdome and slammed the computer shut when I saw the faces of all the children,that was too much to see. Even then it really hadn't sunk in how much destruction had taken place. Then last night while Jasha fell asleep out of exhaustion, I watched Larry King. I was hysterically crying until it cut to a commerical.
A fucking commerical for a Sandals vacation, "once in a life time opportunity" What a thoughtful way to transition to advertisement after they show people living and dying in filth. After a man screams in the face of a camera HELP US NOW, WE ARE DYING AND ITS YOUR FAULT with a chorus of men, women and children of all ages behind him.
I realize this may be terribly inconvenient for all of those multi billion dollar companies who happened to already have purchased the air time for their commercials, and I know their PR departments aren't as quick witted as their CEO is greedy. But for fuck's sake, cut the commercials and donate that money to any of the many organizations collecting money and continue to air coverage of the devastating situation in the south. Make everyone safe at home eating their dinner, put their forks down and really see, and feel what has happened to our own people.
At the same time, I have this hateful relationship with the media, especially when they prey on the misfortune of others. I've experienced this on a personal level when my cousin was brutally murdered at the young age of 17. When I got home from my classes that day, my father had barely told me what happened when I flipped on the tv and spotted Chad's face on tv. I couldn't escape it, on every channel, at work the next day on the lips of every customer, on the front page of our newspaper. My aunt had not known 30 minutes about her son's death when the news cameras showed up on her front door, and like the good man he is, her brother punched a camera man and destroyed the camera.
But I digress, this is not about me.
I couldn't watch anymore, mostly because I really mean it when I say I have a fragile heart. I obsess over these things and sink into a depression over my inability to do what I could deem enough to help the situation at hand.
I shut the T.V. off and went home, I wanted to to scour my house for anything possible that I could donate. Money just doesn't seem like enough, I feel the need to physically share whats mine, I don't feel I deserve it right now, having so much when people have lost so much.
New Orleans is one of the truly most amazing places I have ever seen. With its decayed and decrepit buildings there is an elegant and sometimes sinister beauty. Despite the hundreds of years of urine, bile, sweat, and alcohol that creates that funky smell in the air I thought it was one of the most beautiful cities I had ever scene. I was lucky enough to be there for 6 days, and I begged not to go home. It was right before I was to move up here, and I even looked into moving there for a brief time instead. My biggest regret is all the times I kept saying I would go back over the last 3 years. Just recently I babbled to Josh about all the wonderful places/things in NOLA I wanted him to see.
Though my heart aches for the destruction of the city, its the voices of the citizens I can't get out of my head. Just an hour ago on the radio I heard a man telling how he was separated from his wife and she yelled to him to take care of their children, of her parents of himself. And he said he doesn't know how to go on now that he has lost everything he has had...his wife.
My mind spins, my heart is shattered, I'm filled with a such a desolate sorrow and a growing anger.
Anger for how casually that piece of shit who is known as our president has responded to this situation. I find it unacceptable how long it took me to grasp the brevity of the disaster, but for him who has lackeys to update him every second, who has any piece of desired information at his fingertips chooses instead to linger on his vacation. The man absolutely disgusts me.
I refuse to let that negative energy remain and will try and use it to fuel my will to do as much as I can, and encourage others.
Unfortunately right now since our company has been bought and being pieced out to other companies we've had a pretty big re-org take place. Our VP of Communications was fired, and I couldn't find anyone in HR today. I am hoping that we'll do the same thing we did for the Tsunami and donate all the proceeds out of tasting rooms for a weekend. But being the step child of Pernod Ricard and not fully acquired yet by Fortune Brands I'm not sure who if either will decide to do anything...but I will keep you Bay kids posted should we have an event.
Much love to you all,
RM