Feelin' for ya, but thankful

Living in West Michigan we get some weather benefits, and one that can't be overlooked is the buffering effect that Lake Michigan can have on some nasty weather. Moisture laden thunderstorms churning across the Midwest are often drained of energy as they coast over Big Blue's cooler waters. While it's not perfect by any means (hello- "Lake Effect", anyone?) it does spare us- sometimes- from nature's fury. And today I am thankful, not only for that but other blessings as well.

I've been out of touch with the media for a few days and was only remotely aware of some of the tragic loss of life that has taken place in the deep south. I say "out of touch", but don't get me wrong; I was cognizant of the power expected from Katrina, the risks New Orleans faced from a full-on landfall, etc., but I am not a media addict. I work hard and don't often leave my desk for lunch, so as Monday progressed I missed out on the events of the day surrounding the hurricane. Especially because I spent Monday afternoon driving to Detroit with friends to watch the Lions' first MNF appearance in who knows HOW long (to you Catholics out there, I did 3 hours of purgatory. What's that leave me with?)

The result of all this windage was that I was basically in a media blackout until I got to the office this morning. As fate would have it, I have a relative whose youngest is entering their first year at Tulane this fall. While I'm driving back in the literal and figurative darkness last night, I start to recall that Tulane is in New Orleans, of all places. Ohhhhh, shit.

I can't imagine the frightening circumstances anyone down there faced as the hurricane went through. Terrible, just woefully terrible is what it must have been like to huddle for hours, hoping to stay safe. To those of you who scoff and say "They were warned! It's their own damn fault!" you know you're wrong about the sick, the suffering, the indigent members of society who haven't either the strength or the means to get gone good. But here's a twist for you: what about those who traveled to New Orleans by plane, DIDN'T rent a car because of the prevalence of courtesy shuttles and taxis, and then are unsuccessful in trying to get a flight out? I give you any family delivering a co-ed to Tulane.


I finally was able to connect tonight and found out all are OK. It was quite an ordeal, though, so sit for a spell.

Saturday morning was move-in and by 9:30am they had finished unloading and locked the dorm room. When they got back downstairs the word was that an evacuation was being ordered. (This is where time would stand still for me.) Tulane has a hurricane plan whereby the students are bussed to Jackson, Mississippi, so their child was being ushered in that direction while they quickly called the airlines. The agent told them they got the last 2 tickets on the flight out that afternoon.

They made their way back to their hotel and as they entered the lobby the looks on many of the faces put a chill through their spine. All they could see was fear in other's eyes. Mom went up to get the bags while Dad tracked down a reliable doorman he's gotten to know through all his numerous visits; he's always stayed at this hotel. Dad explained the situation: they've got tickets on a flight that afternoon, but need to get to the airport. This gracious doorman, he immediately set to blowing his doorman's whistle (whatever you call that thing that makes taxis come running,) but was unsuccessful at getting a taxi to stop until he literally ran into the street to stop one. What normally is a ride of 30 minutes or less took two and a half hours.

Can you imagine the pandemonium? This was Saturday afternoon, I think he said it was still sunny and beautiful at that time. How frantic it must have been Sunday and Monday in the hours before it hit. Thankfully, they made it back to Michigan Saturday night. The amazing thing is they were gone less than 24 hours.

Now, Tulane's plan to ship the co-eds to Jackson, MS is normally sufficient; it's 150 miles to the north. As the hours passed Saturday there were growing concerns that it wouldn't be far enough, but what could they do now? Some time Saturday, Dad's cell phone rings. On the line is the father of another student from the same dorm. After move-in, once they had reached the ground floor they had met this gentleman, shook hands, exchanged cell phone numbers, wished each other good luck with another child in college, blah, blah, blah. Luckily, this guy had kept his cell phone number because he was taking matters into his own hands, 'retrieving' his child from the Jackson, MS site and driving back to the east coast. Would they like him to get their son, too?

OMG! How cool is THAT? Hells yeah!

So today they drove down near Cleveland to get their son and were all back home by dinner time.

To all my blogging friends 'back east': (Mike, for one. Craig, you're guilty too as you're near the hand-off. Dawn, Bob, 'Fidget', 'Slant' [who many fear has suffered a catastrophe already,] hell even JL and Dol, too) Thank you for your warmth and hospitality. I have slighted many things 'East' in my past (Joisey, New Yawk, Bah Habba, Basston, Whooshta. . .) and I owe you a debt of gratitude for rubbing-off just enough humanity on this stranger to take it upon himself with this kind deed. I'm truly blessed and humbled yet again by another reminder of how frail this life is.