The High Court

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Prayers for Hope

September 2, 2005

 

 

One of the most frustrating things about writing is that moment when words escape you.  The idea is there, you know what you want to express, but you cannot find any appropriate way to do so.  That is how I have felt for the past few days, trying to find some way to write this column.  I, like most Americans outside of the Gulf Coast area, have been riveted to television and internet coverage of the devastation across the Gulf Coast.  The amount of destruction has to be seen to be believed, and yet even after seeing it, it is still completely unbelievable.  And the amount of destruction pales in comparison to the level of human suffering.  It is truly staggering that the conditions in New Orleans exist in the United States.  Almost completely cut off by the floodwaters, it is almost as if an alternate reality was formed as the water poured into the classic old city.

 

I have watched and listened to the stories, moved well beyond words, of the losses of so many.  The homes, belongings, and memories that were totally destroyed by Katrina’s wrath, now seem like mere footnotes as we see people struggling to hang on to life itself.  The stories from the storm itself were so tragic:  The wife forced to watch her ill husband die as his oxygen run out, the father lost in the storm after remaining behind to search for his little girl’s cat, the mother who sacrificed herself so that her husband might be able to hold onto their young sons amidst rising water…these stories simply rip your heart out.

 

Nothing has been more difficult to watch than seeing the human condition stripped down to its most primal level:  survival mode.  Anarchy has reigned in New Orleans, with fear, frustration, and desperation fueling the chaos.  I cannot imagine how those that have been trapped inside the flooding city have felt.  No food, no water, and no way out.  Bodies floating in the toxic mixture of fuel, sewage, and floodwater a constant reminder of the unspeakable tragedy all around.  And of all of the troubling images that have emerged from this tragedy, few have been harder to handle than the pictures of babies and small children…hungry, scared, tired.  To watch these events unfold and be powerless to effect immediate change for those kids is a very helpless and useless feeling.

 

Therein lays the greatest difficulty in writing about this ordeal.  How does one sit in a cool, dry environment with plenty to eat and drink, with all of your belongings and family in place, and then say anything about this immense natural disaster without sounding trite?  I don’t know if there is anyway to avoid it.  I watch the coverage anchored from studios in New York and elsewhere, and I wonder, How much more disingenuous can the guy in the suit be?  But I know they don’t mean to be.  And I don’t mean to be either.  So many of us, as Americans and human beings care deeply about everyone enduring these great trials.  That is why we must all offer anything we can, whether it be financial resources or volunteer services to see that the Gulf South returns to some sort of normalcy as soon as humanly possible.

 

I also want to salute each and every individual working in any capacity to save lives.  I know that rescue workers have already seen more harrowing images than any person should ever have to.  My grandfather saw some of the worst that World War II had to offer over six decades ago, and I know that those images are still as clear in his mind as if they happened yesterday.  Everyone involved in the aftermath of Katrina will be forever changed by the experience.  I also realize that the relief effort has not proceeded as quickly and efficiently as any of us would have hoped.  But we must remember that this is a disaster on a scale rarely seen in this country.  Reports today indicated that the area of destruction covered approximately 90,000 square miles.  I know that all of the government agencies, on the federal, state, and local levels, in conjunction with the National Guard and armed forces, will do their very best to ease the suffering of the residents of the Gulf South as soon as they can.

 

I am very proud of our athletes from the sporting world.  We are all reminded of how trivial sports can be in moments like these, but many of the men affected by this disaster have displayed character that we can all be proud of.  Warrick Dunn, Marshall Faulk, Brett Favre, Eli and Peyton Manning, and Steve McNair are just a few of the athletes from the Gulf South who still have homes or family in the area.  Favre, as always, has handled himself with the compassion and humanity that has made him one of the most beloved athletes of the last 25 years in this country.  Dunn, the remarkable man who lost his mother as a youth, has asked that each player from around the NFL donate $5000 each to the cause.  The NBA, NFL, MLB, and the Southeastern Conference have pledged a combined six million dollars.  The New York Yankees and Houston Texans franchises have each pledge one million dollars each.  And earlier this week, The Big Volunteer showed up in Baton Rouge to provide any assistance that he could.  You know it can never hurt to have Shaq on hand.

 

Ultimately, the greatest thing our heroes from the sports world can do is do what they do best.  Entertain.  Sports will once again provide a welcome and needed diversion for the victims of Katrina, bringing them what small pleasures and doses of normalcy that can be had in the next several months.

 

I wish I had the power to wave a hand and make everything right for all of these people.  But of course, I can’t.  You can’t.  They can’t.  But what we all can do is remember not to take the positive things in our life for granted.  The situation across the Deep South is a reminder that Thanksgiving shouldn’t just be a Thursday in November.  Cherish what you have.  Because it could all be gone in an instant.  We should all realize that now.

 

Finally, all of us here at The High Court will continue send our thoughts and prayers to the people of the Gulf Coast.  We pray for their health and their happiness.  And mostly, we pray for them to have hope.  With hope and the undefeatable American spirit, anything is possible.  God Bless You All.

 

 

To see The Powdered Wig’s photo essay on Hurricane Katrina, click here...

 

The Contempt Files…

 

Darth Reagan...Darth offers a special message in support of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.  And then he takes the MLBPA to task on steroid testing.

 

The Powdered Wig...The Wig has some advice for Raffy Palmeiro and is just a little disappointed in David Wells.

 

The Chief Justice...The Chief laments the slide of Dwight Gooden and has some harsh words for the looters in the Gulf Coast.

 

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Indy’s Blue Heaven...The Powdered Wig gazes into his crystal ball to tell us how they’ll finish this season in the NFL.

 

Make a Difference...The Wig’s photo essay shares compelling images of the destruction on the Gulf Coast and reminds all of us outside the area that we have nothing to complain about.

 

Prayers for Hope...The Chief Justice comments on the crisis in the Gulf South.

 

Setting A Precedent-1994...It was to be the first year of the wild card.  The Expos may have been the best team in baseball.  How radical was the 1994 season?  It never got finished.  Join The Powdered Wig for more...

 

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The Case for Rich Brooks...The Chief Justice takes a crack at reminding fans that Rich Brooks is one of the nation’s finest football coaches.

 

Battlin’ the Ballcoach...Steve Spurrier finds himself in the midst of controversy already in South Carolina.

Find out what Darth Reagan thinks of the scholarship flap in Gamecock Country.

 

From the High Court Hall of Fame…

 

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Infield of Dreams...Join The Powdered Wig as he explores which stars of the infield (at 2B, SS, and 3B) can expect a plaque in Cooperstown.

 

First-Sack Sluggers...Bagwell?  Palmeiro?  Giambi?  Join The Powdered Wig to see which veteran first basemen get a ticket to the Hall of Fame.

 

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The Chief Justice urges all of his readers to give what they can to assist the relief effort for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.  You can make a donation by going to www.redcross.org.