Stark Realities

I decided to brave going outside and down the street to Publix and was greeted by a flooded parking lot, trees that had thrown up everywhere (phrase courtesy of the Elf) and my car buried in branches. Took the long way out and saw TONS of branches down. No power lines down. People driving around. And then I got to Publix and I was reminded of being back home during the invasion.

The grocery store was hot from no A/C. No baked goods AT ALL. Several shelves emptied of inventory. Refrigerated goods flying off the shelf due to no refrigeration. And all of a sudden I remember the first and only trip we took to the Safeway down the street from our house back home during the invasion. I can remember a hoard of people surrounding the entrance trying to get food and my mother trying to vie for some. I remember seeing one of the guidance counselors from the school and the abject fear in her face as people were pushing and screaming for even a basic loaf of bread. I can still feel the heat and smell the bodies crammed together and the food wafting from the doors. And then I snapped back to reality and thought about what it must be like for people in the middle east now during the war and how this all must pale in comparison to what they must be going through. I only tasted a fraction of it back home, having left before it got REALLY bad. We take for granted so many things here, even when there is a disaster, but honestly, it fares much worse for people overseas. Anyway....

This entry was posted on Monday, September 06, 2004 at 2:46 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.