By Staff
Understanding life-changing events comes with age
Some of the benefits and advantages of age are knowledge, experience and wisdom. Life changing events become burned into your memory – Where you were when … JFK was shot, men landed on the moon, Hurricane Camille, the Challenger exploded, Columbia came apart, the Twin Towers fell and Hurricane Katrina.
Who can forget being hunkered down as the CATEGORY 3 (National Weather Service) Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana / Mississippi state line on AUG. 29, 2005 (any calendar).
Perhaps Master Smith spent entirely too much time learning the wrong lessons from his Republican teachers while on his sojourn to Washington D.C., OR perhaps he learned exactly the lesson that their president has been teaching us ever since that eventful day in September of 2001 – never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Maybe Master Smith is in just too big of a hurry to grow up that he forgets when events actually happened and what they entailed or maybe he is in just too big of a hurry to grow up that he can not be bothered with facts and truth.
Yes, the Corps of Engineer levees failed and caused most of the destruction, but the bungled relief efforts were caused by the Bush administrations total mismanagement of the situation and the "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" attitude of refusing to see, much less acknowledge what was right in front of them. This was the same attitude that sent us after imagined and nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, more likely mass distraction, in Iraq. It is not like they didn't see it coming.
Remember Hurricane Pam which struck New Orleans back in July of 2004, don't remember it, FEMA acted as if it never happened and would like everyone to forget it. Hurricane Pam was a hypothetical disaster scenario for a 13 parish area in Southeastern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Hurricane Pam was a slow moving Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 mph. It brought with it up to 20 inches of rain to some parts of southeastern Louisiana and caused levee topping storm surge. The consequence assessment for Hurricane Pam indicated that more than one million people would be displaced and that 600,000 buildings would be damaged, with some completely destroyed. The report on the simulation, TIME magazine reported, warned that transportation would be a major problem in any storm situation paralleling the fictional "Hurricane Pam." Katrina just snuck right up on them.
Several of our most famous and populous cities were built on other than ideal locations. Both San Francisco and Los Angeles have been severely damaged by earthquakes since their founding and Chicago has felt the destructive power of wind blown fire and cold over the years, but I see no one seriously trying to move these towns. Then there is Federal City, that wonderment of thoughtful planning that routinely floods due to its proximity to the sea and the prevalence of hurricanes to visit there from time to time … you know it as Washington, D. C. Much like our own beloved Atmore, which was built on several saw mill ponds, it too has a tendency to flood but no one wants to move … well there is Rivercane.
It is said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps if George Bush had spent more time studying rather than cheerleading at Yale he would have learned more, perhaps if he had really gone to war rather than punching his ticket with the Alabama Air National Guard, and why not the Texas Air National Guard, or perhaps if he had only listened to men that had really been in wars such as Colin Powell, rather than firing them, we would not be in this never ending nightmare of Iraq.
I remember May 1, 2003, that was almost five years ago, when George Bush landed on the carrier Abraham Lincoln, stood in front of a banner that proclaimed “Mission Accomplished” and announced to the world "In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."
In whose reality did that take place?
Dan A. Currie Jr.
Atmore
To our Young Life friends,
Thank you to everyone who came to our Third Annual Banquet on Feb. 18 and helped make our banquet night fun and a big success–to the YMCA who supplied the facility, to South Alabama Vending who served a delicious meal, to the kids who helped serve and the parents who made sure they came and to all those who helped us decorate, set up the sound system and gave of your time and resources. Because of you, we were able to get the message out to others in our community about our mission to reach every kid in Atmore with the gospel. We continue to need your prayers, encouragement and partnership to help us reach more kids and make a difference in their lives.
May the Lord richly bless each one of you.
Serving Him together for the kids of Atmore,
Atmore Area Young Life Committee
It’s almost that time again! What time is that, you say? Well, May is when we celebrate Older Americans Month. On May 15, 2008, we hold our Senior Picnic and spend the day enriching the lives of the older adults who touch our lives.
We expect approximately 300 senior citizens from all over Escambia County to participate in this annual event.
Please support us by sponsoring this event with a monetary or door prize donation. No donation is too big or too small. By working together we can improve the health and well-being of our nation’s older adults and pave the way for future generations.
Any support will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Regina Gohagan, Lacinda Mitchell
Agency On Aging - Escambia County