Watching the rescue operations in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee reinforces my hope for our nation. The basic goodness of the American people is again on full display as neighbors help neighbors, strangers forget their safety to give a helping hand and people far from the tragedy send contributions and critically needed basic supplies. ALL of our hearts break for those folks whose lives have been decimated.
I was in Ireland with my middle daughter when Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. We were with friends from Germany on the far reaches of the Ring of Kerry, overlooking Puffin Island. Isolated, without news feed, I was shocked when, after a few days, we meandered into a nearby town and I saw the headlines: Katrina, a Cat 5 devastated New Orleans. The Irish media was full of dire predictions and there was scant coverage of the heroics that had indeed occurred.
I didn’t know what to expect when we landed in Boston and we had a long drive home to Kansas. Chaos, gas shortages, riots? I had no idea. But what did we encounter? The American spirit saying WE WILL get through this, we will recover, we will go forward was alive and well. American flags hanging from every overpass in Massachusetts, news stories of the heroics of regular people rescuing neighbors and strangers risking their lives to rescue people with whom they had no connection.
