Thoughts from my twisted mind on all that's going on in the world the last few days...
- Tornadoes - It's still hard to put into perspective what April 27th's tornadoes really did. I haven't really seen the damage, other than in pictures. I think it's safe to say that at least in Alabama, it will go down as a worse day than 4/3/74. As I type the number of missing in Tuscaloosa is STILL over 500. That can't be good, folks. I've read where people have said that the death toll likely has to get higher before the cleanup is all said and done. And that's just in one town. I have friends from Cordova... it's gone. Hackelburg? Gone. Phil Campbell. Tanner. Harvest. Dekalb County. That doesn't even address what happened even closer to where I live, where Trenton, Ringgold, and Apison were so devastated. I wish I could put some great speech to words and try to eloquently describe how I feel, but I just can't. Survivor's guilt? I think I have some of that.
- Bin Laden - I don't know if he deserves my attention. I probably shouldn't even waste my time typing words that mention him. I guess something has to be said though. Look, I struggle with my Christianity, I admit that. I certainly believe in God, but also have a very hard time serving Him and glorifying Him as I should be doing. Does it make Him sad for people like me (and many of us) to celebrate the death of a man? I don't know, pals. I hope He understands us on this one, though. While I don't want any man to have to suffer the curse of an eternity in hell, it's hard to argue that Bin Laden doesn't deserve it. I am thankful that after ten years of eluding us, that he finally got a small measure of the justice he so much deserved. I'll also gladly admit that a part of me wishes he could have been brought back alive and drug through the streets of Manhattan while people point, laughed, kicked, spit on, and generally did whatever else they felt like doing to the pathetic SOB. But again, like I said... I'm not the best person in the world. Lord, please forgive me.
- Myrtle Beach, SC - Finally, I wanted to mention being here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as I type this. I was conflicted over this. My parents called me about two weeks ago and, sort of "out of the blue", asked if I wanted to go with them on this trip. I agreed. Now look, I love my family to death. I really do. But, we have a lot of differences. At 28, it's hard to go on a family vacation with your parents and 23 year old brother. Four grown adults, even in a three bedroom condo, just isn't a good recipe for harmony. A few months ago I was engaged and had a completely different dynamic working with my family, and my fiancee would have been with me on a trip like this. That would have made things a little easier. Seeing a bunch of happy couples walking around, and you still trying to move on from the last relationship, is not an easy thing to do. Plus I've got this terrible guilt of being here, while others are back in Alabama or Tennessee or Georgia, helping with the tornado cleanup. It would have been foolish to turn down this trip and lose money on canceled reservations... but it still feels so wrong. I will have to do SOMETHING when I get back to Chattanooga. I am a very fortunate person, and do want to help those that can't say the same.
I'll leave with this picture. As Jimmy Buffett might say... "the weather is here, I wish you were beautiful"...
