Sweet Girl and I watched the fundraiser concert on television tonight to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast. I promise I didn't JUST watch it because Billy Joel was performing. Okay, that's a lie. That is exactly the reason I watched it. But I paid attention to the rest of it too.
And I texted a donation to the Red Cross. So there.
Sweet Girl and I both assumed that Billy would sing "New York State of Mind," and we were both wrong. He sang "Miami 2017," a song he wrote back in the 80's about New York City being devastated by disaster. He considered it a science fiction song, little realizing that the devastation mentioned in the song would visit New York not once but twice. And I'm guessing when he wrote it, 2017 seemed like a long, long, long way off.
I'm intrigued by the use of the term "superstorm," as if giving hurricanes names and then retiring those names isn't enough. I'm not CRITICIZING the use of the term, I promise. I do wonder, though, what term the weather folks are going to use when the next superstorm comes along, especially if it's superer than this one. Superduper storm?
I certainly don't want to fall into the trap some people have, specifically the folks I overheard at the blood drive today. I'm paraphrasing, but they were implying that more attention is being paid to THIS hurricane because it happened to New York City, and that there wasn't nearly this much attention paid to the victims of Hurricane Katrina when it hit New Orleans. (Hello? Did they even WATCH television for the last 7 years?)
I don't think that should be anybody's focus. I don't think we need to compare the two storms, even if one was super and one was just a plain old hurricane. Loss is loss, devastation is devastation, death is death. I'm glad they held a fundraising concert this soon after the storm, and I hope the response is beyond anyone's expectations.
I am also glad they have canceled the New York City Marathon this weekend. I originally had mixed feelings, but after seeing pictures of the damage to the city and surrounding areas, I think canceling it was absolutely the right thing to do.
Besides, canceling the marathon frees up my Sunday for football.
1 comment:
I was glad to hear they canceled the marathon, since it seemed terrible to put yet another strain on the city's resources. Although it would have brought some money into the city, it made no sense when the residents can't even buy gas!
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