Monday, September 22, 2008

I AM CONCERNED










Subject: I AM CONCERNED
>
>
> >
> >
> > By: Paul Marx
> >
> > Owner of "Louisiana Proud" KBON 101.1FM
> >
> > NOTE: Just so this is not interpreted to be a "racist" observation, let me
> > make it clear that this writing refers to ALL races!!
> >
> > What is going on? Why do some people feel that everyone else, including
> > the government, owes them?? It seems that there are some people who think
> > that is cases of emergencies they automatically become everyone else's
> > responsibility and have none of their own? That needs to change!!
> >
> > For Hurricane Gustave, I saw the vast majority of the people who were
> > getting on evacuation buses, knowing there was a few hours of bus ride
> > ahead of them, do so EMPTY HANDED! Not even a bottle of water for
> > themselves or even their little children! They've had days to prepare, but
> > they prepared nothing! How about a couple of sandwiches for the trip? No.
> >
> > I watched the news and saw people complain about the place they had been
> > evacuated to being "filthy" with trash! Many of those complainers are
> > sitting or lying on cots furnished to them. Well, I'm sure it's not the
> > volunteer workers who dirtied the place. My advice is get off your asses
> > and clean up!!
> >
> > For one of the past hurricanes, I received a phone call at KBON 101.1FM
> > radio from an evacuation center. Keep in mind, this center had several
> > hundred evacuees housed there for their safety. Well, the caller explained
> > to me that there was an 18 wheeler that arrived with water, meals and
> > other supplies, and asked if I would announce that they needed volunteers
> > to help unload the truck. I have to tell you, I lost it. "You mean to tell
> > me that you have hundreds of evacuees in that building and you want me to
> > ask someone to leave their house and their family to come and unload THEIR
> > truck?", I asked. Before the person could answer I recommended "I'll tell
> > you what to do. Go inside and tell them the truck is there and needs to be
> > unloaded and that you need volunteers. If no one offers to help, you
> > simply lock up the back of the 18 wheeler and tell it to go somewhere else
> > where it will be more appreciated"
> >
> > In another situation, I received a call and was asked to announce that
> > they needed volunteers to help serve meals to their two hundred or so
> > evacuees. My advice again to that caller was to get some volunteers among
> > the evacuees and if they refused, then simply don't serve food.
> >
> > I am concerned that the day will come when we will have a lot of trouble
> > finding anyone willing to open it's doors to the people who need to
> > evacuate, and I cannot blame them if they choose to not make evacuees
> > welcome. After all, they have nothing to gain by doing so. People come
> > into centers, halls, etc. and practically trash the place. They complain
> > to the press about not being comfortable, the place being dirty, not
> > liking the food, not getting water often enough, and more. Then they leave
> > the place in filth!!
> >
> > I am concerned that the day will come when people will not volunteer to
> > leave their home and families to go and "wait on" people who have
> > absolutely no appreciation of them and what they are doing to help.
> > Imagine volunteering to help someone out of the goodness of your heart and
> > not only, not being appreciated, but being criticized for your service.
> > Personally, I'd rather stay home with my family then give my time to such
> > ungrateful people and would not blame anyone for feeling the same way.
> >
> > I saw on the news recently where the Red Cross was having problems getting
> > donations to help the people hurricane Gustave victims in our area. Could
> > it be that people around the country are seeing the "whiners" and the
> > "unappreciative" and just don't feel like giving to such people, knowing
> > it will not be appreciated?
> >
> > It's my belief that the American people are great, kindhearted and
> > generous people, and are very willing to help people who are trying to
> > help themselves but I think more & more of us Americans are feeling less &
> > less generous to people who just don't appreciate it. It's important to
> > know that no one owes you anything. It's important to know that people
> > will help you a lot faster when they see you trying to help yourself.
> >
> > I am concerned, and you should be too.
> >
> > God bless America, God bless Louisiana and God bless you!
> >
> > Paul Marx
> >
> > KBON 101.1FM
> >
> > www.kbon.com
> >



I have seen for myself two and heard about one story that makes me think of the letter above…and I have to admit I get angrier every time I think about them.

Story one:
A few years ago I was asked to place telephone (remember I’m an engineer for AT&T) cable down a road where Habitat for Humanity was building about fifteen new homes for people that had lost theirs during the storm. When a contractor and I pulled up I could not believe my eyes, there were 40 to 50 young collage kids working their asses off building houses. The first two houses on the road were complete and about six more were under construction. I talked to one of the collage kids and found out that they had taken the summer off to work FOR FREE all summer long. Let’s hear it for the kids, I was so amazed, it was such a great thing they were doing. Wow!!! Ok this is where the story turns ugly, very ugly; my blood boils just thinking about it. As I was walking down the road I noticed a huge Bar-B-Q going on between the two newly constructed homes with people running around everywhere having a good time, so I made a joke to the collage student and said “at least they feed you good around here” and to my shock the students reply “we moved those folks in about three weeks ago, and they have cookouts almost daily and have not offered the students anything not even a drink of water….nothing!!!!!!” these are the same students that built the two homes for them just weeks before……..there is something wrong here. How do those people live with their selves? I guess I will never understand.

Story two:

A while back my family and I owned a fitness center here in Petal, Ms. In our club we had a hot tub and steam room as well as lifting equmement, the steam room was kept hot by a steam generator located in another small room, from this room we (the owners) could adjust the temperature of the steam room, well as you could imagine the metal pipes that run away from the generator would get very hot (full of hot steam) so we placed a big sign on the door “danger keep out, owners only” yep you guessed it, one day one of our gym members (keep in mind this guy was in his forties and should know better) came into the gym holding his leg and whining about burning his leg on the hot pipe. So I asked him where he burned it and he said in the steam generator room, so I asked him if he saw the keep out sign, he said yea but he wanted to see if he could turn the steam room up hotter. I think we ended up giving him a free t-shirt to shut him up after he threatens to sue. Here is the sad part, in today’s world he would have most likely won.

Story three

The last story is something a co-worker told me about, I remember the day she walked in the office, with fire in her eyes. Another co-worker made the mistake and asked what was wrong and boy did he get an ear full while I just sat back and enjoyed the story. Ha-ha. Well the story went something like this…my buddy was at the grocery store picking out some food for the week ahead, as she was trying to find the best price on some steaks, a few people walked by her pushing a buggy full of the top cuts of meat. Then went to the sea food counter and started buying crab meat and lobster tails, after a few more chance meeting in the store, my buddy asked what they were doing with all that food, the people replayed the were having a party. So my buddy though that was great and went on with her shopping kind of wondering to herself what the people did for a living to be able to afford such high priced food in such large amounts. Once finished she went to the check out counter to check out, and guess who was checking out in front of her. Yep you guessed it... the people with the buggies full of meat. I bet you have figured out where I going with this story by now, haven’t you. I don’t remember the total but it was HUGE. YOU GUESSED IT…out came food stamps to pay for it all……there is just something wrong when a person works hard all their life and has a very well paying job, but still has to pick through meats, to find a deal, then you have people not working that can have the top choice meats and general foods and have the government pick up the tab. Wake up people this has got to end.

Ok… as my buddy Chad would say, I’ll get down off of my soap box now.


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