Delayed Reaction

I left town the day before the rains came, and missed the flood entirely. (I was lucky: A friend let me know my house was not damaged.) I saw the pictures on television, and friends across the country began calling and emailing to check on me. I knew it was bad, but I did not know how devastating until I spoke on the phone with a few friends who had been affected directly.

On the drive home from Alabama today, I noticed a Red Cross Disaster Relief truck with a Mississippi license plate heading toward Nashville. I can only assume the volunteers inside were coming to assist people who are suffering: our neighbors down the street, our co-workers across town, our brothers and sisters we’ve never met. Tomorrow I will go and see what I can do to help.