I was at the Astrodome this morning volunteering. There were two huge lines, one was for the Red Cross debit cards Every free-loader in Houston drove to the dome in hopes of getting one along with the legitimate evacuees. The other line was for the free airline tickets that Continental airlines is giving to anyone willing to take them.
None of that surprised me. What did surprise me was one of the announcements made while I was in the dome. The announcer said they had a number of "luxury" furnished apartments available in the Palm Beach, Florida area (with free transportation) available for anyone willing to relocate. I was tempted to rip off my volunteer wristband and get in line myself.
I think with all the hurricane activity lately, I'd wait for an offer a little more inland.
Yeah, So?
I heard the apartment owners' representative speaking on South Florida radio this week. She was telling other apartment owners in Florida how to get in touch with her so they could form a group of people who wanted to offer their vacant apartments to storm victims TEMPORARILY. It's a PRIVATE sector donation.
Maybe they will even get a big tax write off for doing it, so it might even BENEFIT them which would be government charity in a way.
I just heard a great soundbite on Tulsa news TV tonight. An older black man, who had fled the storm early and came to his brother's house in Tulsa. Through some clever networking, the man found a job within two days, and began working. Here's the money-line: "It's good to be working, to be somewhat independent, you know. Not to be, you know, (he pauses briefly to find the right word) a liability."
NOT TO BE A LIABILITY. What a man. What an American. I wish he were contagious.