Riding The Storm Out

First I want to welcome newsy, (former The News2k administrator) on board Show-Me Opinions.

Now, I'm going to take the bull by the horns by talking about the recent hurricane and those along the coast who ignored the mandatory evacuation order. Unlike some, I believe if a person decides that he or she is bound and determined to stay, I don't see a problem with staying. What I do have a problem with, is them calling for help and expecting someone to rescue them from their roof top after they made the decision to stay. Nobody wants to leave their home. But to put others in danger just because you don't want to leave is wrong. Stay should mean just that, stay. If your food and water floats away, stay. If you have to live on your roof for a couple of weeks, stay. Whatever happens during and after the storm your on your own.

I saw those on the news standing in their backyard watching the waves come crashing over the sea wall hours before hurricane Ike hit who said they were staying. Officials were going door to door begging these people to leave and still they stayed. I heard things like "I have to stay here and protect my property from looters." Well, I don't think your dead body is going to slow looters down much. What it does do, is put emergency personnel in harms way. They know that sooner or later they will have to return to either rescue these people or put them in a body bag. My hats off to first responders for the job they do, because unless you slept through several days of warnings, I don't have much sympathy for you if you make the decision to stay.
Then there is the excuse, and this one irritates me to no end. "If the Lord has decided it's my time to go, there is nothing I can do about it." Yes, the Lord has sent a hurricane to destroy half of Texas because it's your time to go. The last time I checked the Lord did invent brains in which to make decisions with. Did you ever stop and think that maybe he gave it to you so that you could get some use out of it in times like that? For those that truly believe that way, stop throwing your money away on health care coverage. If it's your "time to go," you certainly don't need a doctor or medicine.

The stress people face when having to leave their home and not knowing what they will return to is understandably great. Being told to leave time after time certainly must get old. That however, comes with the territory of living along the coast. If people feel that they must stay to protect their material things, by all means stay. Just don't ask others to risk something that their families wont be able to replace.