I am absolutely amazed out how my fair city has rallied around the people impacted by the 2010 Nashville Flood.
But if you thought that this blog's title alluded to a gushy homage to the "flood" of support that has descended upon Nashville, you are only half correct.
I have an observation to make. Not a critique, not a complaint, just an observation. It's probably going to piss a few of you off.
The "flood" I refer to is one of bottled water, specifically the cases of it that can be found at any of the Information Centers, Relief Sites, or scattered about the neighborhoods impacted by the flood.
Saturday, May 8th, I helped in the clean up efforts in a Nashville area neighborhood (one seriously impacted). At one point, there were four of us pulled away from the job of ripping out soggy drywall to move cases of water. We moved roughly thirty cases of water, at one house. As we were moving these cases of water, we noticed a large truck with a flat-bed trailer that was slowly making it's way up the street. Very slowly. They were handing out water. They were also blocking another truck that was bringing much-needed cleaning supplies. Behind that truck, was a van...the van had water too. See where I'm going???
If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it is also probably soaked in bottled water.
I understand that some of you will not enjoy this post. "Who are you to critique any relief efforts?".... "Why try to lessen any act of volunteerism?"..... I am also sure that some of you were out there handing out water. There could be a correlation.
At some point it seems that bottled water became the lowest common form of an otherwise good act. Somewhere along the way, these cases of water became a manifestation of what I saw as typical of human nature. They are symbols of inefficiency within any group, organization, or action.
There were half the amount of needed crowbars, hammers, and saws. There were also half the amount of needed strong backs. Plastic storage bins were worth their weight in gold. Large contractor/lawn bags were needed. Utility knives were represented, but poorly. Masks and gloves were decently stocked, but not overly so.
But each man, woman, and child seemed to have a case of water at their disposal.
But if you thought that this blog's title alluded to a gushy homage to the "flood" of support that has descended upon Nashville, you are only half correct.
I have an observation to make. Not a critique, not a complaint, just an observation. It's probably going to piss a few of you off.
The "flood" I refer to is one of bottled water, specifically the cases of it that can be found at any of the Information Centers, Relief Sites, or scattered about the neighborhoods impacted by the flood.
Saturday, May 8th, I helped in the clean up efforts in a Nashville area neighborhood (one seriously impacted). At one point, there were four of us pulled away from the job of ripping out soggy drywall to move cases of water. We moved roughly thirty cases of water, at one house. As we were moving these cases of water, we noticed a large truck with a flat-bed trailer that was slowly making it's way up the street. Very slowly. They were handing out water. They were also blocking another truck that was bringing much-needed cleaning supplies. Behind that truck, was a van...the van had water too. See where I'm going???
If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it is also probably soaked in bottled water.
I understand that some of you will not enjoy this post. "Who are you to critique any relief efforts?".... "Why try to lessen any act of volunteerism?"..... I am also sure that some of you were out there handing out water. There could be a correlation.
At some point it seems that bottled water became the lowest common form of an otherwise good act. Somewhere along the way, these cases of water became a manifestation of what I saw as typical of human nature. They are symbols of inefficiency within any group, organization, or action.
There were half the amount of needed crowbars, hammers, and saws. There were also half the amount of needed strong backs. Plastic storage bins were worth their weight in gold. Large contractor/lawn bags were needed. Utility knives were represented, but poorly. Masks and gloves were decently stocked, but not overly so.
But each man, woman, and child seemed to have a case of water at their disposal.
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