AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2005 > September > 01 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USFeeling like a selfish jerk
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
I admit it. I got caught up in the gas hype Wednesday afternoon. (What is it about seeing other people in line that compels us to join the line? Stupidity, I guess.)
I topped off for the low, low price of $3.09 a gallon and got impatient at having to wait and started thinking of all I had to do this weekend — drive to Columbia, where gameday traffic is always lousy, for the South Carolina opener tonight; drive home on Friday; drive to Auburn, where traffic is just as bad, on Saturday for the Georgia Tech game. All on Labor Day weekend, no less.
With gas prices going through the figurative roof.
And then I thought: Whoa.
When last I looked, I still have a house. And it still has an actual roof.
The pictures from New Orleans are sobering in the same way the pictures were from Ground Zero, except that Ground Zero was a product of a willful act of evil and Hurricane Katrina simply… happened. New Orleans is a place I’ve come to know rather well, having been there a dozen times and having stayed often at the Hyatt Regency that overlooks the Superdome. That’s the same Superdome that has become a refugee center, the same Hyatt that lost all its windows and is lucky to still be standing.
People along the Gulf Coast are homeless and all but hopeless, and there I was feeling put out at having to buy gas so I could cover two football games in three days. Yeah, I’m a selfish jerk.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: Mark Bradley, Quick Hit
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By Pete
September 1, 2005 04:12 PM | Link to this
Mark, I don’t think that makes you a selfish jerk - but the whole experience is forcing many of us to realize there are more important things to be worried about than our own problems of the moment. Keep up the great work!
By Barry
September 2, 2005 10:11 AM | Link to this
Mark, This disaster forces all of us to question values. I think some of those questions belong to others as well. I live in a safe area, but my heart is in New Orleans and with those hit hard.
By Jason
September 2, 2005 10:28 AM | Link to this
Instead of driving all over creation following our favorite college teams, we should save the gas money and donate to the Red Cross. I doubt many folks in southern LA, MS, AL are worried about who will win the UGA/Boise State game(although I am…and admittedly I too feel like a jerk).
By lew30305
September 2, 2005 10:39 AM | Link to this
Just happened?!
Seems to me the lack of planning and resources are making it much worse than it could have been. Underfunding of infrastructure like the levees and destruction of the wetlands that would protect New Orleans are the result of short sightedness and “ain’t payin no taxes” attitude prevalent in the country today. We are all selfish jerks for letting the people of New Orleans down.
By bcf
September 2, 2005 12:33 PM | Link to this
Get your facts straight, lew. The levees are what contributed to the drying of the wetlands, where regular flooding kept them…wet. So take your pick - bigger levees or wetlands. Oh, yeah - and the flooding came from the lake on the north side of town, not from storm surge from the south that the wetlands would have reduceds. Plus the 70-mile levee product current getting started, paid with Federal dollars. So knock it off and let’s get back to sports.
By Jim
September 2, 2005 12:45 PM | Link to this
You are not a jerk. You and I are lucky to be elsewhere during this tragedy. Unfortunately a number of us will face some sort of natural disaster and we can only hope that we are better prepared on a personal basis to take care of ourselves. A good way to begin is by donating to the Red Cross to assure that they are still in business.
By charles goodwin
September 3, 2005 09:59 AM | Link to this
You are a “class act.” Consequently, please find yourself another job with a first class paper. AJC is extremely backwoods. E.g., I can’t find a score for last night’s game between Ariz. and Utah. I guess the game is not important. Personally, I would like to see the score, in hopes of the Pac 10 losing. Any help?
By lindsay
September 4, 2005 01:28 AM | Link to this
you are wrong, mostely. and a jerk. you have a heart, i gave what i could and i know you did too. i say you are ok. lindsay
By Adam Scott
September 4, 2005 10:42 AM | Link to this
The sad part is that while you, I, and many others have experienced those same emotions and realizations the past few days it won’t last. As soon as things are “back to normal” in New Orleans we will go on being just as cynical and impatient as we always have been.
By GT
September 5, 2005 02:03 PM | Link to this
New Orleans will never go back to normal. I wish we had the minds of a few of those football coaches involved in the rescue mission, there might have been a few lives saved. I like the Atlanta JC, in fact I like Atlanta and thank God I can live 55 years where I was born, with people I love and in a state where the finest college and high school football in the world is played.
By Michael P Cameron
September 5, 2005 03:04 PM | Link to this
I just read today’s (Labor Day, ‘05) front page article under the headline proclaiming that 10,000 people may have perished. That’s what the mayor of New Orleans speculates. I’ve donated # and will drive over some clean underwear and socks to a Red Cross shelter today. I hope all sports fans around here in Atlanta will do what we can afford to do to help the victims of this horrible tragedy.
I shudder (literally) at the thought of all those dead people and animals and the gruesome way they died. May their reward be great in Heaven. One day you’re living your life, going to work, watching TV, eating ice cream, arguing sports, petting your cat or dog, enjoying your family…and then out of nowhere—the world caves in on top of you. Homes, businesses, personal keepsakes such as family pictures that cannot be replaced are gone. Insurance, which not everyone had, can’t cover everything.
The looting, while recognizing a sense of desperation, is inexcusable.
Mark, you aren’t a “jerk,” as you display compassion. But I share your sentiment of realizing that all too often I am flat-out guilty of taking my many blessings for granted. The aftermath of this tsunami’s savagery serves as a reminder not entirely like the reality check yielded by the horrors of 9/11.
Life is precious. We should let our loved ones know we love them now…while we can.
By Michael P Cameron
September 5, 2005 03:15 PM | Link to this
Correction: 1/, I’ve donated $…and 2/, The aftermath of this tsunami’s savagery serves as a reminder not entirely unlike the reality check yielded by the horrors of 9/11.
Sorry for the miscues…but the meaning is what’s important.