Twelve years ago today, Chattanooga was busy coordinating efforts to assist with the after effects of a mammoth hurricane that came ashore from the Gulf of Mexico.
As what’s left of Hurricane Harvey’s outer bands spin their way out of the Tennessee Valley, Scenic City residents may be feeling a little bit of deja vu.
Fortunately, there’s nothing like a national disaster to get the minds of the country’s haters off statues, protests and acting put-upon.
But there’s nothing fortunate about the unprecedented flooding in Houston and its environs and no one more put-upon at this time than its citizens. We’re even aware of folks who were safe during the hurricane and flooding but found themselves out of their dwelling after the rain left and the sun came out when more water was released to ease the pressure on the city’s bayous.
Chattanooga is not likely to find itself as a temporary or permanent home for Houston residents as it did for New Orleans residents after Katrina. Houston, after all, is 372 miles farther from the Scenic City than New Orleans. Texans, too, are a proud people and are only too happy to say, “We can take care of it.”
One all too typical meme says, “When all of this is over Texas will show the whole country what it means to come together regardless of race, religion, gender or sexuality. We will save each other, because that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
Another one suggests that, after the flood waters recede, the state should raise a monument to rednecks with bass boats, who have saved so many people.
The humor aside, Americans are a generous people and – despite attempts by the insensitive to politicize the situation – are likely to feel the Lone Star State’s plight and give from their hearts.
And even though Chattanooga won’t find itself the home of many human refugees, it already has opened its shelters for the animal kind.
Both the Humane Educational Society and the McKamey Animal Shelter were expecting the arrival Friday of animals from shelters in Texas and Louisiana. Indeed, the county’s two largest animal shelters are as generous with their space and their supplies as the city was to people who streamed our way after Katrina. Both already have all the animals they can say grace over, but both staffs understand the human emotion that calls for adoptable pets to be saved along with people.
So while both centers would love for us to swoop in and take one of their current tenants or new arrivals, they’d be just as happy to have canned food, chew bones, treats and washable small blankets. And if a donation to an organization to help Houstonians is not in the budget or feels too risky, perhaps a small assist to animals who need help in the storm’s wake might be just the thing. Our helping hands are always appreciated.