I don't really think FEMA did everything in California. Much like I don't think they did everything in Hawaii, neh?
Here's the original. Snatch it for posterityA good 9,000 people ended up here, at Qualcomm Stadium, and if this was the endgame of a disaster, it would be a disaster that seemed possible only in the idyll of California.
There was a banh mi picnic in the parking lot, beef empanadas on the chow line, Caesar salads, cartons of fresh Starbucks House Blend, free magazines, toys for the kids, cots for grandma, pizza by the slice or, if you wished, the box. There was a man playing jazz guitar, a blues band, massages and acupuncture.
"It's better service than when you go to a restaurant," said Gary Potter of Rancho Penasquitos. "Every time you turn around, people are asking us if you need something -- water, food, anything."
"They thought of everything," said Erin Kelley, his wife. She was particularly impressed by the massages being offered in the parking lot.
A steady stream of volunteers brought blankets, potato chips, diapers -- anything they thought someone might need.
The center is being operated by the city of San Diego but almost everything consumed within it was donated.
The place was so opulent relative to the standards of disaster relief centers that for some it was an improvement in living conditions.( Here's the whole original )I am so damn proud of my state right now. I won't deny it.
The Red Cross sent me a blast this morning with some figures:
As of 2pm, October 24, 2007: From Santa Barbara to San Diego, about 8,000 firefighters attempted to extinguish more than a dozen wildfires that had scorched at least 645 square miles (1,670 square kilometers), an area twice the size of New York City, in the past four days. Five people have died and 1,664 structures have been destroyed.
Since the latest wildfires broke out Oct. 21st, about 321,ooo residents have been ordered to leave their homes, and an additional 500,000 people have left voluntarily, making it the largest evacuation in California's history.
Your American Red Cross is providing the immediate emergency needs for those directly affected by the fires.
The American Red Cross Response as of Midnight, October 23, 2007:
Shelters/Evacuation Centers Opened: 24
Shelter Overnight Stays: 9,481
Meals Served: 9,028
Snacks Served: 14,973
Total Number of Red Cross Workers: 3,352
Total Number of Red Cross Volunteers: 3,264
Workers Given Training: 2,976The emphases are mine, but I think you get the point.
You want to live here, you gotta work. But if you work, there's enough to go around. You'll pay the taxes, you'll take the shit jobs...and when things go bad, we got your back. Everyone has to work like a dog to make it here - and we all know it.
You hear about the nutcases who think all the ills can be traced to "illegals" using the system.
The rest of us - and we are the vast majority, no kidding - aren't saying that. We just know how stupidly expensive it is to live here.
And we share, readily. You want to come here? Come on in. Jump in, paddle like hell like the rest of us and welcome to the party.
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