i tried to just scan it, but my scanner isn't big enough and i'm not good enough (nor do i have the time) to scan it in pieces and put it all together. anyway, here it is. i wrote this the other day around the edges of the cover of the february 22, 2007 usa today, which taylor's dad kindly mailed to her, so that i would have a copy.
it's been snowing for 2 days straight, the temperature has been in the low 30s-high 20s. i just finished forcing people to take notice of me in a brilliant performance, a girl (that is not my girlfriend) just told me how much she wants me, and i just struck the wrong chord with the girl that i do call my girlfriend. i might go to alaska and i'm in another (seemingly very good) play. i might, at this point, fall completely apart. none of this actually matters at all, i could succeed or not. all the while, though, post-katrina (post-k) baton rouge is struggling with its identity.
right now
right now
right now i see myself in a clutch situation
i see the touchdown in 5 yards to win the game
the top of the mountain
the last scoop of ice cream
the last mortgage payment
the $25,000 question is coming up next.
thats how i feel right now
but, right now, i see obstacales all around me
i see the sirens wooing me to their island
the episode of ds9 where sisko is living in the 50's
the inability to perform
the girl
last week, a football game was played in chicago between the chicago bears and the new orleans saints. forget that you know anything about sports for a moment. forget that you love the saints, or the bears for that matter. forget reggie bush, lovie smith, the monsters of the midway, mr. "i own dealerships" benson, etc.
just remember this: a little over a year ago, a hurricane went through the southeastern part of the united states. in the city of new orleans, over 1,200 people died. in some parts of the city, electricity is just being installed. people are living in trailers all over the country, and my family lost their livelihood. it was a national tragedy on par with that venerable event on september 11, 2001. and don't try to tell me that it isn't.
back to the game last week.
it was apparently funny for one fan to bring a sign to the game that read: "da bears: finishing what katrina started." not funny. it was apparently funny for the bar i was in to play "rock you like a hurricane," when the bears scored. not funny. on facebook, there are groups upon offensive groups about the bears = katrina. not. funny. at. all. the local press here has even written parallels. not funny, and somebody should be fired.
last week, a football game was played. emphasis on game. i was reading somebody from n.o.'s blog yesterday and she posed a good question. what if the terrorists had hit the sears tower on 9/11 and last week, saints fans held up signs saying "the saints: finishing what the terrorists started." would that be ok? wouldn't the national media call n.o. fans the worst in the world?
i'm happy for the bears. i'm happy for the city i live in. but this has been too much. i have never been more dismayed in the lack of compassion people have. all i can ask is that, if you see this sort of thing, report it. condemn it. tell the person that's doing it that it's not in the least bit funny, and demand that they stop.
