Week 1: Katrina and the Bible
1283 words by gabby19
The morning Hurricane Katrina hit started like any other. At that time we had decided to stay because our thought was that it was just another hurricane. It would pass with a lot of rain and minimal damage. The most we would have was some knocked down trees and power outages. We had stocked up on all the necessary safety products and were prepared to ride it out. That was before Mayor Nagin called for a mandatory evacuation the day of the hurricane hitting. So we packed up only a small amount of things because we thought we were only going to be gone a couple of days, like usual. We had to take my sister’s dog and rabbit because she refused to leave them home. It was me, my sister, my mom, my grandma, my uncle, his son and the boy’s mother. It was a good thing my grandma had a van and my uncle had a car, because we would have been stuck. We hit the road heading towards Hattiesburg, Mississippi. That was where we usually went for hurricanes. We were stuck in traffic for hours just trying to get out of the city. When we finally made it to our destination we though everything was fine until Katrina turned our way. We left to get away from the hurricane and we wound up in its path. The house we stayed in was in the middle of the woods so it was already scary. When Katrina hit us we felt it. There was so much wind and rain outside you could barely hear. There even happened to be a tornado that struck just behind our house, knocking down many of the trees back there. After the hurricane passed us you could see the destruction. We were left without lights and the only way to keep our food was to ride miles away just to get bags of ice that didn’t last long. The only way we got news was through a portable tv we had brought with us, and that is how we found out about the levees breaking. The clothes we had brought with us ran out, but it was a good thing my mom had brought the clothes that were in the dryer when we left. If she hadn’t, I don’t know what we would have done. I don’t think washing was an option. We tried to get in contact with family, but having no service or electricity to charge the phones really hindered that. Being in the woods at night with no type of light is not that fun. My cousin, who was in the hospital at the time in Hattiesburg, had to be airlifted out to another one, because he was really sick. When we finally made it out of Mississippi after about a week to Texas we were relieved. Some time later we had found out our dad had been airlifted to a shelter somewhere in Texas. He had stayed to watch the house and the dog. When the flood water started to rise he was forced to move to the roof. The military got him out, but he was forced to leave the dog behind. We were all happy to get to a place that wasn’t totally hindered and we could actually go places and not be stuck in a dark house in the middle of nowhere.
As I begin the semester in theology I can already see that it will be a fun class to take. The readings might be tedious, especially since I hate to read things in old English, but I can work with it. I expect to get a good understanding of the bible and its stories from this course. I also expect to get a good insight into the history that is presented through the biblical stories. I used to go to church a lot, but other then Sunday school, I didn’t really pay attention so the bible is not something a really know. I usually went to sleep actually, so I never got the jest of any sermons that were preached. Usually in Sunday school I only paid attention to the fun stuff. Hey, I was a kid and was bored pretty easily. So now that I’m a grownup I expect to appreciate the Bible more. Even though I expect to learn a great deal I only took this course to fulfill my requirements for Pharmacy College. If I didn’t have to take it, I honestly would not have even thought about it. As you can probably see I want to be a pharmacist when I get out of school. It’s a lot better than being a doctor I think. I don’t have to be on call all day and there is no blood in sight. Even though I took this course because it was required I think it would help me a lot in my career goal. Being a pharmacist also requires you to have a good moral and ethical code. Studying the Bible will help get anyone’s mind straight and be the moral and just person that they have to be.
As I read the commitments that are set for this theology class, I can see that I will be able to follow them. I never miss a class if I don’t have to. I would feel like I missed something important if I did. I’m always on time, because I don’t like to be late for anything. I can participate if I have an opinion about something. I don’t talk that much usually, but I will tell you what I think about something. Everyone tells me that I’m a nice and respectable young lady, so that’s not a problem. Also, plagiarism is not a problem for me. I don’t see why anyone would plagiarize. Your own thoughts are just as important and there is thing called the internet. Teachers can type in a sentence and get your whole paper right there, so it’s not worth it.
In class we learned that the year 586 BCE was a key event in the Bible. That year the Babylonian empire captured the city of Jerusalem. I guess this is a key event because around that time the people of Jerusalem began writing things down. They feared that they would lose their culture so they had to find a way to preserve it. I’m guessing that before that time everything was oral. This period was recorded in the book of Lamentations. In Lamentations the city of Jerusalem is personified as a weeping widow. Her buildings and people have been destroyed. In this book the destruction is said to be because of the sins of the people inside the city. They hoped to be spared any farther destruction if they prayed. I see a lot of similarities between what is said about the people in Jerusalem and New Orleans after Katrina. Everyone said that Katrina came because the city of New Orleans was a sinful place and that it was punishment for all our ungodly ways. I don’t like when people say that. Hundreds of people died in the flood and people called that punishment. This is just like what happened in Jerusalem. If you read carefully enough you can find many stories in the bible that are parallel to the world today. It can be said that history repeats itself.