My Home Town

As mostly everyone knows, Hurricane Irene blew through the eastern seaboard of the United States over the weekend. On Sunday, August 28th, she hit Vermont and devastated her.

This is not a commentary that Vermonters were affected worse than other areas slammed by the destruction of Irene but, because Vermont is my hometown and close to my heart, it is why I chose Vermont to blog about.

I was born in Vermont but I did not grow up there. I grew up in Albany, New York. All my relatives, on both sides of the family, stayed in Vermont, most around the area of Rutland, so we usually went to visit a weekend a month and a couple weeks in the summer. As an adult, I moved back to Vermont several times. I enlisted in the Army from Vermont. Although, I have in the past complained that Vermont can be boring and it's difficult to find work there if you are not affiliated with a family business or own your own, Vermont's beauty and uniqueness has always stayed with me. When I would tell people I was from Vermont, they would always say, "Vermont is gorgeous! Why would you want to leave? It's so nice!" And my response would be, "Yeah, Vermont's great...if you're a ski." Yet, despite my economic disappointment with Vermont, something kept bringing me back. Regardless of where I lived (and I have lived in a lot of different states), I have always considered Vermont my home.

Which is why I am now extremely defensive when I see people commenting online that people in Vermont (and upstate New York) need to "suck it up" about the damage because they were "warned." Incredibly, a lot of these comments have come from people who lived through Katrina in the south.

Let me explain why Vermont was so unexpectedly hit hard. Yes, there were warnings and yes, anyone following the progress of Irene on the news saw that the storm was really bitchslapping the coastal areas. There were also reports that Irene had been downgraded to a tropical storm before the eye hit the southern border of Vermont. Residents had been preparing for days for high winds and possible flooding. They did exactly what they were told to do by authorities who've had much more experience with tropical storms and hurricanes. Vermont is a landlocked state. NO ONE expected the destruction that happened three days ago. So to those people who are used to hurricanes and live in areas that are prone to flooding who are blaming Vermonters for "not understanding how to deal with a hurricane/tropical storm," I say this: If a blizzard or ice storm suddenly hit your area and was 100 times worse than what it was predicted to be, how would you feel if people from states who are used to that kind of weather laughed and thumbed their noses at your misfortune which would probably include loss of life, home, businesses, agriculture and livelihood? After all, you would have been "warned," you should have "expected it."

The photos posted only show a smidgen of the damage. Look at these pictures and apply them to every county below Burlington (the largest city in Vermont). There are still 13 counties that are completely cut off. No water (to drink) and no power. They are at the mercy of the helicopters flying in and distributing military MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), medicines and other necessities and supplies. The infrastucture of the state has been destroyed. Vermont only has one interstate, I-89 (I-91 barely touches Vermont on the east side) and that only runs from the eastern middle section of the state to northern part of the state. The only way to get through Vermont is on US Routes, like 4 and 7, which a majority of are two-lane highways. Almost every US Route that travels through Vermont has had major portions either washed away or buckled to the point of impassable, just like in these photos. The second largest city in Vermont, Rutland (my hometown), has been described as like now "being on an island." Every route in is unnavigable, unless you have a pack animal or your own personal helicopter. The mayor has said that Rutland only has an approximate 30-day supply of water, if everybody conserves. The state is one big disaster area, damage of proportions which were never fathomed by even the most pessimistic of individuals.

One of the bigger issues is how this will affect Vermont's immediate future. Vermont is coming up on its second most lucrative season, what we call "leaf-peeping" season. People visit from all over the world to enjoy the foliage and the influx of tourists bring money to the state. I don't see how Vermont will see any of that this year. Yes, the leaves will change and it will be a gorgeous sight to behold...but without roads to bring the tourists in, the state will not benefit as they do every Autumn. Following that is ski season, which Vermont is also known for. Ski season is the most profitable of all Vermont ventures. As it stands right now, two of the most popular ski areas, Killington and Okemo, have no access. No one can get in and no one can get out, unless they hike (and if anyone is familiar with those areas, they know that only the most physically fit of individuals are capable of making those climbs). Without government funding, the roads will never be repaired in time to boost Vermont's economy with skiing. And what about maple syrup? Vermont is famous for it's maple syrup and if the agricultural conditions are not right, tapping the trees for sap and sugaring will also be scarce so there goes another inherent economic stimulus for the state.

So it's not just about the immediate destruction.

On the other hand, the citizens in Vermont are pulling together and maybe the country could learn from them. One man who lost his restaurant in Pittsfield, a small town that was decimated by the floods, was able to save enough food so that he had a massive cookout and fed the entire town the night of Irene and the next day. Storeowners whose businesses have been ruined by flood damage, salvaged what they could and have distributed supplies to people in need. People who were less affected are offering food, beds, clothing and showers to those who lost everything. I may not have always been happy in Vermont but I am VERY proud of my home state and how they are holding up in all this destruction. Vermont will never be as I remembered it the last time I was there and that makes me sad and tearful. Such a big trauma for such a small state.

Thankfully, the government (to a point) seems to have learned from the mistakes that were made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (even if places like New Orleans are still suffering from the politics played six years ago - don't get me started on that; if the news crews could get food and water without a problem, the citizens should not have been told lies about how impossible it was to get necessities to them). The storm coverage was taken more seriously and the response was quicker and more organized, even if there are people who think partisan politics should come before the needs of the American people.

So to people like Michelle Bachmann who made a "joke" (not) about Irene being "God's answer" to Washington not being run the way she thinks it should be, I say: Fuck you and one of four horses you rode in on. For the love of all that's holy, can someone please stuff another foot-long sausage into this woman's mouth and SHUT HER UP? To people like Eric Cantor, who wants to hold government aid organizations like FEMA hostage until the people who need it can put something back in, I say to you: Get off your high horse and get into the trenches with the people devastated by Irene and tell them that to their face, you arrogant, ball-less, gutless piece of shit. And to our government (all parties included) who think it's perfectly alright to spend $9 million dollars a WEEK on a war that will never be won but allowing government-funded disaster relief programs only $8 million a YEAR, I say how many have to die - how much has to be lost before it becomes cost efficient for you greedy bastards to start protecting your own? You'll protect your precious millionaire funding bases, you'll protect corporations who helped get the economy to where it is but when it comes to your own people, they aren't important enough? Clearly you have to be reminded that these are the people who voted you all into office. Get your flippin' lips off the asses of the millionaires/billionaires who put money in your back pockets and stand up for your constituents. I wish that the people who voted for those in political office who are acting the most selfishly see just exactly how "Godly" and "christian" you all really are now. I know real Christians. They are the ones out there right now, giving their everything to help the people who just lost everything. So far, I'm hearing nothing from the politicians who claim to be the most "christian" and "faithful." It's pathetic. But the truth is out, isn't it? The people I know who are real Christians are the doers, the ones who are "christian" for political/financial gain are the hot air talkers. Those politicians should be ashamed. But they won't be. I expect Bachmann will open her mouth again soon and as usual one or both feet will fall out.

We don't need the rhetoric. We need our politicians and our government to put their money where their mouth is and help.

In closing, I know Vermont will survive. As a friend of mine said, "They're of strong stock." My concern is how they will survive. If the government continues to play politics with people's lives, Vermont could become one of the poorest states in the union (despite how rich the citizens may be in character). We should all use Vermont as a gauge and make it known that how Vermont gets treated by Uncle Sam, so goes the rest of the country when a natural disaster pretty much annihilates your whole state, not just a portion of it.