Several of the people from my job have spent the last few days working with the hurricane survivors at the Astrodome. These are a few things about the entire experience that really touched me:
1) The relatively calm mood in the atmosphere there. With so many people packed so tightly into one place, I honestly expected total and complete chaos. But it's not like that at all. I was so happy to see people playing music and singing along, people napping on cots, people rocking and feeding their babies. It's so touching to see these people really trying to make the best of things, although I know they must be hurting so badly right now.
2) The striking differences in the Astrodome of old, where I went to watch baseball games, concerts and rodeos, versus the Astrodome of today, which is basically a life-saving shelter for so many of the victims who lost everything. Doesn't it make the concerts and sporting events seem so trivial now? And it really makes me realize what a difference a day/month/year can make.
3) The spirit of the people I've met. One of the ladies that I spoke to made me promise to go to New Orleans for the first post-Katrina Mardi Gras. There's not a doubt in her mind that they will rebuild that city bigger and better than it was before, and she's ready to welcome visitors back into her home town with open arms. She seemed to be strictly dealing with the present and not dwelling on it, but rather looking forward to the future. Amazing.