Dear Colleague,

I just finished my Saturday morning ten mile run. It is a glorious morning in San Antonio, about seventy-five degrees with a light breeze and skies as clear as glass. This afternoon, we will have a going away party for our oldest son who will begin his travels to Mexico and South America. Now that he is graduated from college, he plans to travel and perhaps teach English in an area of the world that has two of his loves, art and historic culture.

While on my run I had some thoughts about the devastation of Katrina. It has been nearly a week since Katrina ripped through Louisiana and leveled most of the southeast corner of the state. The images from CNN are horrible and the disaster relief effort is…well a disaster to say the least.

I have been frustrated over the last few days as I watch the news reports. I really could not articulate why I was so bothered until this morning. It is amazing what a little oxygen to the brain can produce when you exercise vigorously.

So I will attempt to share some thoughts and I’ll also weave in some ideas about prosperity and success. If you agree with what I say, great. If you do not, I won’t be offended. You have the right to your own opinion.

First, let me say that the force of nature is absolutely amazing. When I look at the images on television, I just get mesmerized by the wreckage. It is going to take years before those affected by the hurricane have some semblance of normality in their lives. For many years, I owned a company that specialized in fire restoration. I saw first hand many times the toll that a disaster can take on a family and the emotions of individuals. It is a sickening feeling.

Accidents, acts of nature and unforeseen happenings occur to us all. It is unfortunate but it is an inevitability for humans. Therefore, it is a matter of how we choose to handle these kinds of events that show who we really are.

And while I am on the subject, is a television reporter not a bona fide reporter until they have stood diagonally in 125 mph winds to give a report on the status of a hurricane? I watched several reporters risk their lives and put their family in jeopardy of being fatherless in the name of giving the world a live news report. I like to seek a good thrill as much as the next person, but that is a little over the edge for me.

Anyway, one of my first observations was that the media continued to call the people who had to flee to the Superdome refugees. The dictionary says that a refugee is a person in flight from their own country to another country to avoid danger, harm or even death. How can American citizens be classified refugees if they remain in their own country or even their own city? The left wing liberal media has a clever way of reframing events to make them sound and look much worse than they really are in an attempt to sway public opinion against the moderate and conservative administration.

You can be certain that CNN, CBS and Fox News will remind you over and over again that the Bush administration is at fault for the lack of support to the victims of Katrina. The real truth is that it is not the fault of either party. While it is clearly an adminstrative mess, placing blame only amplifies the problem.

The magnitude of this natural disaster is overwhelming. President Bush looks like a lost schoolboy when trying to explain the government’s role in aiding those affected. However, when gang members and pissed off victims are shooting at relief helicopters, what can Bush, or anyone else do?

I am not saying that this event is not a horrible tragedy. It is, and my heart goes out to the families that are displaced and who have lost everything. In fact, my family and I have already donated bags of clothing and other articles to the relief effort.

There have been stories of human valor and triumph. There are stories about families who say they are blessed to just be alive and to have located their relatives.

But for every success story, there are at least five or six reports of people who are mad at the mayor or the president or the world in general.

This disaster affected poor and wealthy. It will change the lives of the indigent and the affluent. Why is it though, that the media continues to show video of poor, angry black people holding their crying babies while flipping off the camera crew? Why don’t they show a bunch of baby boomers crying over their damaged BMWs?

Because nobody gets upset when an upper class, professional stock broker looses his six thousand square foot home in the gated community. The masses figure he screwed somebody out of commissions anyway to get where he is. How pitiful.

It is also because the mainstream media chooses to perpetuate the victim mentality that is so rampant in American society. The underlying message is that the government, social agencies, oil companies, hospitals, Wal-Mart and every other major enterprise have the responsibility to protect the helpless people who cannot fend for themselves.

I do believe that it is the responsibility of the affluent and the well off to help the less fortunate. I do believe that each of us should contribute our time, money and expertise to help others in need. I do believe that there are worthy charitable organizations that deserve our support.

I also believe in helping people help themselves. I have real disdain for the victim mentality. And for the media to continue to over sensationalize this situation is pathetic in my view.

There is no easy answer to this situation. After all, New Orleans is still under water. The logistics of relocating hundreds of thousand people has got to be a nightmare for those in charge.

I do know this. When people are encouraged to pull together, the good of the human spirit always wins out (reference 9/11). When negativity and blame are perpetuated by anyone including the mass media, then only harm, resentment and victimhood will prevail.

So what does this have to do with prosperity, success and a life of fulfillment? A lot, I believe.

How many of those people in the Superdome do you suppose could not evacuate the city because they didn’t have a car or the money to put gas in their car? How many of those poor people could not afford to leave the city and stay with relatives or even move into a Motel 6 for a few weeks? How many of those people in the Superdome had the instant mentality that the government knows what it is doing and they will take care of all of their needs? How many of those people in the Superdome have chosen to live on the subsidies of the government and welfare in the first place instead of choosing to live a life of prosperity and self-sufficiency?

I do not want to seem insensitive, but when people are stealing flat screen plasma televisions and DVD players from flooded stores, there is really something wrong with their thinking.

There is one thing I know about life so far. You have the ability to choose your lot in life. You have the opportunity to decide what kind of life you desire. You have the chance to build a financial war chest to handle personal disaster and emergencies. We all do.

But I suppose I am preaching to the choir. If you read these kinds of newsletters and indulge yourself in personal and professional development, then you know what I am talking about.

It is a touchy thing to talk about the plight of those less fortunate and not everyone in the Superdome is a poor helpless victim of their own non-prosperous mentality. I know of at least one professor from Tulane University that was caught in the emergency timing of the rapidly approaching hurricane. She survived and is reunited with her husband this weekend.

So what can you and I do about this unfortunate set of natural events? Pray for the safety of those remaining in New Orleans. Contribute time, money, clothing, and can goods to your local relief effort. Keep a positive mental attitude that things will be resolved in the hurricane zone.

It may sound a little esoteric to you, but when a collective group of people send positive mental and emotional energy to another group of people, positive things happen. And by all means, filter what you watch and retain from the mass media channels. Understand that a tragedy like this could affect anyone of us at any time. Do your best to be prepared, financially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I suppose that as I move through the next few weeks, my thoughts about the aftermath of Katrina will become even clearer. Until then I thought I would share some of the lessons that we could learn from this natural disaster. One more thing. I think that a disaster of this magnitude certainly demonstrates the sanctity of human life. Therefore it is incumbent on each of us to cherish those around us that fill our lives with joy every day. That means give somebody a hug, a compliment, a word of encouragement and an expression of appreciation. You never know when you will be glad you did.

Until next time, take great care of yourself and your loved ones.