Posted on 11/29/2005 4:39:00 AM PST by Flyer
With Christmas around the corner, a group of Katrina evacuees worry they can't give the holiday to their kids.
Hauling home a Christmas tree is at least a $30 cab ride.
For Sheryl Lee whose New Orleans home was destroyed, her brand new house is a "dream come true," she said as she wiped tears from her eyes.
Yet for all that it offers, it is also a trap.
"No way to get to a shopping or nothing," Lee said.
The Clarke Springs subdivision, with its neat rows of humble homes, sits outside the beltway. The nearest Metro bus stop is a 30-minute walk.
Sheryl and her neighbors, all Katrina evacuees placed by the city of Houston, do not own cars.
"It's not close by too many things. So far out," said Colette Montgomery, Katrina evacuee.
Neighbors believe at least 40 Katrina families live in the Clarke Springs subdivision. What they're worried about now is whether they can provide Christmas for their kids.
Like all kids, Sheryl's 9-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son love Christmas, but look around and you won't find a single decoration because hauling home a tree is at least a $30 cab ride.
"And that kind of money I don't have right now," Lee said.
With no car, not only is a job hard to come by, so is Christmas.
"Although they [children] lost everything they had once before, but I could try to get them just a little of it. Might not be all, but it's a little," said Lee.
What would it take for them to get off their collective asses and do for themselves. Do you realize how much money has already been spent on these people? Enough. Time to slap the government tit right out of their mouths.
You're absolutely right, and that's what I would have, and have done, when I couldn't afford to run a car. Good used bicycles are a dime a dozen, and unlike where I am, these folks live in a place where bicycles can be used year round (they don't work very well in a foot of snow).
"The Clarke Springs subdivision, with its neat rows of humble homes, sits outside the beltway. The nearest Metro bus stop is a 30-minute walk"
A thirty minute walk in the mild Houston winter is not that bad. Plus it is good exercise. I walk about 20 minutes a day.
"What would it take for them to get off their collective asses and do for themselves."
Answer: nothing. They're not going to because they don't have to.
My husband took a trip into the NO area and drove around. He said the suburbs were a bustle of activity. People working everywhere on their homes, some had hired workers helping them while others were doing the work themselves. He drove into NO to his old neighborhood and surrounding area - and guess what - there was NO ONE working on anything. He said those neighborhoods looked like ghost towns. THEN he went to a relative's house where he was staying for the night and on lo and behold - on the news they were interviewing someone from one of the very areas he had driven through and they were complaining and asking when was the government going to come in and fix their houses! My patience is wearing thin with people who have this type of entitlement mentality.
There's a tagline in there somewhere. ;o)
I know the gov't has given the Katrina victims much more than victims of other disasters, and that there are people in other states still waiting for help from past hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. That's very unfair.
Yes, this woman should be grateful she has a nice home to live in. I think the newspaper is pushing this story for its own purposes. And yes, there are certainly residents of these cities who could use the help that the Katrina victims are getting.
All that said, I saw her problem as one that could be fairly easily solved with resources already available. And not knowing her, I tried to offer a solution instead of dismissing her.
Got'cha! ;o)
These people don't want someone to take them shopping. They want someone to give them a Christmas Tree and presents. If there were a market for Christmas Trees the Boy Scouts or some other organization would be selling them in the empty lot down the street.
Leeches.
Apparently no way to get to a jobbing or nothing either. How long will my tax dollars continue to support our guests? Their welcome is wearing out. At least most of the illegal aliens are earning a living.
The money you gave me is all crumpled. I want new bills only.
Bicycles -- used ones.
LOL! Perhaps Christmas 2005 is too soon to stop charitable giving to the Government Cheese types, but Christmas 2006 is a different story....guess somebody ought to start making a list of Government Cheese Charities.
Gov't Cheeseheads (like the loser in this article) are easy to spot individually, but some charities "hide the weenie", so to speak.
In recovery, I am instructed to work on the spiritual principle of GRATITUDE.
Several years ago I lived about 65 miles from work. The engine in my pickup threw a rod. I didn't have the money to fix it or buy a car that would handle the 780 miles a week.
I moved into a spare room with a friend that was about two miles from work. I walked to work until my next day off, then went to Wal-Mart bought a bicycle. I rode the bike to work until I could buy a car.
well, wasn't it one of their former governors who promised a chicken in every pot? That now means a car next to the new house. Oh and free fill-ups and don't worry about the insurance. That's too responsible for you to handle.
And not being a JERK.
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