I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm finding it really hard to think about work right now.

My eyes are glued to the TV and the internet and I'm focused way too much on this tragedy unfolding in the Gulf.

I'm just not in the mood to kick butt, put on the happy Realtor face, and shake the money tree.


I remember once having a 'motivational trainer' say - "Don't read the newspaper or watch TV News because all news is bad news and it will keep you from being positive and making a difference."

I managed to detach myself from the Tsunami tragedy of last December and never let myself once watch a TV image


...but this is too close to home
...this is in my country
...this tragedy has been too botched up by whomever will end up getting blamed
...it's too depressing to contemplate, yet too amazingly real to ignore.

Anyone else with a comment?

Find a good volunteer opportunity.

I spent 4 hours yesterday loading a tractor trailer with water and soda heading out to the gulf. It was an uplifting experience.

I'm wondering if Louisiana is completly rebuilt (In many years to come) will the low income people that lived there all their life be able to afford the property @ that current value?? Also, whats going to happen to land that was already owned by people? Will this land escheat to the gov't for rehabilitation & then be re-sold?

So to answer your question of is it bothering anyone else, YES its bothering me, & its going to bother me for a while! Im not trying to sound pessimistic but I wouldnt be surprised if within the next 10-20 years, maybe sooner, aggression is showed by one group of people towards another group of people!!!!! Just my 2 cents.....

Yes, I am bothered. I don't watch a lot of Tv, am not a news junkie, but this thing has me obsessed with watching, and channel surfing the news channels for new information. And, like a lot of people, New Orleans is my favorite city to visit. All of this has put a lot of things into perspective for me. All the little things we take for granted every day suddenly have new meaning. See www.firstpreston.com., as Hud has some idea of using their repossessed homes for the homeless. We will see how this turns out, since I can't imagine them giving up their bureaucratic ways for anything, I hope they can help. I don't want to hear any more excuses from George w., FEMA, Homeland Security, Red Cross, or any of them. They failed. Plain and simple. I hope after this is over that a lot of heads roll. If CNN and the other news media got in, food and water could have gotten in. Thank you for letting me vent, cause nobody else I know wants to hear it.

HUD took their listings off the market for TN, KY and OK to assist with the relief efforts. Hopefully they will allow the victims to get housing if not for free, at least at a significant discount.

Hi! I am actually taking the Real Estate course, hoping to pass my State License Exam next month. I came across the Forum and decided to join. I seen this topic and had to reply to it.

The devistation that was caused by Hurricane Katrina, was massive. I have tears come to my eyes every time I think of all those people having to go through what I could not even imagine going through. I pray for them all and I pray for the deceased, that God has grabbed each person into his arms while comforting them. I pray for the deceased's family memebers and those that are still trying to survive. I pray that help is on the way to them at this very moment.
I truly could not imagine having to go through what they are having to indure right now. I truly wished that they were some way for the government to get to them quicker. I am unsure how they could do it, since they have technology that I am sure, that I am unaware of, but I pray that no more lives are taken.
It truly bothers me to see all this on Television and to hear what all is going on over there. It seems as if it is a dream or something off a movie, all though I know it is not.
They will be in my prayers.

I think many of us are bothered, but we do have clients to serve. I've been working and taking care of my clients.

Gary Keller has asked all KW agents to contribute $100 to a hurrican victim's fund and I believe many of us are also contributing to NAR's fund and the Red Cross, etc. I'm doing my part to contribute and give help, but my clients also still need me.

I am still carrying on with my business as usual, but definitely not my usual upbeat self. Katrina hit me personally in three ways.

First, my granddaughter was in New Orleans when the evacuation occurred I was able to make contact with her and spent from 7:30 AM that morning until 1 PM helping her figure out a way out of the city. Her credit card had to be cancelled that morning due to fraud and she didn't have enough money for a taxi to get to the airport. It took all of her wits and mine to figure out how to get her to the airport and onto a plane before the airport shut down.

Second, my most important listing client was in Mississippi (where she and her husband were trying to buy a home in Waveland on the water) and we were in the last critical stages of negotiation on the sale of her home back here on the East Coast. The agent on the other side of the negotiation had no empathy for my client whatsoever. The negotiation was completed successfully and my clients are now on their way back home, but the stress of this negotiation as my clients communicated over their cell phone in a hotel without electricity or water while I dealt with this demanding, insensitive agent took its toll on me.

Finally, my faith in the American system is shattered. Even my granddaughter said to me, the people in New Orleans did not get help because they are poor and black. If they were white and middle-class, the National Guard would have been there right away and airlifted food. I knew the divide between the rich and the poor was growing, and I knew that racial discrimination exists despite all the laws, but I never, ever dreamed that people would be left to die in full view of the TV camera. This is not the America I knew (or thought I knew).

When the very system that we depend on all our lives for life, liberty and happines is compromised, smart people begin to question perception and reality.

We are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to fight hatred against Americans in Iraq ( so they say ), I wonder how much they will spend to help the thousands of homeless people and orphans in this country?

Man, I was terribly sad in the same time mad. I couldn't beleive that this tragedy happened in the US. whenever there is a crisis abraod the goverment rashes to help and show generousity but when it happened here everybody it took them one week to start resquing the victims that's BS. I donated what I could and pray for the best.

Well, if you really want to get disgusted by our government's response, just take a look at what one animal rescue organization was able to do in terms of preparedness and then regrouping after their preplanning efforts were wiped out www.noahswish.org If a pet rescue organization could do this, why couldn't our federal government? The stuff about logistics is BS. Once they decided to mobilize you saw how fast the federal government came in and how fast they got folks out.

I have a comment....
For those who want to make a difference... "JUST DO IT!"

It's so easy to "talk" about it...but realistcally we can all change the world.

I just spent the last 4 days, working on virtually no sleep, arranging for the donation of over 20,000 pounds of relief supplies and thousands of dollars. I've obtained 2 moving vans as donations, and they are shipping out monday with nearly 40 pallets of clothes, baby formula, diapers, and supplies.

The photo below is of ONE THIRD of what we collected. We had to split it among three driveways to palletize the loads.

So in short... we can change the world...we just have to take action.

As Lincoln said "Those who swear that something cannot be done are always amazed by people actually doing it."

Regards

Steve

Nice work, Steve. If everyone invested more time doing things rather than complaining, the situation for the people effected would be better.

I agree with the others that have said to channel your energies into volunteering. I've been working with my church and using my license to help those that need more permanent housing.

There is so much that still needs to be done and it's only a matter of time before it drops off the front page and the volunteers drop off in numbers. If you really want to make a difference, help out and don't become one of those that fades back into the scenery.

I'm seeing these poor people on a daily basis and just a friendly ear can make a huge difference to them.

Steve you are the man. Keep up the good work bro. Here is what amazes me in this tragedy, is the roll of the churches and general public. Man it gives you pride to be an American. Despite our diversities in culture, race and religion, we all stood like one body to help.