Texans are still grieving the loss of life and the destruction brought to the Texas Hill Country on July 4; our collective sadness might be difficult to explain.
I think I’ll try.
The Guadalupe River roared to an unfathomable level the other day. The death count from the torrent stands far north of 100. About the same number of folks are still missing. The media have been covering this story with “team coverage” one sees only during terrorist attacks, school shootings or jetliner crashes.
I was visiting with friends this morning at a church meeting in North Texas and the topic of our grief came up. I mentioned to them that I believe we are feeling it so deeply because we know someone who (a) has escaped the carnage, (b) is among the missing or (c) is one of the victims.
I’ll toss out a fourth category, which would include those we know live in the devastated region, but we’ve been. unable to locate them. They might not yet be on any missing persons list.
I am friends with a couple that moved to Comfort, Texas, a few years ago. Comfort is at Ground Zero of the flood devastation. I once worked with the wife of that duo in Beaumont. My wife and I became friends with her and her husband and their now-grown daughter.
I don’t know where they are. I managed to send a note via snail mail to an address I had for them. As of this moment, I haven’t heard from them. For all I know, they might not have mail delivery in the area affected by the ravaging water.
I am just one person out of millions of Texans who are waiting to hear if their friends are OK. I’m praying every night for my friends’ safety. Still, the waiting is torturous.
Media organizations are advertising aid programs where people can send money to pay for food, medical supplies and clothing for the victims. They are raising a lot of money.
I’ve seen the pictures from the Guadalupe River bed and the destruction left behind by the roaring deluge. Many others have seen them, too … and we all are mourning together.