Awfully Apathetic
Hidden waters: Tennessee struggles to recover from the flood that no one noticed
I've heard so little about Tennessee's weekend flash flooding (which has killed at least 29 people across three states) that I must conclude we've witnessed too much in the last few weeks to process another national disaster.
What with the tornadoes in Mississippi, the car bomb attempt in New York, the disastrous oil leak off the Gulf of Mexico and the weeks of grounded flights thanks to Iceland's phonetically challenged volcano, we can't worry ourselves over flooding — it's simply too much.
(I guess a few people — just over 3,500 — have noticed. Or so indicates the Facebook group, "Pardon Us, But Did You Know Tennessee Is Drowning?)
No matter that the 13.5 inches of rain that hammered Tennessee this weekend (and had four counties declared Federal Disaster Areas) covered the Tennessee Titans' LP field and shut down the Grand Ole Opry, damaging much of the famous country music center's memorabilia. Or that the power likely won't be back on in downtown Nashville until Friday and the tourism-reliant city has suffered a major financial hit as a result.
Let's not punish Nashville for its residents' good attitude — the Opry didn't even break its 85-year-performance streak last night, though the show had to be moved.
Donate to the Red Cross here.
Video courtesy of ABC: