crusades on the march
Leaving Tucson this morning, I drive thru beautiful Arizona into Texas. I try put aside my previous memories of how ugly Texas is, and try to open myself to seeing the beauty of Texas this time.
As I pull back out onto the highway, after a brief rest-stop, I find myself right in the midst of a caravan of trailers being hauled by new white pick-up trucks. I see "Disaster Relief Project" printed in red on signs that adorn the side doors of each dually truck – you know, the kind that has 4 doors and those extended sides over the back wheels – the kind whose drivers are more apt to give me the finger than not!
My first thought, after slipping in between two of them, is why would FEMA haul trailers individually thru Texas to New Orleans – why not ship on the railroad?
Then I take a better look at the trailers – they are really small, no longer than my truck and a tiny bit wider. As I examine them closer, I see there are no windows on the side – only a door. I pull around & see there are no windows on the back either. I pass & see there is no window on the other side – only another door. I think they resemble those sheds that people put in their back yards, rather than a trailer. I slow down to let one pass me, and I see a front door and a small window on the last side – and I see the front door has a bible verse written on it: "Mark 14:23" I think it reads.
I imagine what it would be like to have to open that door every day & read that verse; I imagine how depressing it would be to live in that one room trailer with no light. I try to imagine the white people driving those trucks living in that trailer.
Then I read the disaster relief sign more carefully – underneath the disaster relief project line, it says something about a christian mission from Bakersfield. Each white truck has a white male driving and a white female in the passenger seat – they all give me the thumbs down as I pass! The good christians!
I think of the waste of money these christians are spending – I imagine they’ve rented the trucks & hitches to haul the trailers on. I doubt if they’d sleep in the trailer so I’m sure they’re gong to have hotel bills as well. It reminds me of the same mentality that’s ‘rebuilding’ Iraq and the story about the exhorbitant amount of money U.S. companies were spending on rebuilding a school – shody construction & not what the Iraqi’s had previous to the bombings nor wanted.
I push my truck too hard to get ahead of all of them & keep ahead of them for a few miles so they can read women say no to war.
As I pull back out onto the highway, after a brief rest-stop, I find myself right in the midst of a caravan of trailers being hauled by new white pick-up trucks. I see "Disaster Relief Project" printed in red on signs that adorn the side doors of each dually truck – you know, the kind that has 4 doors and those extended sides over the back wheels – the kind whose drivers are more apt to give me the finger than not!
My first thought, after slipping in between two of them, is why would FEMA haul trailers individually thru Texas to New Orleans – why not ship on the railroad?
Then I take a better look at the trailers – they are really small, no longer than my truck and a tiny bit wider. As I examine them closer, I see there are no windows on the side – only a door. I pull around & see there are no windows on the back either. I pass & see there is no window on the other side – only another door. I think they resemble those sheds that people put in their back yards, rather than a trailer. I slow down to let one pass me, and I see a front door and a small window on the last side – and I see the front door has a bible verse written on it: "Mark 14:23" I think it reads.
I imagine what it would be like to have to open that door every day & read that verse; I imagine how depressing it would be to live in that one room trailer with no light. I try to imagine the white people driving those trucks living in that trailer.
Then I read the disaster relief sign more carefully – underneath the disaster relief project line, it says something about a christian mission from Bakersfield. Each white truck has a white male driving and a white female in the passenger seat – they all give me the thumbs down as I pass! The good christians!
I think of the waste of money these christians are spending – I imagine they’ve rented the trucks & hitches to haul the trailers on. I doubt if they’d sleep in the trailer so I’m sure they’re gong to have hotel bills as well. It reminds me of the same mentality that’s ‘rebuilding’ Iraq and the story about the exhorbitant amount of money U.S. companies were spending on rebuilding a school – shody construction & not what the Iraqi’s had previous to the bombings nor wanted.
I push my truck too hard to get ahead of all of them & keep ahead of them for a few miles so they can read women say no to war.
posted by Xan @ 7:35 PM
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