Putting things in perspective

Okay, so I had a crappy day today, as detailed in the post below. I spent all afternoon sitting in the car with no brakes but the engine on so the air conditioning would work. I had my car towed away to a shop that's run by the mechanic friend of a guy I work with and I am still not sure that my car even made it there. I'm a little worried about having had it towed off and left somewhere with the key inside and a full tank of gas. I mean, I guess even if someone tried to take it, it's not like they could stop. First red light, stop sign, car braking ahead...BAM!

But in other news, I've been thinking about the hurricane and the associated damage. Some things my sister told me today made me particularly sad, but grateful that we're not further south than we are. The father of one of her neighbours lives/lived in Gulfport, MS about 5 blocks from the beach. They had been trying to get him to evacuate, but he was insistent about staying at his house. Apparently the last they had heard from him was sometime on Monday and he was in the attic of the house, trying to avoid the rising water. So my sister's neighbour is worried and he left yesterday for MS to go look for his dad with a truck, a small ATV-type vehicle, and a 100 gallon diesel tank. His family hasn't heard from him since he left. And then on top of all that, his wife, who stayed behind, got a call this morning from the paramedics that her niece and daughter were in a severe accident on the way to school and were being taken into the hospital to get checked out. Her niece and daughter are fine, but I know she must be a basketcase.

Compared to that...my problems are inconsequential. We're all safe and sound. Although my brakes failed in the car, nothing was damaged, no one was hurt. And frankly, even if something happened to my car, I have insurance to replace it.

I just can't imagine what things along the coast must be like right now. I really feel for those people and if there was more that I could do to help, I surely would do it.