Wednesday, February 06, 2008

We have not gone to Oz

Last night, the Memphis area, and much of the mid-South was besieged by strong thunderstorms and tornadoes. We are well, but there were several areas 10-to-30 miles away that got hit pretty hard. Hickory Springs Mall in downtown Memphis was hit especially hard.

We heeded the warnings and went to our "safe spot" in the house. Well ... the firs time. There was a second storm front that came through about 9:30 p.m. and for that we did bring the kids downstairs, but crashed on the couch and waited for the Tornado Warning to pass.

Throughout the storm every local channel had full coverage going on. It preempted everything and was a great source of info for people to keep themselves safe. What's sad though is that throughout the evening on Fox, the newscasters had to repeatedly say something like the following: We apologize for those of you who are missing American Idol. We promise to air the show in its entirety once the storm front has passed. They went on to say they'd received several complaints that they had preempted the broadcast.

What kind of a world is it when cheap entertainment overrides basic safety. How oblivious must a person be not to see the value in having that newscaster up there actually performing some good as opposed to telling us about the recent exploits of Britney's hoo-hah?

I am first and most sad for those who lost life, limb and business. I am further saddened by what I lost last night. A little bit more of my faith in humanity.

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