When somebody says it has been “one of those days”, no details are necessary. Those days are never good and during them, I miss the compassionate environment of mid and post disaster situations.
No, I don’t wish woe on my fellow man just so people will grow charitable and selfless, but in crisis mode, people who usually aren’t, become magnanimous. When a crisis subsides, so does the purity of many people’s motives and I feel a tragic sense of loss as goodwill ebbs in a proportionate displacement of altruism with narcissism and generosity with animosity.
Compassion seems to increase with catastrophe and retreat with recovery. And, plenty of bad things happen — tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, mud slides, floods and this —
Communities in North Texas have been in crisis mode for weeks, suffering a drought of critical proportions. Ever shallowing lakes merit my public relations best as water regulations become more restrictive and are aggressively enforced.
My life for almost eight weeks now has been brochures, ads, mailers, door hangers, yard signs, billboards and an entire web site developed solely to educate the public about water conservation and drought contingency. This has left little screenwriting time. But the toughest part? No water slides, wading pools, or water wiggles. Ouch.
Even so, while we’ve had periodic complaints, most people have been cooperative and understand that North Texas communities only transport water. We don’t create it. We’ve gone out of our way to be responsive and informative because when citizens are given the facts and not kept in the dark, they feel less helpless.
Then came one of those days — taxpayers gone egomaniacal — petty complaints, illogical requests, selfish demands, angry threats, cursing, crying, berating, and a general disdain for anything less than, “sure, Mr. Cheerleader Dad, we’ll use six million gallons of water on the football fields so the grass will bring out the green in your daughter’s eyes.”
This is great news, really, because if goodwill retreats in displacement of recovery, it must mean rain is on the way.
