[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 38 (Friday, March 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E571-E572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRAGEDIES ARE EYE-OPENING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SCOTTY BAESLER

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 21, 1997

  Mr. BAESLER. Mr. Speaker, tragedies are eye-opening. They reveal a 
great deal about the human spirit. They teach us about the value of 
things we often take for granted in our fast-paced workaday world. 
Natural disasters have a way of changing our smug assumptions about 
being self-made people who can live to ourselves and by ourselves.
  Nevertheless, after nights of rain and ruin, floodwaters and 
frustration, storm damage and damaged nerves, mud and swamped homes and 
businesses, we are ready to learn a little more about the human spirit 
and the need for community.
  The recent weather threw Kentucky a curve ball. Streets became canals 
and roadways became rivers. Cars and trucks competed with boats and 
rafts for the right of way. Floodwaters transformed neighborhood parks 
into tributaries as nature ran amok.
  Yet during those dreary days, something remarkable occurred. The 
human spirit also underwent a transformation. Not too long ago the 
practice of bashing the Federal Government was the number one spectator 
sport. Not anymore in Kentucky.
  Homeowners and residents were, to say the least, grateful for the 
role played by officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA). Not only was the agency Johnny-on-the-spot in responding to the 
emergency, it also brought comfort to worried residents who saw their 
homes and hopes swallowed by floodwaters.
  From the Governor and other State officials on down the line to local 
leaders, our public servants became just that: the servants of the 
people in need. They were at the top of their forms too.
  Emergency crews worked around the clock to ensure that Kentuckians 
would have the resources not only to combat and cope with the flooding, 
but also to provide the means of recovering from its toll. The spirit 
of cooperation came alive in the floodwaters and storm damage. County 
officials worked across county lines to make sure that residents had 
bottled water, dry clothing, and temporary ports in the storm. The 
business community pitched in. They hauled fresh water supplies by rail 
to weather-weary residents. They donated large sums of money to help 
victims recover.
  The disaster transformed ordinary citizens into local heroes. They 
pulled people from rooftop refuges and snatched weary drivers from cars 
stalled in high water. The rescuers battled swift currents in rowboats, 
crossed streams transformed overnight into raging rivers and battled 
mudslides to help residents from their inundated homes.
  Centuries ago someone asked the question, ``who is my neighbor?'' 
Although the word comes from an old English word meaning ``near 
dweller,'' the proximity of people does not define neighborliness.
  It is the proximity of the human heart during the crisis moment that 
defines it. In a crisis

[[Page E572]]

even a stranger can become a neighbor. The fellowman becomes the object 
of our fellow feeling, which can best be defined as the sympathetic 
awareness of others.
  Good Samaritans appeared overnight. Neighbors pitched in to help each 
other and in so doing, fortified themselves as important cogs in the 
art of survival. Neighbors not only got to know each other, they got to 
help each other, creating bonds that will last a lifetime.
  It started as an act of God. At least that is what insurance 
companies call it. Yet it developed into a drama of human beings acting 
on behalf of others. Everyone pitched in to help each other cope with 
one of the worst natural disasters to hit Kentucky in a generation.
  In this one moment in time, the State really became a commonwealth: 
common men and women who summoned up the riches of the human spirit to 
help others.
  As we said, tragedies are eyeopening.