Choices

It is hard for me to watch and read about the devestation in the Gulf Coast and New Orleans without reminding myself how much of life hinges on choices we make as we go through life. It starts early when we accept the concept of studying and preparing for later life or sliding by with the wrong group of "friends". Later we choose mates, careers, family size, savings plans and a large number of other options. All of these choices have consequences and it is impossible to make all of them perfectly, but those who usually make the best choices usually fare better in life.

Today I read an article about how the rich and the poor in the U.S. differ in spending money on electronics. The poorer people spend about the same amount for large screen color TVs, DVDs, and other entertainment items as the more affluent. According to the census, less than 20% of the poor own a PC, and just 15% have access to the Internet and its vast treasure of knowledge. In contrast, 83% of upper-income Americans own at least one PC, and 74% are online. The poor simply choose the wrong tools for success. They could easily buy a basic Dell with Internet access for what they shell out on two color TVs or just one big-screen TV. But many opt not to.
It is a matter of priorities.

So, as I watch the hapless victims in New Orleans and Biloxi and other places on the gulf coast, I also listen to survivors who relate how they made the decision in face of the warnings to "ride it out" in their homes or elsewhere instead of leaving as everyone implored. As the disaster story unfolds we will learn how many others made the same decision and are not now alive to tell about it. Others will be forced to finish out their lives knowing they elected to stay and their children are no longer alive. Choices.