Monday, October 09, 2006

Ride The Wind, Cut The Cheese

Before you read Sally Kestin’s excellent and scary South Florida-Sentinel article on the FEMA-funded Project HOPE you should put together a preparedness kit—no, not duct tape, flashlight and bottled water:
I recommend a box of tissues (to wipe away the tears of laughter), paper towels (to clean up the coffee-spit), something to bite on (Gumby?) for the teeth-gnashing, and a bottle of Bourbon. Here’s why:

$22.6 million is being spent on 450 “counselors” to help Wilma and Katrina hurricane victims cope with psychological trauma.
The trouble is that most of the “counselors” are utterly unqualified and with FEMA itself preventing them from actually finding those they are supposed to be helping, time and money is being spent on therapy for the “counselors” themselves!

It’s unclear whether the “stress management” efforts are the same for the hurricane victims as they are for the “counselors”, but here’s an example:

Hand out a diagram of a piece of Swiss cheese and have each person write three things in three of the holes that they can do right now and have control over. (i.e. read tonight to their kids, take a bubble bath tonight, get a massage tomorrow, etc.)."

Call me crazy but I think that kind of activity and advice would increase stress, not reduce it. In fact I’m getting totally stressed-out by this right now. Maybe I should get some counseling myself.

6 comments:

Peacechick Mary said...

The Swiss cheese might come in handy when the flood comes, then the suviors could have a little appetizer before FEMA arrives with the real food or not.

billie said...

does anyone spend money on anything that isn't impractical these days?

sumo said...

Yeah...wtf?

Elderta said...

I'm just posting to call you crazy...

5th Estate said...

Thanks elderta, I knew I could count on you to initiate an intervention!

Carl said...

Errrrrrrrrrr, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....isn't Windie Biggie that gay Teletubby?

Or perhaps he's a gangsta rapper...

"I grew up, and then I blew up
Got introduced to the game,
Got to land and fucking blew off
Choppin rocks overnight
The winda Windie Biggie
Tryin to turn into the thermal Frank White"