funny... most of these places give away one free month with an extended contract.

Perhaps we should be a little more grateful for people's generosity rather than belittling the perceived absurdity of the offer. After all, who knows, perhaps there are quite a few displaced Katrina victims living in Lawerence.

And I have comment to make about preparing for a disaster since I've been in 3 of them ('89 7.1 Loma Prieta quake, 5 miles from the epicenter; '91 Oakland Firestorm (my house and 24 of my friend's houses were incinerated in minutes); and the '01 6.8, 45-second Nisqually quake here in Seattle.) I'm sorry, I live in area where, at any given moment, the earth can split open with ungodly force with absoutely no warning. None. No weather radar to track a storm's path, be it tornado or hurricane, no warning sirens, nothing. A quake could literally start as I write this entry. It is utterly frigthening and terrifying and there's very little you can do to prepare for it, other than have an emergency quake kit handy in a (hopefully) safe place. Everything can be crushed in a matter of seconds. Katrina and Rita victims had days—days (!)—to gather their most precious valuables, to stock up on food, board up their houses or just to get hell out of Dodge. No such choice (!) exists in a quake.

I'm very sorry for Katrina and Rita's victims, I truly am. My wife and I have given what we can to the effort. But...

When I hear things like victims " who fled with barely the clothes on their backs" I just have to shake my head at the hyperbole and say "I'm sorry, there's much you could have escaped with..."

Sorry, Jay, I like a lot of what you have to say and agree with much of it, but this is not one of those times.

If they decided to relocate permanently it may give them someplace to put donated items until they find a place to move into.

Someone might get some use out of it.

Peter,

Its a big country. Move! Besides, who wants to be one of those (guessing, but I did once hear the number and its staggering) 85% of people who live within (?) 50 miles of their birthplace.

Especially if you have kids. Get out and show them this great land we live in. Please.

Jay,

I guess it's the thought that counts...

Do you think they have much left after that hurricane?

A co-worker went back to the New Orleans area to help empty out his mother's flooded house. He was lucky to get a storage unit before they sold out. These units are very valuable to someone between homes. Katrina transplants, even temporary ones, may well make use of storage space in Massachusetts. Welcome your new neighbors!

A few weeks ago a friend who I was helping move reserved a truck from U-Haul. The day of the move...no truck! Joke was on us! I know this has nothing to do with Lawrence, MA or personal storage, but as far as I'm concerned, U-Haul can bite me.

That's like the car dealerships that are offering deal on new cars: granted they're doing one of the very few things they have in their power to help, but the people who lost their cars to flooding and/or damage also lost their homes and jobs, and unless they have a new job or money in the bank, aren't able to afford a new car.

Since no one else has bothered to check, I went to the U-Haul web site and found the following:

"U-Haul is still offering 30-days free storage nationwide to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Families needing more information about the 30-day nationwide free self-storage assistance program should call 1-800-GO-UHAUL."

Nationwide, folks.

Being a MA native I can tell you that if you looked at every community across the country - Lawrence would be one of the least desirable destinations to relocate.

Its a big country. Move! Besides, who wants to be one of those (guessing, but I did once hear the number and its staggering) 85% of people who live within (?) 50 miles of their birthplace.

Ironically, I was born about 2 miles from where I currently own a home. Yet, I was born there when my father was in the Army. For first 35 years on this Earth, I lived no closer than 300 miles to my birthplace for all of 6 weeks.

Anyway, OT, a deals a deal. I know it is very easy to view things like this as a cynical publicity ploy. Perhaps there will not be many (if any) qualified takers for the offer (and perhaps they knew that). If it was given in good faith (they intend to honor the deal unless they have no more units for lease), then I don't see anything wrong with it.

And I would say anyone who winds up in MA is MORE likely to have stuff than people who owund up in the Astrodome. That is, they had the money and transportation to go where they wanted to, not to where the state/feds shipped them.

I lived no closer than 300 miles to my birthplace for all of 6 weeks.

Ahh, I don't think that means what I meant it to mean. I wanted to say until recently, I lived quite far from my birth place/ birth state. I was just struck by the irony that...ah, nevermind.

Bah.

Jay:

"Its a big country. Move! Besides, who wants to be one of those (guessing, but I did once hear the number and its staggering) 85% of people who live within (?) 50 miles of their birthplace.

Especially if you have kids. Get out and show them this great land we live in. Please."

One of two things is going on: 1.) You're either being or trying to funny or, 2.) Impossibly simplistic in your response. I prefer to think it's #1, just because I think you're a smart guy and all and seem to have a good sense of humor. But, in case somebody out there does not get it...

I've lived just about every where on the West Coast, and I've also lived in Dallas and New York City. I've seen all of the Western state, and I've visited Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, so I've seen a very healthy share of this great land of ours. And where I've chosen to settle and call home is, ironically enough, the place I was born: Seattle. And you know what? Save for Denver, there's probably not a city with a more stunning backdrop that this town. Oh sure, we've got "Bahgdad" Jim McDermott, Softies, bad drivers, too much rain, too many liberals, a bogus governor in office and just about every major problem that every other major city in America has. But we've also got clean air, lots of parks, good restaurants, gainful employment, decent and (mostly) friendly people and stunning, just stunning views of the Olympics and the Cascades whenever the clouds allow. I love this city for the same reasons the people of New Orleans, Beaumont and everywhere do: This is home and I won't leave it for an act of mother nature.

But, I'm also keenly aware of the 3 active volcanoes and hodgepodge of faults running through the area! And all I'm saying is this:

If you live in any area that's prone to disasters—be they quakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, locust or invasion of the killer tomatoes—BE PREPARED! And when you have sufficient warning like you did with Rita and Katrina....LEAVE! And if you're too stubborn or stupid to leave, then it's your own damn fault! But stop acting like you couldn't escape with more than clothes on your back!

Honestly, if someone told me a 8.2 quake would strike Seattle tomorrow, my ass would be in Idaho by nightfall! And, yes, I would leave with "more than just the clothes on my back!"

So give me a freakin' break, people! LOL

P.S. I really do think you were just trying to be funny...and I say all this with a touch lightheartedness, too.

This reminds me of when my family and were driving from NYC to Florida in the late 60's. We stopped at the now iconic South of the Border hotel/restaurant/fireworks outlet in Dillon, S.C. and while in the restarurant saw a sign stating:

Free cup of coffee for all Civil War veterans!

And then, in small print, followed:
If accompanied by a grandparent