Raising the Bar on Tragedy

The other day I got a phone call from a friend I hadn’t spoken to in some time. Someone who lives out of town. When I asked how she was doing, she said, “Today hasn’t been so good.” “What’s up?” I asked, expecting the usual litany of frustration, death and despair that has become our daily fare. She replied, “My computer hard drive is shot and I may have lost everything.” “Oh, wow! That sucks” comes out of my mouth, but in my head, I am thinking, “Are you kidding me??? You really have the nerve to tell me that you lost EVERYTHING because your COMPUTER CRASHED???!!!!” Then I got a hold of myself. I was reminded that prior to August 29th, having several large holes in my roof and moldy sheetrock hanging down into several rooms would have been a total catastrophe for me. But now things are different. I am one of the lucky ones with a home that didn’t take on any flood water. I’m in the “sliver by the river”. I look back with fondness upon times when a minor inconvenience like Robért’s being out of spinach dip was an all encompassing outrage for me. I have to resist the urge to dump a whole truck load of anger on those who are lucky enough to have luxury problems like:

1. My maid evacuated back to Costa Rica and I have no one to clean my house.
2. My maid is going to charge me $20 more a week or she will quit.
3. My yard looks like hell because I can’t find anyone to mow it.
4. I have to drive all the way Uptown to get my clothes dry cleaned.
5. It’s Carnival and who is going to do my hair???

I have actually heard all of the above and more being uttered by people here in New Orleans. For them, I guess it is easier to focus on these tiny details than on the fact that we are precariously close to another hurricane season with roofs that still need to be replaced and insurance claims that are in dispute. We have a mayor to elect and politicians to persuade. A whole city to rebuild. Our work is cut out for us. And so I am taking a deep breath and trying to be sympathetic to the trivialities that seem overwhelming for some. Maybe that darn (I’m trying to get out of the habit of more “colorful” language) maid charging $20 more a week is just the last straw for a person who has lost their real home and is living in temporary housing. After all, it’s the fact that the glass was full in the first place, not the one additional drop that causes it to overflow.

So, does anyone know of a good place to get a manicure? I broke a nail and I can't POSSIBLY go out in public like this!!!