Frenchy's Rant

Just a quick question… Whyi is it that when an earthquake hits Iran or a tsunami hits Indonesia, hundreds of thousands of people die, but so far, as of Saturday September 18th, ten days after Hurricane Katrina (or Hurricane Corina if you are Laura Bush) the death toll is… get ready… 646?

What happened to all the predictions of 10,000 people dead, and all the bodies floating everywhere?? Fire ants?? Just another disappointment for the news media?

The claimed death toll for the tsunami was over 150,000, the claimed death toll for the Iran earthquake was over 30,000

I love the news. Especially during a disaster or any breaking news story. It’s raw and it’s real, and usually pretty funny.

I found this on CNN’s website in the hours before Hurricane Katrina came in, destroyed most of New Orleans, and instantly shot gas prices up to six bucks in some places.

In New Orleans, which lies below sea level, gas and diesel tanks are all located above ground for the same reason that bodies are buried above ground. In the event of a flood, “those tanks will start to float, shear their couplings, and we’ll have the release of these rather volatile compounds,” van Heerden added.

Because gasoline floats on water, “we could end up with some pretty severe and large — area-wise — fires.”

“So, we’re looking at a bowl full of highly contaminated water with contaminated air flowing around and, literally, very few places for anybody to go where they’ll be safe.”

He went further.

“So, imagine you’re the poor person who decides not to evacuate: Your house will disintegrate around you. The best you’ll be able to do is hang on to a light pole, and while you’re hanging on, the fire ants from all the mounds — of which there is two per yard on average — will clamber up that same pole. And, eventually, the fire ants will win.”

Fire ants?!? Funny, we heard about broken levees, floating bodies, looting and almost unbelievable devistation… but never fire ants. Guess they were making sure they had fear covered in case the hurricane flopped. Isn’t the news GREAT!

I’ve been riding Stormbringer for the past five days, covering 1600 miles from RI to Little Rock. I don’t want to give away all the good stuff, (and so far, there has been PLENTY!!) because I am going to write a journal about the trip. However, so far the highlights of the trip have been riding Skyline Drive in Virginia and The Art of The Motorcycle exhibit in Memphis. The low point was losing my stupid cell phone at a rest stop somewhere. Ah well.

1600 miles with no music gave me a lot of time to think, and I have a TON of ideas to rant about. Now I have to get ready for the WWE “Supershow” in Little Rock.

More blogging to come!

I spent the morning flying home from Atlanta, and thinking of all the great things that I will blog on and on and on about for all the world to ignore. I am really pretty psyched about blogging… we’ll see how long it lasts.

One of the things that I wanted to touch on is how amazing airline baggage handling is. I mean you give them your bag, and after it is fingerprinted, dusted, X-rayed, inspected and all the contents rearranged, somehow it magically finds its way to wherever it is that you are going. I would have to say that in my eleven years of air travel, I have probably “lost” my luggage a dozen times or less, and usually it makes it’s way to me within a day or so.

I was mostly thinking this as I was waiting for my bag at the Delta baggage claim in Providence this morning. Needless to say, my bag didn’t make it. Somehow, the airline managed to not put it on my flight.

Of course. There goes THAT great idea!

“Willy” Gilligan a.k.a. Gilligan Hophople, died today at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital. Mr. Hophople was 70. Mr. Gilligan is survived by close friends Mary Ann Summers, Eunice Wentworth Howell and Roy Hinkley Jr., better known as ‘The Professor’ Willy’s best friend and long time “life companion” Jonas Grumby, also known as the Skipper passed away January 2, 1990 from cancer of the thymus (whatever that may be… it’s surely fatal!)