I'm so thankful that Charlotte wasn't as heavily impacted by Hurricane Matthew as many other cities in NC were, as well as other states along the coast of the US and other countries. I'm also thankful that my parents and other family members were safe back home at the beach, around the Ocean Isle Beach area and in Wilmington.
However, I am not thankful for the complaining I've been seeing all over social media about restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, etc. being closed back home. I'm guessing the complainers decided to sit this hurricane out and will the water and wind away from their houses this go around, but quite a few people were directly hit by Hurricane Matthew, especially the islands of Ocean Isle, Sunset, Holden, and Oak, the ones where many of us spend most of our time at during summer break.
I need everyone, complaining or not, to stop and think for a second where the employees of those establishments live, how they were impacted by the hurricane, how far they had to drive to get to work, or if the roads they live on were passable, to name a few thoughts. These places are closed for a reason, most likely for the safety of their employees, not just to make customers angry.
Did you know that over 800 people in Haiti have died from Matthew? Did you know that down the road in Cherry Grove 5 condos went up in flames from Matthew? There were almost 900 water rescues in North Carolina alone due to flooding from Matthew according to WBTW News13. Are my eyes deceiving me or am I really seeing complaints about the gas stations being closed when Hurricane Matthew had been making its way toward NC for how many days now? The limited menu at a restaurant when most of the grocery stores were open up until the day-of Hurricane Matthew hit the area?
My response to the complainers, and what my response is to most things if I'm being honest, is "I can't even." This is ridiculous y'all. I'm going to sit here and be grateful my car isn't submerged under water right now and I can drive to that closed gas station or to that closed restaurant. Oh yeah, and be grateful for my life.
I'm focusing on the praises and thanks I've seen being given to the firefighters, police officers, community volunteers, and electricity companies within the past 24 hours. I'm focusing on my dad who has been riding around helping people clean up their yards and checking on their houses. I'm focusing on the people who are already on their way to countries, like Haiti, that were almost demolished from Hurricane Matthew. I'm focusing on the good that's coming from this unfortunate weather.
This may be a pointless post to some of you, but like I said, it's my personal platform and it was not intended to point fingers at anyone. Some may see this as complaining about complaining, touché. I'm sorry if you feel like your toes were stomped on and I hope you're focusing on the bigger picture.
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