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September 23, 2005

Getting It Right

General consensus is that our Rev. Gov. has done an outstanding job dealing with the recent influx of refugees from Katrina. After FEMA called to inquire whether we had any refugees in the state, our Gov. made a phone call.

"I called the folks at the White House and said, 'This is insane,'" Gov. Huckabee said. "'You guys sent tens of thousands of people here, airlifted them out of New Orleans to Arkansas.' . . . I knew then we were pretty much on our own."

Our Gov., and his wife I might add, quickly went to work.

Luckily, Arkansas wasn't counting on anybody but Arkansas. Within a day of Katrina's landfall, Gov. Huckabee organized state agencies into one all-purpose disaster-assistance team, set up a command center next to his office, and enlisted the state's countless churches to do what churches do--take care of the least fortunate among us. The governor learned that most of the churches were already on the case well ahead of the state.

End result: the few hundred or so of the estimated 60,000 refugees who weren't taken in by relatives, friends, or good-hearted strangers are staying in temporary camps until suitable housing is found.

I met one yesterday, as a matter of fact. A very nice lady from New Orleans, who's been here a couple of weeks with her kids. She was applying for a job at the same company at which I was doing my 'skills testing'***. She's staying in an apartment at Rogers, and seemed to like it here pretty well....though she lamented that there wasn't much to do in Rogers compared to New Orleans.

I laughed and told her I was afraid Rogers was the kind of town that pretty much rolled up the sidewalks every night around 7 p.m. But that she should check out Fayetteville's Dickson Street some weekend. There's always something going on down there.

I suspect she, and many of the other refugees, will end up staying in the area. There's plenty of work available, and most indications are that they are being welcomed by communities all over the state. While this may seem to be counter to the stereotypical clannish, exclusive hillbilly culture, it's really not all that surprising. Arkansas is a state prone to tornados, flooding and even earthquakes.

We all know, either from our own experience or that of family & friends, what it's like to lose everything you have.

The 'skills testing' was....interesting. A timed typing and 10-key test. (I was a wee bit rusty on the 10-key, but did ok considering it's been years since I used one regularly.) A timed basic business math test. And, of all things, a timed spelling test. (You know what I made on that, don't you?)

Someone will call me in the next week or so, I was told, after reviewing my completed application & test results. Meh, whatever. Right now I'm much more concerned with getting our furniture moved within the next two days before the rain from my namesake hurricane hits here.

Posted by Rita at September 23, 2005 02:28 AM

Comments

Pleased tell me that you aren't considering going to work for the giant evil corporation that won't be named.

Posted by: Matt at September 23, 2005 03:51 AM

Depends on what, if anything, they offer me....and the hours. I refuse to work nights & weekends.

Don't worry, I haven't drank the kool-aid yet. I was looking for a job when they contacted me....and I can keep right on looking if need be.

Posted by: Rita [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 23, 2005 04:05 AM

....another one bites the dust...

whoa is we. Have you not learned from the laments of Matt, Myself nor my friend Video?

Your husband is to be commended. I would lose my sanity the first time anyone asked me to participate in a "pep rally" for my company

Posted by: BloodSpite at September 23, 2005 07:08 PM

Now now boys settle down. They haven't offered & I haven't accepted anything yet....though I did agree to do some pre-interview phone thing Monday. And besides, compared to a couple of other corporations for which I've worked, this one has always treated me pretty decent. Unlike the others, they never, for example, insisted that I violate Federal labor laws.

I think I could manage to choke out a cheer or two if the price was right.

Posted by: Rita [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 24, 2005 03:44 AM

Ok you win ;)

But for a pep rally.....it better be a lot of money >.>

Posted by: BloodSpite at September 26, 2005 06:29 PM

Recruiter was very nice, but we agreed help desk prolly wasn't what I was looking for right now. So no cheers in my immediate future.

Posted by: Rita [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 27, 2005 02:12 PM