9/02/2005

500 Eggs For 60 Guys

From the Times-Picayne website at nola.com:

500 eggs, 60 men in blue

Thursday, 4:25 p.m.

By Eva Jacob Barkoff
Staff writer

NEW IBERIA -- Around 5 a.m. today, Mary Tripeaux received a call that members of a search-and rescue-team from Phoenix, Ariz., were on their way for breakfast at Victor's Cafeteria on Main Street. Soon the crew arrived and filled themselves with coffee, grits, biscuits, bacon, potatoes and sausage -- and more than 500 eggs.

"There are 180 eggs in one case and we went through at least three cases," Tripeaux said. "And by around 9 a.m., we had run out of sausage. They had eaten it all."

After breakfast, about 60 men in blue uniforms from Phoenix's Urban Search and Rescue Team held a meeting under a gazebo across from Victor's to go over final details of their mission. They wouldn't discuss details with a reporter.

The men had arrived in several trucks and two 18-wheelers filled with equipment. Also along were three Labrador retrievers.

"We have a lot of equipment here to try and do what we can to help," one of the men said.

Before leaving for New Orleans, he reflected on breakfast at Victor's and concluded: "That was the best meal we have had in 48 hours."

That's over eight friggin' eggs per man.

Didn't these guys think to, oh, you know, bring their own food and water with them?!! And maybe some extra for the hungry, thirsty refugees in New Orleans?

Five hundred eggs, plus side dishes. Kee-rist, that could have been a decent meal for at least 250 refugees.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What makes you think that they didn't have supplies for themselves, and extra for the refugees, and simply didn't want to break into them before they got there?

Bruce said...

Okay, maybe they did, but still...

...If I tried to eat eight eggs, plus bacon, plus sausage, plus potatoes, plus toast, etc., I would be so stuffed I would not be able to move.

If one should avoid "the appearance of impropriety" while in a position of responsibility, then similarly one should avoid "the appearance of gluttony" while on your way to help people who've been without food or water for days.

On a (much) smaller scale, this is as bad, from a PR standpoint, as Secretary of State Condi Rice shopping for thousand-dollar shoes while other nations are offering relief aid and being rebuffed.