Road Show

People along the Gulf Coast have seen it before, and chances are, they're about to see it again. It's not that it's really all that fun when the circus comes to town: the media, the experts, the rescue and relief teams. The fact that they are there in the first place suggests that something has gone horribly wrong and it takes a village to put the village back together. The problem is that when the problem is solved, all those trucks and vans pack up their gear and head off to the next problem.
It will be years before the full extent of the oil spill from Deepwater Six. The local economies, still reeling from hurricane Katrina, will have to absorb the shock of more lost revenue, lost jobs, and business that simply dried up overnight. The oil, by contrast, is not going to do that. Even though the well is now capped, and covered with tons of mud and cement, there are millions of gallons of sludge still floating in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Ocean currents may take the dissipated globs of tar out into the Atlantic, where they can feel free to wander the east coast for years to come.
When the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl this past February, there was a media-generated catharsis for the country to breathe out, as a nation, for those poor unfortunates living near the Gulf. On April 20, we were all surprised to find out that things weren't back to normal at all. Things had just become a whole lot worse. Bruce Springsteen once wrote, "How many times can you get up after you've been hit?" It's a fair question for all of us, but especially for those living down there.
You can't see the oil from a satellite anymore. The oil is gone. Unless you live in Myrtle Grove. Then it's really easy to see. On the beaches. In the marshes. It's not on fire anymore. It's not pouring out into the sea in a great, crude fountain. Time for the networks to pack up the trucks and get back on the road to the next disaster. Those relief checks will be in the mail, at least for those with "legitimate claims." Folks will be watching their mailboxes, and wincing in anticipation of the upcoming hurricane season, when it can start all over again.