The mayor of Houston was very busy on the weekend news shows trying to let Americans know that it is safe to come to his city.
You can imagine why he would want to send that message. With Hurricane Harvey leaving behind scenes of flooded highways and neighborhoods and the scenes of more than 400 thousand flooded homes and scenes of miles of piles of destroyed furniture and belongings in so many front yards, the city of Houston doesn’t like much like a place to visit at the moment.
But ironically the scenes in Houston that could keep visitors away for a while are the same scenes that have drawn thousands of other people to come to Houston.
They of course are the rescuers and other volunteers who have come to get people out of their homes, to help families in the shelters, to work with homeowners to remove the debris and start repairing the damage, to drive for miles with food and other supplies to give to those who lost everything as they fled the floods.
All these people coming from all over the country to help people they don’t know but care about.
And then there are the scenes of so many of the people who live in Houston who have left behind their own damaged homes to help others in their community who were in worse shape.
And all the first responders who had to leave their families to deal with the impact of the storm while they were out risking their lives to save others.
Houston may not be a place where people come to visit right now, but the people who have come to help and the people who live there who are helping one another have made Houston a place people will not forget.