The burden time always reveals.

The Governor’s announcement.

I remember when Kathleen Blanco won. I remember supporting her, hoping that she would become the first woman governor of Louisiana. She was inspiring, eloquent, and intelligent. She had ideas for Louisiana.

Not even halfway through her first four years in office, the worst nightmare any American could ever have imagined came ashore and devastated New Orleans and vast areas of Louisana and the Gulf.

As “the man in the middle,” Blanco found herself stuck between the incompetence of the federal government and the inadequacy of the city’s planning. Levees failed miserably and waterpumps were overwhelmed. The mayor, stung by a previous “false alarm” evacuation, waited until the last minute to order folks out of New Orleans. The federal government insisted everything was fine as victims were dying across the city and as refugees were just trying to survive in the unexcusably squalid Superdome, the city’s only shelter.

I think the woman did everything she could possibly do. She trusted that the mayor knew what he was talking about when he said the city was prepared for Hurricane Katrina. When it turned out the city was not at all prepared, she had to fight the federal government, our government, to get the help New Orleans and Louisiana needed. The day that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, neither the President, nor his chief of staff would take her call. She had to leave a message pleading for help.

There are times in our lives when we are faced with situations we never would have expected, never could have expected. When everything we know, everything we’ve ever experienced, everything we believe and trust in are all challenged and tested in ways we never could have imagined. Aside from the people of New Orleans, I think Kathleen Blanco probably understands that better than anybody.

There are good people who put aside their own concerns for a while, to accomplish good things. And then there are truly selfless people. I think Kathleen Blanco is one of those amazing people.