Tank is concerned about peepee* oil.
He has it on good authority that peepee oil might be covering Mexico and killing people, the fish, dolphins, and sharks. He seems to be the most concerned about the sharks.
He is worried that the peepee oil means we won’t be able to go to the beach again. He’s probably right.
He wants to know if the peepee oil will get into Lake Acworth. I assured him it wasn’t very likely to.
He would like to know how we plan to clean up the peepee oil and how long it will take. I don’t have any answers for him.
Tank is very sad about the peepee oil.
I haven’t shown my children any pictures of the beaches of my childhood, like Gulf Shores, covered with tar balls and pools of BP’s oil. I haven’t shown them the pelicans, the state bird of my birth state, foundering with oil-covered wings. I haven’t shown them dead dolphins being fished out of the Gulf. I have tried to explain that many people will lose their jobs, that many animals will die, and that the Gulf coast may not ever be the same — certainly not in my lifetime, probably not in theirs, and possibly not even in their children’s.
They’re children. To them, time means nothing. They are confident that someone smart will find a way to stop the oil and clean up the mess. With the boundless faith that well-cared-for children have in adults, they believe that they will grow up in a world that is safe, clean, and full of dolphins. That’s what grownups are here for, right?
Right?
*BP
My kids are upset about the Peepee oil, too. Sigh.
I did go a little more indepth with mine but they are both older. Very sad. I have to be careful with Lydia because she gets really ticked off. She’s ready to go kick some Peepee butt.
Of course Rowan doesn’t understand (Mommy always yells at the TV news, this is nothing new). But I am afraid that I will have to explain to her, when she IS big enough to understand, that there used to be these birds (or fish or whatever), but they are extinct because–well, what on earth do I tell her? Because people are stupid? Argh.
I’ve lived in New Orleans for the last 15 years, but my husband was born and raised here. I can’t even discuss with him just how horrible it is because at some point he has to walk away from me so he doesn’t cry. I think a lot of people here are functioning within some level of denial, because that’s all they can do. I don’t really know what else to say.
Personal pet peeve: I wish people would stop calling it an “oil spill” when it seems to more closely resemble a freaking volcano. Anyway, that’s just how it feels to me.
I have been adding to Brigid’s little Wild Animal Baby story about the sea turtle. “Sandy swims into the ocean. We hope she doesn’t live in the Gulf of Mexico. Sandy will grow up to be an adult sea turtle.” The middle sentence was added, obviously.