tragedy to travel

As Lake Delton drained out into the Wisconsin River our hearts filled up with sympathy for the people that lost their homes, their possessions, and their lives. Over the past couple of weeks now, storms and tornadoes have been ripping up the Midwest. The storms have been damaging homes, flooding whole cities, and taking innocent lives. It truly is a tragedy.

Here in Chicago, Illinois, I am just far enough away to not be personally impacted by the massive flash floods and tornadoes that have even gone through the southern part of Chicago and into Indiana. Moving here from Michigan though has brought me closer to Iowa and Wisconsin which has allowed me to appreciate Iowa and Wisconsin for what they are. In addition, I have gained good friendships in Iowa and Wisconsin and look in apprehension as weather ravages the people and the land there.

So, as I watched the news the other night to learn more about what was happening I was awestruck at some of the destruction in the Dells area in Wisconsin. To see whole houses be wiped away is saddening. The news anchor began with an interview with the mayor of the town that Lake Delton is in. He began to explain why the lake drained out and of all the destruction that had happened. And then things began to change. The news anchor asked the mayor if the lake was to be re-filled and restored to how it was originally and if it could be done this year. The lake was a man-made lake. The mayor started out a little apprehensively, saying that there was a lot of destruction, but the town has been through a lot and they wanted to restore it. Then it was like I was watching one of those cheesy commercials about the Wisconsin Dells area talking about how great it is for the kids and how there is so much to do. The mayor had turned the tragedy into a tourism advertisement. There was no more about what had happened, but about what a great place it was to visit and how everyone should come to the Dells.

Tourism is so important to cities and states in the US. In many states it is the first or second top revue in the state. I am sure in Wisconsin it is the same. I’m just not sure that it was the right time for the mayor to turn such a tragedy into travel.