Lord Krishna in the 21st Century
Chapter 32 - Fact or Fiction?
(Note: Once again a reminder that this chapter was written years ago and even though I was not able to get the top-to-bottom support from ISKCON that I so desperately needed, still I wrote this chapter as if Krishna Disaster Relief had it.)
Dear Dad, Greetings from far away India. I hope you are feeling better today. I know that being 74-years old can sure bring out the aches and pains. Just keep hitting that golf ball and you'll be fine. Unfortunately I'm learning about growing old, myself. As you know, I'll be 43 next April. I'm still moving around OK but not like I did when I was a teenager. Remember when we used to go skiing together when I was in high school? Seems just like yesterday. Those were the good old days. Both of us gliding down those mountain slops effortlessly.
I'm sorry that it's been over a year since we last got to visit in person but I've tried to keep you informed on all that's happened. I know you can't write as often as you once did and I understand. I hope you've been enjoying all the news clippings I've been sending.
I’ve been feeling exhausted these past many months but now there is plenty of time to rest up. I've got a pleasant room to stay in and everyone here is very nice. But it is on the warm side.
Since I don't have any specific plans for the next five weeks I have decided to catch up on my correspondence with you. As I said, I have been quite busy. So much has happened. I really haven't had a chance to even sort out everything for myself.
As you know, we were really lucky on this one. They say if it had been a little bigger, none of us would be here because there could have been no warning; and wouldn't you know, it wasn't even the government who first spotted it. Rather, some kind of a UFO club out in Arizona.
I read that they had all pitched in and bought this old telescope and what luck because on their first outing they spotted the damn thing, but it took them nearly a whole month to get up the nerve to mention it to anyone. They said how they were not sure what it was and that they didn't want to embarrass their club. So they ended up asking some astronomer in Tucson to tell them what it was. That all happened about two years ago.
I know that I have never given you the complete rundown of these events so I'd like to fill in some of the missing parts while I have the chance. As I said, I need to look at this whole thing again, myself. A lot happened and I need to put it down in writing. So If I get too detailed, please be patient. And besides, since you got those new glasses I bet you can use a small "book" to read. lol. Hopefully this will help us both understand what happened and besides, later I can use this letter as a reference to help me gather my wits for the Krishna Disaster Relief conference we will be hosting in January.
Did you know that the President of the United States is going to be there? He's a mighty lucky man. He could have easily been killed. And remember, you'll be coming, too. You should be receiving your tickets in a few days if they haven't already arrived. I've arranged for a couple of my friends to accompany you.
So where to start? I already mention how that UFO club first spotted the asteroid and how this stroke of luck gave us plenty of time to get ready for it. Of course, at first, nobody was even sure if it was going to hit the Earth but once they knew it was, I got a call from NVOAD letting me know.
Date: Sometime in the distant future
Astroid breaking up into pieces and hitting the earth
created by using Leonardo Ai.
I remember that after I hung up the phone, I was just dumbfounded. I mean, sure, you prepare mentally for this kind of thing but you never really expect it. I recall going thru all these strange motions after I got the news; kind of like being in a twilight zone of some kind. I found myself actually doing things that I never really thought I would ever be actually carrying out and to live like that for an entire year is something else.
Anyhow, Krishna Disaster Relief sure has come a long way since Rohini-suta wrote his book, Lord Krishna in the 21st Century. Looking back, now I can hardly believe all that has happened. He may have had the initial idea ...well, even this is not correct because he once told me that there was another devotee who had also been thinking along these same lines. His name is Sarva-satya dasa. He and his wife, Kunti dasi, used to work with a Hare Krishna publication and it was during that time when he also had the same about disaster relief.
To begin with, I can't escape the fact that once ISKCON began to seriously develop Krishna Disaster Relief, it was then that things really started to go well. Even Rohini, when he wrote his book's first edition, had failed to mention the possibility of Krishna Disaster Relief becoming eligible for United Way funds. It took a little doing but not long after he applied, the funds were made available. Along with the money that others were giving, we were finally able to purchase many of the things we needed. And, oh yes, there was that 5-million dollar donation from that computer billionaire I told you about. Remember how the kid had become lost and hurt in that canyon and we our search & rescue team saved his life?
As you know, dad, one of the difficulties surrounding the asteroid was the fact that nobody knew for sure where the thing was going to hit. Some even said it was going to miss us, but further calculations suggested otherwise. I think this is where my friend, Dr. Stafford, who is the chairman of NVOAD, helped the most. He is the one who told me what was really going to happen, once he got word from his contact at NASA. Throughout this drama he kept giving us the very latest on the asteroid: when and where it was going to hit and things like that.
But you must realize, dad, for a long time they were not 100% certain where it was going to strike. I think it took about three months of precise calculation to just figure out on what side of the Earth it was going to collide with. Once it was determined that it was going to be on our half of the globe, this is when everybody notched up their involvement. At this point in time we were looking at approximately eleven months away from impact. But again, the exact point was hard to say. They did think, however, that a hit on North America was more likely than the asteroid hitting South America.
This was even more ominous news, but I also remember reading some news articles that kept saying that probably the asteroid would hit out in the middle of the ocean. This is what the odds makers were saying but for me I just waited for Dr. Stafford to let me know. All I knew for sure was that I had to get things ready, just in case. Thankfully the mobilization of all our Krishna Disaster Relief assets went smoothly.
Where do I start telling you about everything that then happened? One thing I do recall is that I kept on taking an inventory of everything we had and also everything we needed. I just wanted to sure we had hadn't left anything out and to also make sure that everything was in good condition.
Remember how you saw our beautiful Krishna Disaster Relief facility in Potomac when you came out to see it a few years ago? In the auditorium that was added later, we had one of the largest devotee gatherings ever held in North America. Considering what was headed our way and what was about to happen, the emotions were running high, as you can imagine. You can picture how everyone reacted when Dr. Stafford stood up and told us that NASA had just informed him that the asteroid was definitely going to hit somewhere inside the United States. He said that the area of impact would be known in about 30 days.
Apparently the asteroid had a strange wobble to it, that kept changing its course. Depending if the wobble was to left or to the right when it got here, this would determine where it would hit. He said that right now it looked like a dead-center hit on America, but with the wobble, still it was a plus or minus 1000-mile guess. From that day on, all our meetings were 100 percent business.
By the way, it was so nice to meet in person many of the wonderful members of Krishna Disaster Relief that I only knew thru correspondence. I really needed all of them to be there to help organize our strategy. I never really appreciated the deep responsibility that came with being the director of Krishna Disaster Relief. Without a doubt, being surrounded with so many wonderful friends gave me the confidence that we could succeed.
One individual in particular was instrumental in helping us to organize the amazing events that followed. Because I knew him so well, I always felt comfortable tossing my ideas around with him. We had become friends at a FEMA disaster-relief drill that was held in Asheville, North Carolina years ago. Now was the time to do some serious planning and put those ideas to action. Remember, we barely had five months before the asteroid was suppose to hit.
One thing we decided early on was to pull out all the stops and give this looming disaster our absolute best effort, taking full advantage of what we had previously accomplished. As you are well aware of, Krishna Disaster Relief had already established for itself an impressive track record. The public's opinion of us was at an all time high. Especially after we rescued that little girl and her brother only minutes before the building they were in collapsed. I'm sure you remember that; three years ago when Hurricane Ellen swept thru Florida. Of course, we had no idea that their father was a famous congressman.
Even though we have had our successes, I cannot say that we had ever deployed our entire Krishna Disaster Relief assets at the same time. Besides, it had only been recently that Dr. Patel has indicated that our field hospital was fully staffed and ready to deploy. As you know, there are many Indian nurses and doctors who have stepped forward and joined Krishna Disaster Relief. Two months before the asteroid hit we held a practice drill, setting up our field hospital on that huge lawn I had shown you; where all those kids were playing with their frisbees. Dr Stafford even arranged for some high school students to be on hand to help pitch the tents. There were also other NVOAD agencies participating. In fact, by the time our drill was ready to go, it seemed like everyone wanted to practice with us. The police, the fire department, the Red Cross, everybody turned out. I think a lot of them wanted to be there so that later they could enjoy the big feast that the temple cooked for everyone.
Do you remember the newspaper I sent you with the big picture of us on the front page? Apparently that story was picked up by hundreds of newspapers. When I get back to Potomac I will send you a video so that you can see all the tents being put up. It was really something to see. Even the boy scouts got involved, pretending to be injured kids from a school bus that had been blown off the road.
The Salvation Army also showed up with several of their big canteen trucks. We also had our new, mobile pizza trucks making pizzas for everyone. This is the same type of mobile kitchen that you and I had originally looked at years ago. Even though we were just window shopping at the time, it was that same company that built our two trucks. Wait to you see them in the video. They even have those beautiful, blue skylights all along the top that we liked so much.
I clearly remember when we ordered the trucks and how we had the entire design organized just to serve out hot pizzas. As I once told you, a pizza is actually a rather simple thing to make, especially with the right equipment. Hot vegetarian pizza during a disaster; this is what Rohini-suta had envisioned all along. Hot pizza and lots of drinking water; a combination that has proved to be a winning combination. Everyone wants our delicious cheese pizza and no one has ever complained about a lack of meat.
With the money we got two years ago from United Way, we also bought a couple of refrigerated trucks to act as supply vehicles for our cooks. The refrigerator units don't need to be turned on unless we need them, so these two trucks are quite versatile. Actually, we recently bought a third truck to go along with our field hospital. I never realized that so many medical items have to be kept refrigerated. This third truck is only used in conjunction with our portable field hospital because it has to be kept really clean. From the very beginning, Dr. Patel said that he would be keeping a rather large supply of supplies in it, so the truck couldn't be used for any other purposes.
You have to see that video to fully appreciate the significance of that drill. For the first time everyone could finally see the enormous potential that we had achieved for showing the world, "Krishna coming to the rescue."
Another thing I want to tell you about is our Mobile Command Center. Although it's just a converted step van, it's packed to the hilt with the latest gear. As you may recall, I mentioned how much I wanted this and boy, did it pay off. I still don't know how to use everything in it, but believe me, we have got a couple of young men that do.
My friend Jeff, his father is the vice president of Fox news and behind the scenes they had worked out a direct link between our command post and their news room in New York City. Jeff is in charge of all the electronics and has shown me how everything works. Some of the technicians at Fox showed him how to hook up everything, including a telescoping antenna that goes up 25 feet into the air.
Of course we have a lot more equipment in our command center than just this system, but like I said it really paid off. Jeff and his dad worked out an exclusive with Fox so that they would be the first news network to get our videos. Who would have imagined in a million years what we were able to show the world? More on what happened in a moment.
About the other things we have inside our Command Center, there are about ten different radios, everything from CB to Ham Radio and in-between. We even have one system that connects us to the military. There’s another that stays on a special FEMA frequency. Wherever we are, we can also communicate directly with our Krishna Disaster Relief office in Potomac. They can then put out press releases, etc.
Jeff and his wife were like two kids at Christmas when I gave them the keys to the truck. That was about three years ago. They even have a small trailer that they pull behind it. This is where they keep their generator and all kinds of supplies. They have a large wall tent that they put up once they're parked and set up. This gives them a lot more room to accommodate all the activity that they generate. For example, right after the asteroid hit, we were the only disaster-relief agency with any significant communications equipment working. For a while I thought the police were going to confiscate our command post and use it themselves. People ended up giving us so much help that all Jeff's wife had to do was operate the Fox News cameras.
After the disaster drill I was telling you about, our team began to put together a plan. When I got another call from Dr. Stafford telling us that the impact was looking more and more like an area around St. Louis, we all decided on a course of action that unbeknownst to us, would thrust Krishna into the world's spotlight like never before.
Although Dr. Stafford had mentioned St. Louis as the most probable place of impact, he also said that the asteroid's wobble was still making the exact impact point very difficult to determine and that there was still a two to four-hundred mile area, in any direction, that it could be the impact zone and that this was just something that we just had to live with. He also said there was a chance the asteroid might split in two, throwing part of it in another direction.
He said that in two weeks NASA would know for sure, but by then it would only be days before impact. After that phone call, Krishna Disaster Relief began to take on the appearance of a small army, preparing for the very worst. A kind of excitement, filled with danger, seemed to consume us all. This was going to be very risky business. We needed to position ourselves, but as another scientist said on Good Morning America, as the asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere, the thing could easily alter its course again. In fact, it could hit just about anywhere in the United States. Even with this uncertainty we weren't going to just sit still. Before long we began to deploy the first elements of our team.
It was at night that America's fear was felt the most. They say that you can't see the bullet that kills you, but this was a bullet from outer space. In fact, if you stared at it long enough, it could easily remind you of the headlights of a huge locomotive bearing down on you. The question on everyone's mind was obvious: “Am I standing right on the tracks?”
It didn't take me long to stop looking, though. Sure, everyone took a look at least once a night, but my stiff neck quickly said, “enough." More important was the job we had to do. Besides, time was so scarce that most of us were just too busy to stand around looking up at the sky.
And dad, all of us want to thank you for arranging the use of those abandoned hangers at Whitman Air Force base. We cannot thank you enough. Although the base had fallen victim to one of those base closings, it was the perfect place for us. That retired Air Force general you used to play golf with certainly had some pull left in him. Then after Dr. Stafford spoke with General Davis, they actually gave us a set of keys to the place and best of all, this really seemed to be the perfect spot for us to all rendezvous and wait for the inevitable to happen.
So this is the plan we placed into action. We had nine days to get inside the hanger and another two days to wait. I was told that the hanger was built to withstand a nuclear bomb, so what a better place to be? Let's see, eventually we had nearly a 1000 men and women inside the hanger. There were also some military people and equipment inside with us. We also had that second hanger to use, mostly for keeping our vehicles and trailers safe. So this is what we had to get to Missouri by the 17th of August. First we had Dr. Patel and his hospital arriving. There was also all of his staff. They left in a large caravan; everybody and everything leaving together with three days to get there.
Dr. Patel had his refrigeration unit turned on and the whole thing was packed with medical supplies. I know that a lot of doors were opened for us to get everything that Dr. Patel needed but again, it helps to know people. Of course, Krishna Disaster Relief is an active member of NVOAD and we also have a permanent seat on the board of the American Red Cross, and that certainly helped. This and being directly linked to FEMA is about the most powerful leverage any disaster-relief agency can have in an emergency, and this was certainly that.
The count that Dr. Patel gave me when I finally met up with him was 23 doctors and 75 nurses. He said hundreds more wanted to come. The National Guard was able to provide him with some extra manpower to put up his field hospital.
Obviously we couldn't promise his team anything more than tents to live in, but we did promise to keep our second mobile kitchen with the hospital at all times. For all their gear, we a had another supply truck traveling with them.
About six years ago a bunch of us were brain storming about an imaginary disaster and had made a list of items that we thought our teams would need out in the field. This is what our Krishna Disaster Relief facilitator in Potomac used to fill the supply trucks with, so having that list was very handy.
In nearly every state we have members actively engaged with Krishna Disaster Relief. Mostly they go to meetings with other VOAD agencies. Of course, with the asteroid, everyone was mobilized. Out of Denver we had our Krishna Search & Rescue team in the hanger with us.
These are some really talented folks and they brought everything they needed. Since they had no idea what they were going to be getting into, they brought the works. They even had a team of search and rescue dogs. Like I said, these are some really fine people. When they arrived at the hanger they were quite a sight to behold.
They were eight trucks, altogether, and two of them were pulling boats. One was even pulling a horse trailer. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we also had two horses and four German Shepherds in the hanger with us when the astroid hit. Besides our search and rescue team out of Denver, we had other members and their vehicles from California and Arizona; all of them headed towards us.
With so many people to feed we commandeered our other mobile kitchen from Florida. Luckily we had plenty of advance notice to do this. Because we didn't have enough supply trucks to carry all the provisions needed, we just borrowed whatever we needed. The Salvation Army was very generous.
One of them had a refrigeration unit on it so that we could bring along some perishables. We decided to let this group, headed up by ISKCON's Food For Life director, be the main source for all the food items we would need. This included our two mobile kitchen, the four supply trucks, and more vehicles consisting of some of the best cooks I know of. Many of them flew into Miami and once assembled, their caravan also began its movement towards our location. And let's not forget the five trailers full of drinking water that we brought. As we soon discovered, without that water things would have been really desperate. HEB in Texas filled up one of their 18-wheelers with bottled water and it sat in the 2nd hanger waiting for the astroid to hit.
Finally, there was our caravan out of Potomac. I had left much earlier for the Air Force base because we thought that I should be there first. I needed to meet the base security people and make sure everything was ready for our various teams to arrive. Later, when it was time for everyone from Potomac to leave, Jeff and his wife led the way. The Air Force had assured us that the hangers were going to be plenty big enough to fit everyone inside and once I saw it, any doubts I might have had melted away.
At one time the thing was able to hold two B-52s, so it was really big. As I said, this was before the base was shut down.
By this point in time we also had a lot of devotees flying into the Washington airport from all over the world. Well over 400 in all. For instance, our members from Russia arrived with 40 volunteers. These turned out to be some of our toughest men and women, and I had special plans for them when they got to Missouri.
As you can imagine, my team was really being taxed to coordinate an orderly flow onto the base, so I was staying close to Jeff and his radios. By the way, everyone got to the base on time and later when we looked back at this part of our odyssey, we only had two small problems: flat tires. And guess who had one of them? I've learned over the years to always have a good spare. Speaking about flat tires (and other mechanical problems), my old friend Pari brought his van full of tools. He was part of the Dallas caravan. With so many vehicles that could break down I was really glad that he wanted to come along. He is also a computer whiz in his own right.
Dad, if you are amazed at the size of our Krishna Disaster Relief team, so was everyone else. Factually speaking, many more wanted to come, but course not everyone could. Actually, who would have ever guessed that we could have used a Krishna Disaster Relief team ten times bigger than we deployed? This is going to be one of the topics discussed when I get back to Potomac.
One thing great thing about Jeff is how he helped design and understood our all different radios that we stayed in touch with everyone. I don't think I had told you this but Jeff had worked in a radio command post in army and I know his military training really helped us get organized.
The first thing they did was place everyone into squads. Just like in the army, we also had squad leaders. What we did, then, was give each squad leader a special radio so that Jeff could talk to directly from our command post. It was a ham-radio phone that was completely self-contained and independent of any telephone company. They are lightweight and have an unlimited range.
Then (and this is the neat part) Jeff gave each squad member an old-fashioned pager. These completed our Krishna Disaster Relief emergency radio system. Again, the pagers were completely independent of any telephone company. Jeff was able to generate our own signals to them. Obviously, during a disaster, electricity and phone systems are the first to go.
So, in this way, using our ham phones and pagers, not a single devotee was left out of the loop. To keep everyone informed and working as a team, from the command post we could talk to the squad leaders. We could also page all our members with various codes, such as "go meet with your squad leader for important information."
Altogether we had nineteen squads. This was factually a rather inexpensive way to keep us all in touch. Pagers are really cheap. In fact, Jeff had some of his friends make them back in Potomac. Don't ask me how, but they did it. Jeff had 300 of them packed in a box when he left Potomac. Of course, the ham radios were a lot more expensive but we only needed them for the squad leaders. The grant we got from the "Action Foundation" paid for all our radios, and then some.
With only two days left before impact, things were really getting intense. A last minute call from Dr. Stafford confirmed that our general area was still ground zero. He also said that the asteroid had not broken into two pieces yet and that it was a bit bigger than originally estimated. He gave us his blessings and told us to keep him informed as soon as possible.
There was now less than 48 hours to go.
As I have mention earlier, this was the first time that Krishna Disaster Relief had ever fully deployed itself on this magnitude. I never dreamed that one day we would be looking at nearly a 1000 members; checking and double checking their equipment and waiting for the inevitable to happen. It was best to keep busy. Our different squads had already been organized and each group was busy getting to know one another.
As far as my final role, I teamed up with our members from Russia. Not knowing exactly where the asteroid was going to strike, once we did know, our team was going to be the first to leave the hanger. I was going to be part of our Krishna Search and Rescue Team.
One thing that we didn't have to worry about was any severe weather. A weak cold front was the only thing that we had to keep our eye on and that was still located over Colorado.
Finally my team was set to go. Two years ago I had purchased our five, 4-wheel-drive vehicles. We kept them parked in a special garage that we had built in Potomac and they were all in great shape. This has always been my pet project and I always felt that we should have the means to enter a disaster area as quickly as possible to assess the situation in order to direct our main forces. Large trucks certainly can't travel at the speeds that our scout vehicles can and next year we have plans to buy a helicopter for just this purpose.
Jeff had installed radios for us and had put a winch on each of our off-road suburbans. Inside and on top of each vehicle we had everything that we would need to sustain ourselves for a good two weeks, if needed. Complete with extra gas, food and water, we were ready to go. Since our search and rescue team is so unique, we didn't have separate squads. But we all knew who we were and worked as a team. We had our own radios that were more rugged than the others. The radios worked great. Our vehicles also had a GPS tracking systems installed so that Jeff could monitor and tell our exact whereabouts.
We went to some extra expense to buy our search & rescue equipment but I thought it was well worth it. Our four vehicles needed to get out of the hanger as quickly as possible and direct our relief efforts to the best possible location. Nobody knew for sure what to expect or exactly where to go. We needed to go first. Roads could be washed out or destroyed, bridges down, and fires blocking our path. This is why we had to leave first, even ahead of some of our other search and rescue vehicles. I guess you could say that we were concerned more with the assessment part: looking for the best routes to take and where to direct everyone else.
After a final briefing, each of the squad leaders spoke for a few more moments. As the asteroid was breaking up in the atmosphere, the most beautiful kirtan I have ever heard was echoing throughout the huge hanger. Even the military people with us seemed spellbound at the wonderful sound.
When the asteroid hit, there was no mistaking it. Everyone could feel it. The ground beneath us seemed to shake forever. Three times we felt it, but we all survived. I could see Jeff's wife wave at me and I ran over to the command post. Finally we were all set to roll out.
The Air Force base is located about 60 miles from Kansas City, and 250 miles from St. Louis. But I needed to see something first. The satellite imagery we were monitoring couldn't be mistaken. The worst possible thing that could have happened was right there before our eyes. St. Louis had taken direct hit but there was something else we need to attend to much closer. The large asteroid had finally split in two and this wasn't good.
As you well know, dad, the American public was really at a loss regarding what to do. Because of the asteroid's peculiar wobble, NASA was never able to say for sure where it was going to strike. They wanted to, but couldn't, yet everyone knew that America was in for it, but where? It's hard to run from something like that. You could be running right into it. To prevent this, for 48 hours a curfew was enacted and nobody was allowed to drive anywhere. They wanted all roads cleared for rescue efforts.
Of course, this didn't affect us because we were now a part of the official disaster relief effort. All of our nation's top officials inside FEMA and the American Red Cross had visited our Potomac facilities, so we were well known by everyone and more than welcome. Krishna Disaster Relief was on the green card carried by every law-enforcement agency in America. As Jeff liked to say, "we're good to go."
Although we had a large group of very talented people assembled there in that hanger, from a brain surgeon to a dog handler who could find people buried alive, nevertheless Krishna Disaster Relief had a specific job to do. As Rohini-suta said in his book, "let us simply show everyone Krishna coming to the rescue ...the world's greatest hero." And he always told me how loving kindness was our compass.
In a few hours billions of people around the world were about to appreciate the fact that Lord Krishna appears as His dear devotees (friends) and this made more sense to me than ever before. Rohini used to tell me how being kind to people was the only thing that made him really feel happy and how he wanted Krishna Disaster Relief to embody this kindness.
Thankfully, the specifics of our rescue effort were not that difficult to understand. This greatly helped everyone to make sense out of what appeared as a rather strange gathering of people and equipment, assembled together in a really unexpected place and circumstance.
Most importantly we wanted to get Dr. Patels's field hospital set up along with our command post. Also, our mobile kitchens. This alone was going to keep the bulk of our people busy. We all knew that once we were there, it was going to mean a 24-hour a day, nonstop mission. Exactly where we were going to set up was the big question.
As my team's four vehicles roared to life, a lot of things were going through my mind. But those concerns had to be set aside. We needed to get off the base and everyone gave us a hardy farewell.
Now our plan was to get to St. Louis as soon as possible. Along the way, Jeff was sending us reports of massive destruction but details were sketchy. At least the roads were clear. We even had a police escort.
Nearing St. Louis, the sky just didn't look right. Things were beginning to smell funny, too. What we then did was to separate into three groups; one of the vehicles going south; one going eastward and my vehicle pushing towards the north. Little did we know the incredible events that we were about to find ourselves in.
One of the most difficult things to accept in any disaster is that you can't save everyone. But if God is the greatest, I guess this should be our goal. Of course this is never going to be possible but we certainly never cut any corners.
As Shrila Prabhupada always said, the purpose of human life is to develop love for God and Krishna Disaster Relief is only a means to that end; and one of the greatest ones I know of. There is no doubt about it, dad. America is appreciating us as never before. The entire world saw what we did and if we can just manage to stay on this course and keep the world seeing Lord Krishna coming to the rescue, then I am absolutely certain that we will fulfill Prabhupada's heart's desire. We're already seeing this happen.
Another thing you can't do, dad, is be everywhere at once. The St. Louis area is enormous. As I was wondering what our other scouts were finding, Jeff called over the radio to tell me about a large high school that we needed to get to as soon as possible. He said that he had got a call from Dr. Stafford and that FEMA had received word that things were really bad there. It was located outside of St. Louis on our side of the city. FEMA wanted to know if we could check it out.
We decided to let our other scout vehicles continue with their reconnaissance while my vehicle was to join up with the Russian team and look for the school.
What can I say, dad? This wasn't war, but you know about mass destruction. Eventually I saw parts of the city where everything had been wiped out. There were a lot of fires and our visibility was getting really bad.
Jeff called again and said that our vehicle's global-tracking unit was telling him that the school was about two miles up ahead. He said that we should be crossing a river right before we got to the school. He also gave us the latest weather update that he had just received from Denver. The cold front would be blowing in that afternoon, but it wasn't supposed to be a strong storm.
As we slowly proceeded I could feel that we were on the edge of something really terrible. Looking back now, I can understand why. When the asteroid entered the Earth's atmosphere, it broke up into two pieces. One piece hit downtown St. Louis while the other punched a hole into the Earth about 10 miles from the school we were looking for. This high school was between us and the actual point of impact.
The closer we got to it the more I could tell that something horrific had happened here. Several times we had to stop because of fallen trees over the road. We used chain saws and our winches to remove all the debris so that we could proceed. Behind us and closing fast, the main body of our Krishna Disaster Relief response team needed to know where to go.
The radio came alive and again it was Jeff. He said that despite the massive amount of destruction that our other two scout vehicles were encountering, the emphasis he was getting from FEMA was on the high school. Word was that more than half the town had taken shelter in it. He told the other two teams to now concentrate their efforts with us. They would be able to meet us at the school in about four hours.
When we finally reached where the school was suppose to be, visibility was really bad. Just a lot of smoke and dirt in the air. The twelve of us put on the face masks that we had packed away in Potomac. Thank God for thinking ahead.
Although our global tracking system said we were at the school, exactly where we were didn't look like any school I had ever seen. As it turned out, this was because it was nearly buried. But we could see hundreds of parked cars and buses off to our left. Of course this was because so many people were inside it.
When the asteroid hit, huge amounts of dirt became instantly displaced. Beyond the rim of the crater, what happened next resembled a large wave out in the middle of the ocean. But instead of water, this wave consisted of massive amounts of dirt and trees and everything else imaginable that was caught in its wake. Of course it didn't go on forever. Fortunately, after covering most of the high school it stopped. On our side of the school things were somewhat more recognizable, but destruction was really all around us. Ahead of us and beyond, it looked like total devastation and if there was a school, it had to be buried.
We radioed back to the command post, which was proceeding about thirty miles to the west of us. Jeff confirmed everyone's position. I gave them a quick briefing of what we were looking at. FEMA then contacted Jeff and asked us to look around. Our Krishna Disaster Relief command post would be monitoring our progress and would be joining us in about 3 hours.
With this task ahead of us, the doors of our search & rescue vehicles flew opened and I motioned for everyone to listen. I thought I could hear something. It was very quiet. Yes, we all heard it. A lot of sounds off toward the north.
Honestly, dad, I don't think it took us long to fully grasp the gravity of the situation inside that high school. I don't want to get too graphic here but as we spread out toward the sounds, we could sense the panic inside. That was enough for me: "SOS. bring everybody here just as quickly as you can."
With these words, Krishna Disaster Relief was about to deploy its first, full-blown rescue effort, ever!
Several of the Russians had remained by the school to see if they could find a way inside while the rest of us quickly did a fast survey of the layout outside. We needed to stake out where to put the hospital. This was the worst part. When you get to this point, nothing seems to happen fast enough. Especially when you have people desperately in need of help. When we got near the school, the muffled cries inside were overwhelming. But unless we got our site selected and the hospital set up as quickly as possible, nobody was going to get any help.
Suddenly the wind started to blow and I noticed how it was pushing the smoke away from us.
Soon after our arrival, the search and rescue teams from Denver arrived. We quickly got them positioned and in short order they had unloaded their gear and were off. Then our field hospital arrived. Dr. Patel said that the police had already set up roadblocks.
With Dr. Patel and Jeff giving instructions, everyone pitched in to set the hospital up in record time. The National Guard troops that had come with us were instrumental in all of this. We managed to get the hospital on some level grass about a hundred yards from the school. Other sites were better but we didn't want it too far away. A lot of people were going to need medical treatment.
All at once, a lot of activity was taking place. Tents were going up, people were yelling, generators were being turned on, some of the injured were already arriving and various vehicles were being positioned. As I told you, previously to all of this we had diligently practiced setting everything up and on our end, and everything was completed in record time. Arranged in a circle, first we had our field hospital. On each side of it, other tents were erected. These were for his staff of doctors and nurses. Then to the right and left, to complete the semicircle, we stationed our two kitchens. Behind them we parked our supply trucks.
Next to each kitchen we had put up a large tent where rescue workers could sit & rest for a spell. Rohini had written about this same kind of set up years he saw ago during a massive fire in Denver, and it seemed really important. After hours of fighting the fires, the Salvation Army had provided a large tent where the fire fighters could sit or lay down for an hour, drink coffee and talk with their fellow fire fighters. Using what Rohini saw in Denver, we also had a row of cots where rescue workers could lay down if they wanted.
Completing our set up, everyone in our team had their personal tents pitched in the distance. Jeff's command post with its satellite mast and other antennas pointing into the sky was also set up.. Next to Jeff, I had my small camper parked.
As you can imagine, dad, the next twenty-four hours were the most hectic hours imaginable. Our search and rescue team was doing everything possible to pull everyone out of the school. Large parts of it were destroyed. Those people who were not hurt too bad were taken by ambulance to a hospital. But many others were being treated on the scene by Dr. Patel and his staff. They were also treating other victims that the police were bringing to us from other locations. Again, prepared for different scenarios, Jeff and his team had marked off a helicopter landing pad nearby in a safe area. Once again his military training paid off. For what seemed like days on end there was nothing but a constant stream of ambulances and helicopters coming and going. Anything we needed, we got.
But the one helicopter that no one had expected was suddenly on its way. After it was all over, I bet the President of the United States wishes he had stayed back in Washington until it was really safe to travel.
Again, it was Dr. Stafford who told us to get ready. Of course, by now the entire world was glued to their television sets, watching FOX's live coverage of the events that were unfolding at the high school. Other news groups also had their reporters out covering the damage left by the asteroid, but nothing compared to our pictures. Jeff's wife was able to send live coverage up to the satellite within 30 minutes after arriving. Our live coverage of the asteroid's damage was at least two hours ahead of anyone else. In fact, all the other news networks were playing our news footage. The drama, they later said, was the most intense ever witness on TV. Dad, this whole thing was turning out to be far greater than any of us could have imagined in our wildest dreams.
This is why the President of the United States was now about to land his Marine helicopter at the high school. Personally I thought they should have been postponed this for a few days because things were really unstable all around us. After a dam broke we were even rescuing people by boat, and now the President was about to land; and poor Jeff ...it seemed like our command post was getting a new call every minute. Plus, we had the Red Cross using our phones. I know that Jeff never thought he'd be actually speaking to a Marine pilot inside a helicopter with the President of the United States on board, but he did.
Actually, there were four helicopters in his entourage that needed to land. After the President and his group toured our field hospital, they visited our command center and spoke briefly with myself and Jeff, thanking us for our tremendous service. The President asked us to visit him at the White House after all of this was over. He seemed sincere in his offer and FOX carried all of this live ...even the sudden earthquake that sent the President back into our hospital, but this time as a patient.
Dr. Stafford had once mentioned to me the possibility of this happening. The Earth had really taken a strong jolt. Besides the possibility of an earthquake, some people were saying that the Earth's axis might shift. If that had happened, I wouldn't be here in India writing you this letter.
As for President Howard, the earthquake couldn't have come at a worse moment. He wanted to go over by the school. This is when all hell broke loose. All of us nearly got it. Compared to him, I was lucky. I just twisted my ankle, but his leg was really bad. Dad, it was pandemonium. There were at least fifteen people hurt. To this day, the director of FEMA is still in the hospital.
As you know, the President ended up staying in our Krishna Disaster Relief field hospital overnight and now, in just a few weeks, he is going to give Krishna Disaster Relief a special award when he visits Potomac. He told me that he would also like to address the country and give a short talk on the importance of volunteers during disasters. So this ought to be very interesting. I had always thought that the auditorium we built could have been bigger.
And dad, remember to bring your coat because it’s going to be cold when you get off the plane. It will be great seeing you again. After I read this over I will probably have a few more things to add. For instance, I never got to tell you what happened to my friend from Russia, Madana-mohana. But this is all for now. Hare Krishna. Bye.
During the heart of the fire, this is the photo that Rohini-suta dasa took inside a tent set up to give some warmth, food and rest to the many firefighters at the Stapleton International Airport.