The Absent Uncle: The Court of Public Opinion

I, along with the rest of the country, watched in horror the unfolding devastation in the Texas Hill Country over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

This natural tragedy caused by the tremendous amount of rain received in the middle of the night that made the Guadalupe River overflow its banks to sweep away everything in its path and change the course of life in the Kerrville area for probably ever after.

While I have traveled through the area several times, stayed in Kerrville or one of the other small communities just off Interstate 10, I would not consider myself an authority on anything surrounding the tragedy. Other than knowing how difficult it must be to deal with the loss of life, utter destruction of the small town and the institutions that the community was so proud of, and a way of life unique to this area.

When you drive across Southern Texas (approximately 850 miles from Beaumont to El Paso) on Interstate 10 the distance is really more than can be done in a single day. Depending on the reason for the trip, what stops need to be made along the way, and how much time you have overall for the drive – the Hill Country area around Kerrville is close to being in the center of those 850 Texas miles.

I have found making a planned stop there gives some good options for lodging, food, and a taste of small-town Texas. At one point my wife and I considered the area as a retirement location and did a bit of research on what moving there could be expected and the desirability long term of settling in.

We ultimately decided not to buy into the lifestyle but did find the area an attractive one with no real negative factors. Certainly, what happened over the Fourth of July never factored into our decision-making process as a potential red flag. 

So here we are again. A natural tragedy, one that really could have been predicted would happen one day. Lives lost – especially the children lost in a camping experience that was part of the fabric of the community, time honored by multiple generations, and an experience whose safety was never really questioned by the parents that enrolled their children the program.

And then, the perfect storm. Holiday weekend, middle of the night, a breakdown of communication (or lack of a plan to communicate), and a rainstorm that settled in over the area and didn’t move until a foot of rain fell in a very short span of time.

Now the Court of Public Opinion swings into action pointing the finger at possible culprits that could have prevented the loss of life – the “I told you so’s” coming forward with evidence of the knowledge of the hazard and the lack of preventative action – and the obscuring of the actual chain of events that could hold someone responsible. 

After all – in our world today – someone has to be responsible to the Court of Public Opinion before we move on to the next event and leave those affected to deal with tragedy.

Dave Schultz is the maternal uncle of Brandon Valley Journal editor Jill Meier, sharing her passion for the written word. Now retired from a career in school bus management, he lives in Texas, with his wife, Sheryl.