USS Lexington: Corpus Chrisi, TX on Sep. 30, 2017

The_Chieftain: Higher powers than I are debating it around the office. I'm sure an official statement will be made on the Go/No-Go decision. We are doing something else with local charities, I believe.   Yes, the optics are an issue. But I hope we go. Personally, I can find arguments in favour. In a month's time, the big problem is going to be that because the economy in the area is hard-hit, workers and businesses will be struggling. One can focus now on the aid charities, but Katrina showed that the big problem in subsequent couple of months was really companies going out of business either because of a lack of demand for their services, or simply because the place of business had to be condemned. Where do guys get the money to pay their mortgages, which haven't gone away? So if we do an event in Corpus Christi, would we be keeping, say, a local food vendor or table rental company afloat? How about hotels? Would Lexington like the help, maybe to repair storm damage to the ship? And would folks in the area appreciate the diversion after a month of rebuilding by having something fun to do? In other words, is our concern about appearing sensitive actually going to cause less good than going? Not that simple a decision.