Mark Cuban just got back from a short tip to the Cayman Islands. He had forgotten, as I had and, I suspect, as you have, that Hurricane Ivan wreaked havoc through a wide swath of the Caribbean Sea last year, including the Cayman Islands. According to Wikipedia, "A quarter of buildings on the islands were reported to be uninhabitable, with 80% damaged to some extent. Much of Grand Cayman Island still remained without power, water or sewer services ten days later. After five months, barely half the pre-Ivan hotel rooms were usable."

After reading about the Ivan's devastation in a book he found there in the Caymans, and seeing some photos which he said resembled the aftermath of Katrina, Mark started asking locals about how they dealt with their ordeal.

They told stories of no electricity for 6 or more weeks. No water for 2 weeks. How to take a shower with a half a bottle of water.

The real question I had was how the island had been rebuilt. Who paid for it?

The stories were all the same. We did. We did. We did. The government tried to do their part. But when it came right down to it, enterprise stepped in. Insurance proceeds were invested.

But this is where the similarity to Katrina takes a different turn. Says Mark:

That used to be an American story. I kept on waiting for the story to end with a description of American know how and ingenuity. But they werent talking about Americans.

I'm glad to hear this type of spirit still exists in this world, but the US has been so wussified, there's not nearly enough of it here. I'm extremely proud of those folks who are grabbing themselves by their bootstraps and doing what needs to be done. I wish there were more folks like them.