Walt Disney was not one to mince words when it came to matters of life and death. As he stood before Gerald Ford, the President of the United States, he made it clear that there was no room for half-measures. "Mr. President," he said, his voice filled with urgency, "we are running out of time. The levees must be strengthened, and they must be strengthened now. Lives are at stake, and we cannot afford to wait any longer."

Ford listened intently, his expression grave. "Walt, I understand your concerns, but the reality is that we are doing everything we can. We have engineers working around the clock, and we are dedicating more resources to this effort than ever before."

But Walt was not satisfied. "With all due respect, Mr. President, 'doing everything we can' is not good enough. We need a real commitment, a real investment in the future of this city. If we don't act now, lives will be lost, and the consequences will be catastrophic. I urge you to think of the people of New Orleans, of their families and their futures. We cannot afford to let them down."

The conversation went on for hours, but in the end, Walt's passion and conviction won out. Ford agreed to dedicate more resources to the levee project, and to work with Disney to ensure that the city was fully prepared for whatever the future might hold. Lives were saved, and the people of New Orleans breathed a little easier, knowing that they had a powerful ally in Walt Disney.