So I went back to New Orleans last week...

[Brotherjohn]

And all I can think about now is Katrina Katrina Katrina.

We had a memorial service for my Mom, who died as an evacuee 2 months after "The Thing" (as Times Picayune columnist Chris Rose has deemed Katrina). The situation had never, until now, really been settled enough to call a bunch of family and friends into town to pay tribute to her life.
My tribute to her life is posted here:
http://www.legacy.com/Nola/GuestBook.asp?Page=GuestBook&PersonID=15527121.
(If you link to this anywhere, please link to the Times Picayune-Legacy site above and not DU, out of respect for my mother and father and keeping politics entirely out of it.)

It went well, and ended up being a fitting remembrance of her life. But, and I guess I should have expected this, EVERYONE had a Katrina story. Of course, in New Orleans, everyone does. And they're not just "This is how I rode out the storm". They're more like "This is what I've been doing day in and day out for 11 months... the struggles to get a pittance from the insurance company... attempts to get electricity in my FEMA trailer so I can at least live close to my gutted house and get it livable before the next hurricane hits... and then HOPE the new (unfinished) levees hold". Not to mention the "simpler" stories... those who lost everything, home and business, if not lives.

Between that and the service, it all became kind of numbing. I think I simply caught a bit of the sickness that those still there experience all day, every day, and all night, every night.

I guess it didn't help that I read Chris Rose's excellent book, "1 Dead In Attic", on the way back. You get a small sense of what drove his colleague (that TP photographer) temporarily insane a short while ago. But I'm glad I read it. It's an excellent collection of his columns from the days during and immediately after, and through the months following the storm. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to get a glimpse at the personal side of what the city has gone through, and continues to go through. (http://chrisrosebooks.com/)

Everyone in New Orleans is struggling. They're struggling to keep a roof over their heads, to keep their families together, to keep their children from re-living the nightmare every night. They're struggling to keep their home a home (whatever or wherever it may be at the moment). It's no small accomplishment to stay either A) sober or B) out of an institution on any given day. There is still so much destruction and so many lives disrupted on such a massive scale, that I don't think anyone can imagine it unless they have been there and spoken to a few dozen New Orleanians and driven around the worst-affected parts of town (which is to say, about half its area).

There is hope. There is much work being done. But there is SO much left to be done (in many ways, the job has only just started). New Orleans is a city teetering on the edge.

I want to take the opportunity of the approaching one year anniversary to urge everyone who may read this to take up this issue again. It's not just any issue. An American city is dying. Write your Congressional delegation and urge them to give Louisiana its fair share of oil and gas revenues (http://www.levees.org/advocacy/revenuesharing.php). Urge them to make sure that the billions allocated to hurricane relief actually get used. Urge the to hold the Army Corps of Engineers accountable for faulty flood protection (which they have already admitted to).

Don't just watch the shows on Discovery Times and HGTV and the Weather Channel (which I will be doing too, as I can't bring myself not to). Whatever your take on the most pressing aspect of the issue is, DO something!

[Sequoia]

1. Thank you. I would like to read that book.

[demnan]

2. Recommended

We should never forget . . .

[merh]

3. I'll send a letter -

as a Katrina survivor, I know the struggles, writing a letter will help me feel like I am doing something for someone else. I can't do much more for myself that what I have done, am doing.

New Orleans isn't the only city/community still in ruins, her people are not the only wounded members of our American society that struggle to stay sober and sane.

Thank you for not forgetting New Orleans and the Katrina survivors.

[Brotherjohn]

7. Yes, I meant to mention the MS coast, too. I vacationed there every...

... summer growing up. The town, Clermont Harbor, simply doesn't exist anymore. The water level at the house which we used to go to (wiped clean by Camille) was 28 feet this time (higher than Camille, which no one thought would ever happen).

I put a picture in a slideshow at my Mom's service, of my Dad and the kids at the "old house in Clermont Harbor". Someone pointed out that there ARE no old houses in Clermont anymore. There are nothing but foundations a mile or so back (which is the whole town). And there are thousands of THOSE stories, too.

So not to dismiss what the MS coast went through. It was as devastating for them as N.O., just on a smaller scale. So a few tens of thousands of people were affetced instead of a few hundred thousand. Katrina was "their tsunami".

[merh]

15. Having survived Katrina's waters and lost all I had

there is nothing small scale to Katrina, not in MS compared to LA, not in struggles or heart break. We all pray to wake up from our nightmares, we all share the same dream of rebuilding and standing on our own again. Thousands of stories, billions of tears.

[Brotherjohn]

16. You are right, of course. I was only speaking to perhaps why the media...

... concentrate more on N.O.

[merh]

19. I understand

it is actually sensory overload, too many scandals, too many concerns, too much fear and heart break.

It is too much of too much and most of it has been fostered by this administration, out of neglect, arrogance and greed.

I'm too weary to be too angry today, at other times, I'm too angry to be too weary.

I'll send a letter and keep you and yours in my prayers, as are the other survivors. My sympathies on the passing of your mother, may your memories and her love help the heartache ease. :hug:

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. Please cross post this in the Hurricane Survivors Forum

And thanks for mentioning the book, "1 Dead In Attic". Am going to get it and read it.

Your account of your visit is moving.

So sorry for the loss of your mom :hug:

[Brotherjohn]

8. Sorry, not a donor... (nt) I only just FOUND that forum!

[uppityperson]

29. if you cannot cross post into there, would you like me to do it for you?

I can copy and paste it there if that is ok with you. Thank you for writing this. I know what you mean about this, living about as far away from Katrina-ville as is possible in USA, still very much affected since. Thank you for posting this and please let me know if it is ok to put into hurricane survivor's forum.

[Brotherjohn]

45. Yes, please do. Thanks! (nt)

[hedgehog]

5. I'm afraid that this is not over by a long shot.

Did anyone else notice the huge effort that went into ensuring that there wouldn't be a repeat during this year's hurricane cycle? Me neither. Right now water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are running at 87 degrees! Off the coast of Ireland, the water temperatures are running at 60-62 degrees. That's a lot of heat energy that hasn't been tapped yet this season.

[Brotherjohn]

6. Yes, I watched Chris like a hawk, and kept looking at Gulf H2O temps.

Katrina was barely a Cat 1 before it crossed into the Gulf. The temps in the Gulf were (and are) MUCH warmer than in the Bahamas/Caribbean. Luckily, Chris petered out before it could get there.

[Vampgrrl]

9. Hi

Hi,

As for the SSTs, SSTs fuel hurricanes but if the shear eats anything before it gets going..here's hoping it stays quiet this year!

Secondly, I dont think I'd call myself a Democrat...but let me tell you this, I disagree with a lot of what I read on this board but EVERYTHING changed for me after Katrina. I had wanted to live in New Orleans for years..but seeing the reaction of the powers that be, TOTALLY changed me.

Finally, as soon as my house sells I'm off to New Orleans to live, and help the city I've loved for so many years.

[Brotherjohn]

11. As a born-and-raised New Orleanian: Thank you. N.O. needs people like you.

If my family situation allowed it, we would go back and do the same thing. My wife and I have said, if it was just us...

New blood, and hope, from people like you just might save N.O.

[annabanana]

44. You are needed too...

( a star for NO )

[Brotherjohn]

46. Thank you!

:7

[long_green]

13. get on down here as soon as you can

we need troops on the ground, as it were.

[newyawker99]

25. Hi Vampgrrl!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[pitohui]

23. there's a hot spot in the gulf of mexico

we have to hope that this year's wind patterns will keep the storms away

we need all of the things that brotherjohn recommended -- the oil revenue money for coastal restoration (to provide a storm buffer), the better levees, the army corp of engineers making people whole etc. (well, whole financially, they can never make up for the lives lost by people who trusted the floodwalls)

i feel we also need to develop some new science to find a way to turn or dissolve these storms, ultimately the world is going to be getting hotter for awhile and we can't just sit on our hands

there used to be some work done in this area but it never seemed to move into modern science, it's like people just gave up when seeding betsy didn't work

it seems like most of the wild-eyed brainstormers have moved into areas like computers and the singularity, well, the singularity is just as ridiculous and unlikely as turning a storm, if that's a valid project then i think turning storms is just as valid if not more so -- we need at least few people willing to think outside the box and come up w. something new

[Kurovski]

10. K&R.(nt)

[me b zola]

12. "The Thing"

I've come to call "the thing" KatrinaBush. I needed a word a term to encompass not just the storm, but the aftermath of the storm which in many ways, as devestating as Katrina was in terms of life and property, is much more horrific and caused even more needless deaths.

I will write my Senator and Congressman about oil & gas revenues for LA, as well as continue to ask for federal assistence and justice for all of the people of the Gulf states whose lives have been ripped apart by KatrinaBush. Thanks for the recommendation for 1 Dead In The Attic, I will put that on my Christmas wish list. :)


I wish you peace and wellness, Brotherjohn.

[Behind the Aegis]

14. Welcome home, neighbor!

I was not here for the storm. We just moved here in May. We are working with our neighbors to bring life back into our area. Each day we are here, we signs of improvement, but you are correct: we still have a long way to go!

Sympathies for the loss of your mom.

[Brotherjohn]

17. I do not mean to mislead. I no longer live in N.O.

Haven't lived in Louisiana for 10 years or so. I was born and raised in N.O., and my father and brother and his family still live there (and countless cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, etc.).

Thank you as well, for going back there and helping to re-build.

[Behind the Aegis]

18. Ooohhh.

I apologize for misunderstanding. But hey, I love this city and am very glad we have chosen it to be our home! We came here 4 years ago and fell in love with the place...we have been trying to get here ever since.

But this damn humidity! I lived in Oklahoma for 7 years, before that I was living in NC. OK has NO humidity, so I forgot just how bad it can get! Walking to the mailbox and you lose 3 pounds of water weight! And my mailbox is right outside my front door! :)

Anyway, here's hoping you get to come back more often and get to see your city the way it used to be! :toast:

[Brotherjohn]

21. Funny thing about the humidity, you sort of grow to like it.

I know, it sucks... it makes a hot day unbearable. But it's kind of... cleansing? Sometimes I even miss it.

Up here in NC, they complain about the "humidity". It's like 50-60%. That doesn't even register. In FL, where I used to live, it was much more humid (usu ~70-80%). But I'd still notice everytime I went back to N.O., it was liking stepping into hot soup.

When the idea of "heat index" started to become common a few years back, I'd say "So what! 95 degrees in N.O. always feels like 95 degrees in N.O., b/c it's always 100% humidity!" Now that I've lived in other places where himidity can actually VARY, I see some value in it.

You'll grow to get used to it. But as I'm writing this, I realize why I love the afternoon showers in the summer in N.O. It's a pleasant break in what would otherwise be an entire day of that heat and humidity.

[Behind the Aegis]

40. Humidity....yech!

I lived in several states in the South, including Florida and eastern NC. So, I am familiar with humidity, but after 7 years in a fairly dry state, it has been a bit of an adjustment! And those afternoon storms...good grief! The other day was the first day without rain in almost a month! It is a nice break, but it makes yard work impossible...the grass is wet, but keeps on growing!

Hot soup! That is the best analogy I have heard!

[Vampgrrl]

22. How I feel

I know how that is...New Orleans is like crack.
One taste and your hooked. (Bad analogy)

But I can say as much time as I've spent anywhere I've never found a place that screwed with my "soul" the way New Orleans does.

That said (and I've said this on NOLA.com). New Orleans is one of those rare opportunities to really make a difference...some people felt called to duty after 9/11. Katrina was my call, as I cannot remember feeling as angry as I did the weeks after the storm last year. I was broiling over with anger...and perhaps it hurt even more because I know the city, and hardly had a personal connection.
And having trucks ready to go in to help and be barred from the city due to FEMA...seeing dead bodies floating in the water..in AN AMERICAN city!

I was pissed.
I'm still pissed.

[KamaAina]

34. I knew it! I knew I knew you from somewhere!

That said (and I've said this on NOLA.com).

Weren't you also on nola.us (not the same thing; nola.com is the T-P's site)? In Atlanta at the moment? I was/am "Ignatius J. Reilly" over there! :hi:

I, too, am considering taking the plunge -- just saw a nice juicy listing on craigslist -- and I'm in Hawai'i, which ought to tell you something.

edit: spelling

[DoYouEverWonder]

24. Good for you

I hope you do well there.

[lies and propaganda]

20. i will never forgive, and I will never forget.

They should be uimpeached and imprisoned for fucking Katrina.

[antigone382]

26. Is there still a need for volunteers?

I've been looking around on the internet for some volunteer opportunities in the Gulf Coast, but most organizations seem to want donations. I can't help much in that way...I barely have enough money to put food on my own table...but I'd really like to go down there and do some work when I have breaks from school. I don't know if the skills I have are useful, but I'm young, healthy, strong, and used to surviving in third world conditions. Oh, and I can cook. If I could find a group that was headed down there for a week or two, I would love to come along and help out in whatever way I could.

[uppityperson]

28. Oh my yes there is still need. Very much need. Here are a few I know of

intheflow is helping coordinate volunteers in MS, You can pm her here on DU for more information (post #27 right below this, hi!).

I have been involved with bayoulibertyrelief.org camp of/for/by volunteers. I am not a big group joiner, but they have several projects going on, offer housing for any volunteers and a 2 day retreat for volunteers.

http://www.animalrescueneworleans.com/ needs volunteers to help with animals.

http://www.commongroundrelief.org/ has a big presence in upper & lower 9th wards.

http://emergencycommunities.org/ has a couple big community kitchens, serving 1000 meals a day in Chalmette (east side of NO)


What can be done is clean, muck, gut houses, put up new wiring plumbing insulation sheetrock, cook in community kitchens for residents and volunteers, help animal relief fill food/water stations, sort stuff at distribution places, listen to residents, listen to residents, listen to residents. What is needed is a whole lot of energy, plus rebuilding stuff (money/gift cards to HomeDepot so residents can buy what is needed AS it is needed as there isn't much storage if any), and a whole lot more energy.

[antigone382]

31. Thanks so much for replying!

School's about to start, so the soonest I'd be able to do anything is maybe over Thanksgiving or Christmas Break. I'll definitely check out those links...I really want to help!

[Swamp Rat]

33. Let me know if and when you come.

:hug:

[antigone382]

35. But of course!

Buenos noches! Como estas?

[Swamp Rat]

36. Tô muito bem.

E você e a tua Mãe? :D

[antigone382]

37. Pues, estamos bien, pero...

El viernes, mi hermano arruino mi auto. Ello es OK, pero mi auto es muy mal! :(

Pero somos afortunados, porque tenemos muchos amigos que nos esten ayudando.

(Ah, y este semestre, voy a tener una clase de espanol. Es bueno, porque necesito practicar mas! :bounce:)

[Swamp Rat]

38. ¡Que lástima!

Pobrecita! :hug: Gracias a los dioses que él está bien.

Hace MUCHO tiempo que no practico el español... agora o português é muito mais facil pra mim. Creo que voy a tomar un clase de frances por que quiero aprenderlo mejor - solamente puedo escribir y leerlo.

Bueno. Entonces, vamos a praticar el español cuándo quisieras. :)

[Behind the Aegis]

39. Are you a teacher?

If so, I will send you the email I got from NOLA.com. We are in serious need of teachers!!!! I have even considered getting my certficate, though I have a master's in education. If you need a link, let me know!

[antigone382]

41. No, I'm a student...

But thanks for the offer!

[Behind the Aegis]

42. Well, good luck in your studies!

:hi:

[intheflow]

27. Thank you so much for posting this.

Those of us who have been living and working in the disaster zone really appreciate it when other voices pipe up. This is too important to be forgotten! Oh, I know, it's coming up on the one-year anniversary so we'll see lots and lots about Katrina in another week, for a few days. But you can bet that within 3 or 4 days after the anniversary, Katrina will be bumped off the public radar screen by the 5 year anniversary of September 11th. Not that 9-11 isn't worth remembering and memorializing, but who will make the connections between the gross spending on the War on Terror (a fictional response to 9-11) and the gross underspending and continued negligence in response to the 2005 hurricane season? No one, I fear. And so those of us who know and live day-to-day with this knowledge appreciate your voice being added to the chorus of voices crying out for justice and compassion in the South.

[Keseys Ghost]

30. Kicking for recovery...from Covington, LA

K&R

[Swamp Rat]

32. Yeah you right!

:hug:

[Vampgrrl]

47. I want to get there now!

I intend on going to New Orleans, starting an IT support biz on the side (and volunteering support time to non profits), going back to college (Master even PhD would be nice in poli sci at UNO) and being very politically active...(especially against Nagin...as the city is looking for a leader, anyone at this point...Barack Obama would be great! if we could smuggle him to Louisiana!
I gave $100 to Mitch Landrieu but he didn't run agressively enough either.

IMHO of course.

Either way, anyone want to buy my house in metro Atlanta? It's been on he market for 4 months...I need to get to Louisiana now.
=o)

Oh btw, all the good banter is in the Orleans forum at NOLA.com

[Swamp Rat]

49. HA! My cousin just called from Atlanta.

He's actually in Decatur, but he is coming here this week. If he could, he'd move here as well.

UNO is the best school here in terms of value. Tulane is no longer that good considering the extremely high tuition, and Loyola has closed many programs due to Katrina.

Too bad about Mitch. Nagin is a piece of shit who has done only harm since he retained his position (I don't believe he won the election legitimately).

:hi:

[Vampgrrl]

50. Rah rah!

Well I have wanted to move to New Orleans since 1995 but I put it off as I was scared and family wanted me close.
After Katrina, I was in a miserable job and I was emailing my sister who was living in Paris (and the Middle East) (went overseas as a Bush supporter, as I *was*) came back NOT (I think her words were murdering ahole...and she's an evangelical)
ANYHOW
I cannot as an American and someone who loves New Orleans sit idle and let that city suffer, it was once larger than Atlanta and the jewel of the South. It offers something beyond yuppie money obsessed corporate types...and it's a look into where we came from as a nation.

I will stand up for New Orleans.
(even if I have to totally reboot my life to do it)

Anyhow, sorry I get a lil' rah rah for something I feel passionate about.

[Vampgrrl]

51. Neat video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEjmLwvLUGU&mode=related&search=new%20orleans/


Run this in in Oct-Nov. on TV for effect...in case anyone forgets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9vKTRZKou0&mode=related&search=new%20orleans/:think:

[Breeze54]

43. Hard kick and recommend. TY!

:kick:

[GreenPartyVoter]

48. Kick and a *hug*