Day 64 of the Crusher Gusher. Depression reigns here.

[trof]

Hell, we're just beat down.
And there's no end in sight.
And we, me and Miz t., are retired, don't work in any of the businesses that are being screwed.
Our income, such as it is, doesn't depend on the Alabama gulf coast.

But the way we live, and how our friends do who still work for a living, has been radically, terribly altered.

Miz t. is just down, and that's very rare for her.
She's almost always an 'up' person.
Always sees the silver lining in the dark clouds.
Not now.

Today a fishing charter boat captain mounted to the wheelhouse of his docked boat (fishing grounds are closed) and blew his brains out.
Maybe the poor guy had other problems.
I don't know.
But I'm guessing he may not be the last to do that.

These guys (and some women) have done this all their lives. So did their fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers.
And they expected that their sons and daughters, and their sons and daughters sons and daughters would.
It's been their life for generations and now, at least for the foreseeable future, it's...just...gone.

For now and for probably a long time to come that's all over.
Same for families who have spent generations shrimping and oystering and crabbing.
Gone.

I haven't seen a pelican fishing on the bay in a couple of weeks.
They're usually as thick as fleas on a yard dog here.
I haven't seen any porpoises.
The adults bring the young up here to learn to hunt among the schools of shrimp and mullet.

I haven't seen a blue heron in days.
We're fuckin' dyin'.

Damn.

[NC_Nurse]

1. .

:cry:

I'm so sorry.

[laughingliberal]

2. ...

:cry:

[amborin]

3. Shell oil guy said massive response was still lacking....& dispersants were making cleanup & contain

ment more difficult......

[trof]

6. Seafloor injection of dispersants:

I'm no expert, by a long shot, but I've been reading my ass of for the last several weeks.

What I've learned is that 'source' injections (a mile down in the gulf) only serve to make things look 'better' on the surface.
Pretty, pretty.

Makes scooping it up on the surface more difficult.
Plus the toxic effects of Corexit.
Christ on a wobbly crutch.
:grr:

[amborin]

9. that's what i've read, too; the dispersants are purely cosmetic, so folks don't "see" so much oil, a

and this helps BP keep the bill down, also....

they are heinous criminals and still allowed to dump Corexit

WHY?

[SoCalDem]

25. We lived in Northern Indiana during the steel heyday, and they always waited until dark

to pump out the nastiest black billowy crap..Driving at night was like driving a heavy fog... Industry loves to hide their messes, and later just flat out deny they had anything to do with the mess & illnesses..

[femrap]

4. I'm simply

ill over this. Please take good care of yourselves. I have no words of comfort. I'm just so sorry.

[Poboy]

5. Yep

Not good here either.
Apologies and sympathies to you. Lots of extended family are going to be wiped out.

[trof]

8. I know all the people named in that article.

I live in Foley.
It's beyond tragic.

[Laelth]

7. .

I am saddened and ashamed.

-Laelth

[trof]

10. This is not a post I ever wanted ot make. Let alone have rec'd.

But thanks, I guess.
The word on what's happening down here needs to get out.

[Poboy]

13. Yes it does.

This sense of 'the end' has been here for the past month. I am not directly affected (yet), but the feeling just south of NO is dreadful.
Suicide crisis lines are busy, and I understand local gov't is expanding social services to handle all the emotional issues.
I know some dismiss this in comparing it to Katrina, but it is common consensus here that this is worse.

If a hurricane passes through, it could be checkmate. Hard to describe the sense of anxiety.

Again, my sympathies.

[malaise]

11. I don't know if it helps

but I share your pain. When I saw that gusher today and read about the death of the sea captain I shook my head at the scale of this ongoing catastrophe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39hLh_QFqQo

[tsuki]

12. The Gulf has been my friend, and my comfort for over 60 years. I am

depressed and angry. Now, the GOBP cries angry tears for BP. Fark the corporations.

[bdamomma]

14. there are no words the only thing I can give you is this

:hug: I feel so sick about this.

[lostnfound]

15. Beyond horrible.

I love blue herons. My favorite, I think. Oh sure, roseate spoonbills are good for a thrill, so stunning in flight against a blue sky. But it's always been the heron that feels like a grand old friend or like the creature I'd like to be in my next life. I am sorry.

[gimama]

16. In Mourning here, for 2 mos. now,

KNOWING full well
it will get much worse,
beyond our darkest Imaginings..
& KNOWING
for 2 months now,
'they' could be doing so much more to handle it.
Common SENSE & efficiency..
a Sense of urgency..
attacking the disaster
like the war-enemy it IS.

I have Wondered,
if they really could be
as inept & incompetent
as WE are led to believe..?
After all, if the whole Gulf is dead,
won't be much need
for 'regulations' or 'oversight.

I'm on Galveston,
I still smell the Sea,
the Brown Pelicans form a V as they fly over,
& I look East & think of You ALL.
My Heart breaks for us All.

[snagglepuss]

18. It's so utterly beyond sickening. I am so sorry.

:grr: :cry:

[MadMaddie]

17. trof and Miz t

My thoughts are with you and all of the citizens that are suffering because of this disaster.

Every life lost, every career destroyed and every illness caused by the toxins.....blood is on BPs hands.

I am really sorry...

[malaise]

19. The cap is back on

PHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HCE SuiGeneris]

20. My heart goes out to you, and all the poor souls and creatures damaged

by this horrible ongoing tragedy.

:cry: :grouphug:

[Mimosa]

21. I wish I -we, all of us- could go back and that this disaster hadn't happened

I went through Katrina and this year was just feeling we'd come out of the stress. Then this happened. And i know it is WORSE, far worse.

Trof, like you, I love water fowl. To me they are among the loveliest creatures in Creation. It's bad enough that mankind can't live peaceably on this planet with one another. But why do we have to ruin it for God's creatures who do nothing but live?

Trof, I'm shy and afraid to talk to people sometimes. But I am confident that here on D.U. there are at least 50 people who understand what you and your wife feel right now. And we'd do anything to help if only we could.

All we can really do right now is be here for you, and listen. And care, very, very much. *hug*

[liquid diamond]

22. That's the thing that really breaks my heart about this disaster.

BP has destroyed a tradition and culture that are generations old.

[Cresent City Kid]

23. How do you refund a way of life?

Can we ever wrap our heads around what was lost?

[eowyn_of_rohan]

24. sharing your pain with deepest sympathy...

I live in Wisconsin, and when I drive through our pastoral countryside, I imagine how heartbreaking and soul wrenching this is for you who call the Gulf your home... My husband and I have enjoyed many wonderful vacations on the beautiful Gulf shore, camping along the coast in the spring and fall. We come through Foley on the way to Gulf State Park--were just there last year. How I can still feel the warm sun and refreshing water, hear the rhythmic waves, smell the salt air...we used to take our beloved dog for walks along the pristine beach at Bon Secour, watch the sunlight sparkle on the blue water, spot dolphins rising up, leaping, diving... lines of pelicans flying above, little birds running back and forth with the waves...the ghost crabs popping out of their holes and scurrying along the warm, soft sand ... The loss of this beautiful habitat and of the innocent creatures is horror beyond the worst nightmare, and almost beyond comprehension. My thoughts and sincere sympathy are with you and your wife, and with all of you.
:cry: :grouphug:

[barbtries]

26. and all i can do

is kick and recommend. i'm so sorry. :cry:

[Uncle Joe]

27. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for sharing, trof.:hug:

[City Lights]

28. I'm so sorry, trof.

I, too, am absolutely heartbroken. :cry:

From our home to yours: :grouphug:

[The Old Creak]

29. I'm a Gulf Coast Resident, Too

this whole thing is like a double-barreled shotgun being shot into our collective faces in slow motion, and we are frozen in position, unable to move. The feeling of powerlessness is overwhelming. I'm even past anger. My first grandchild will be born in October. How am I going to be able to explain this to him..............

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

34. Truly feel for you ...

Congrats for your first grandchild, they all are special people.

How to explain? Just tell the truth. Just tell the truth with tears in your eyes, a quiver in your voice.
They will understand. Be true to them and yourself.

[Llewlladdwr]

30. Yet another Gulf Coast resident....

albeit from Texas. My heart goes out to everyone fighting the spill as well as those that are suffering the brunt of the devastation.

[madmax]

31. Heart Breaking

:cry:

[valerief]

32. At least the filthy rich are still filthy rich. And filthy. This disaster sucks. nt

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

33. There are 7 stages of grief...

1. SHOCK & DENIAL
2. PAIN & GUILT
3. ANGER & BARGAINING
4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS
5. THE UPWARD TURN
6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH
7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE

This country is in grief, Progressives especially, I feel that that is part of the problem, in general, at DU.
New rules, old rules all be damned!
The anger, the pain, the depression, is evident in the posts and comments. That is why there is so much bickering.

In regards to the Gulf.
For most, we are in stage two right now. Realizing the pain, acknowledging the guilt we all share
for our dependance on petroleum. Others, have moved to stage 4 and handled it themselves, unfortunately, wrongly.

Listening to Kindra Arnesan in the post by Subdivisions, we need to gather her strength and move to Stage 5.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x478663

Send that link to everyone you can remotely think of and of course have the email of, it's that powerful.

We, the People, need to take control of this country again.

We need to move out from the shackles of corporate dominance and claim what is our heritage.

One third of the Oceans will be dead, if this gusher is unabated, one third and maybe more.
That's food, that's oxygen, that's life.

It affects us all more than we want to accept.

Time to put aside the arguments about rec's and unrec's. Time to put aside the dribble of small politics here.
Now is the time to act, to take this country back, to be American.

How? Start by educating those around you that just don't understand. Talk to people, unite for a common cause.
It is one of the ways this country was founded. Get involved. Now is the time.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

35. K&R

[JuniperLea]

36. There are no words...

This is the saddest thing I've ever seen in my entire life... So much destruction over such a vast area. If it were only human on human destruction, it might be a little easier to swallow... but your friends, the wildlife you mention, had nothing to do with this and they are suffering and dying.

What can we do? Please, someone tell us! What can we do?


:cry:

[democrank]

37. I`m so very sorry, trof.

Hold on

[fascisthunter]

38. all for the wealthy big business interests... we are no longer allowed to help each other

through our own government. It's bought and owned by idiots who cannot snap out of their own brainwashing in regards to economic interests. THIS proves today's capitalists have destroyed our government to the point where it can no longer help it's own people.

[JitterbugPerfume]

39. am so sorry trof

I feel like my heart (and yours) is going to break

and if it does, I wonder if we can recover? Is this the last straw?

[mentalsolstice]

40. I lived in Pensacola for 7 years

We visit the area regularly, and I've had dreams of retiring there. Additionally, my husband is a NOLA native. We're sickened by what is happening to a region we love, and a culture we adore.

[Tutankhamun]

41. And now the six month ban on drilling has been lifted!