My Pants: Katrina

Showing posts with label Katrina. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Katrina. Show all posts

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Obama is not the Messiah,

Drew Brees is.

I am so in love with this man. You think he can't possibly be that great, but he is. He's standing in London, about to spank the team that first broke him then fired him because he was broken, and what does he do?

On the edge of a soccer pitch masquerading as a football field, Drew Brees sold New Orleans.

"Just like London is one of those spots where people feel like they need to visit when they come to Europe," Brees said, "well, New Orleans is one of those spots that if you're European and you're coming to the States and you want to know where to go, hey, come to New Orleans. I think the culture is unlike any other in our country and, certainly, you want to share that with the world."

I know that he's just a football player and that one day he'll be traded off to another team or get pissed off and leave. When he talks about the city, though, I don't doubt for a moment that he's here to stay. New Orleans, broken as she was, wrapped her arms around him and said, "You're home."

So many people have done this in the last three years. It still gets me right in the gut when I think about it.

I never had a choice, but they did and they picked her.

"There are a lot of things that still need to be done. But, in a lot of ways, I think New Orleans has come back better than ever."

Thanks Drew. We love you, too.

And thanks to Cait at Shrimp Poboy for pointing this out. Don't know how I missed it last week.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Happy Anniversary

They buried the last of the bodies today. One day maybe we can dispel the ghosts, as well.

I can't really say it any better than Michael.

3 Years Later, 85 Saints Go Marching In

Please raise your glass tonight to the most wonderful city in the world. 3 years down, eternity to go.

Monday, August 29th, 2005 4:30 AM
Please.

This post is the ninth part in a series. To start at the beginning, please click here.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but something woke me up. Probably a cat. I can't get back to sleep, the reason for which you'll see in a minute, so I'm back here, trying to make sense of all of this or at least put it down so I can make sense of it later. I just don't know.

I walked out to the kitchen to get some water or juice or something and my mother was in the living room sitting on a chair, not the couches, but a dining room chair. It took me a minute to register what was going on. She had her pajamas on and was parked not two feet from my aunt's giant television. I could see her face in its glow and she was quietly sobbing, her shoulders shaking. The ice in her glass tinkled with every shudder. I walked around behind her, put mu cheek on the top of her head and my arms around her shoulders. "Momma. What are you doing out here?" She didn't answer me.

I looked up at the TV and and there she was in all her glory, the beautiful and terrible Katrina. The volume was muted. We just watched her, this picture from another universe, an impossible picture, as she swept silently toward Louisiana and consumed the coastline, the entire state. And then back out, rolling in again with those beautiful bands and her perfect eye. Creeping in, jumping back out. Over and over again. I have no idea how long we stayed that way. I put my cheek on hers and realized I had started crying, too. "Don't worry, Momma. It will turn. It will. They always do."... "No, baby, I don't think so. Not this time."

After a while, I got up and left her there.

It has to turn. It HAS to. I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't.

Please God, if you're there, if you were ever there, please make it turn away. Please. I'm sorry. Please just forgive me and MAKE IT TURN!

please

fuck

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Sunday, August 28, 2005, 10PM
The suspense is killing me

This post is the eighth part in a series. To start at the beginning, please click here.

Some changes... The no names thing is too confusing, so I went back here and added names for clarity.

Such a surreal day. I don't remember much of it except in flashes here and there.

Todd and Nikki rolled in around 10AM. Said there was no traffic at all. Fuckers. I guess we were with all the suckers who left on time. Their dog immediately started humping Charlene's dog and there was a brief bit of drama. They brought our friend Annabelle and her dog, as well, so now the tally is 12 people, 9 dogs, 2 cats.

My parents arrived after noon. There was a brief flurry of emotion when my mother came in. She had apparently been crying the whole way. Tory and I avoided that little squall by going to unload all the stuff my parents had brought with them. Office computers, boxes upon boxes of files, just about everything in my mother's house that was irreplaceable. And the dogs, cages and accoutrement.

I remember the forced way that everyone moved and spoke. No one has been forcing themselves or pretending to be happy. We are all genuinely happy to be here with each other, but every word is coated with dread and fear is in every exhalation, until the the fumes from it all are choking. And I couldn't sneak away for a smoke.

The little bit of levity was provided by Mr. Jack Daniels and the good folks at the Abita brewery. We drank almost all day. Not like Mardi Gras, more like a funeral. With the Weather Channel in the background.

I spent a great part of the day lying in Matthew's bed with the same thoughts running through my head on an endless loop.

Are we missing anything important?...Did I do everything I needed to do?...Is the house secure enough?...I wish the dogs would shut the fuck up...Jasper! Leave that alone...Wow this kid has a lot of crap...When can I get a fucking cigarette?...When are they going to come on TV and tell us everything is OK?...I wish Nash Roberts would wake up and say something...Jesus, she packed a lot of clothes...Get off me, Stella... (Poor baby Stella. Not even a year old and on her way to becoming a world traveler.)I'm sorry, come here...I need another drink...

I've tried to stay away from the TV, but it's just hypnotic. The waiting and the waiting and the waiting. The reporters on the ground seem to be just as impatient and anxious as we are. "Just hurry the fuck up, already, you stupid bitch!!!" The same information over and over and over, nothing new, no change, steady course.

I'd get in bed, but I won't be able to sleep. There's no escape from the horror of anticipation.

I'm going outside to smoke. And I need another drink.

Sunday, August 28, 2005 7:30 AM
What the fuck?

This post is the seventh part in a series. To start at the beginning, please click here.

My father just called and asked me if there was anything in our house that we wanted to save or absolutely needed to keep. I didn't know what to tell him. Even if I could think straight in the face of that question, I wouldn't in a million years be able to tell him where anything is.

My mother is hysterical.

Apparently, what was just a possibility last night is suddenly a done deal.

This can't be happening.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Saturday, August 27, 2005
Guess what I did today.

This post is the sixth part in a series. To start at the beginning, please click here.

I'm totally exhausted from this horrible day, but I'm still (with two drinks in me) wired from driving, so what the hell - might as well blog.

So we moved the office. Forever. As I predicted, it took a lot longer than it should have. It wasn't helped by the several phone calls from my wife. She was worried, to say the least. I had her packing up to evacuate, but she managed to finish before I thought she would. I got a little angrier with her than I should have, I guess. She kept asking me, "Why do you have to this today?" I finally ~~yelled~~ raised my voice, "Because when this thing turns, I have to be at work on Monday!" That's probably not the case at this point.

Then my father and I boarded up his house. Then he helped me board up our house. I packed my wife, all of our stuff and the cats into the car, drove over to mom and dad's, parked our cars in their garage, transferred our stuff to mom's Explorer, and took off.

It only took us 5 hours this time. So either the State Police learned from their mistakes last year or not as many people are leaving as we thought.

We got to my aunt's around 10, kicked my cousin out of his room and I got the cats and my wife settled. I didn't realize until I was unpacking how much my wife packed. It looks like we're staying for two weeks. My aunt made a remark when I was bringing everything in. "Did you bring the whole house?" she said. Almost.

So here's the tally of evacuees at my aunt and uncle's house. I've added the familial relationships so I don't have to explain too much about our interactions. See if you can keep up.

So far:
Me
My wife
Our two cats (Jasper and Stella, for those who haven't kept up)
My great aunt, Carrie (my mother's father's sister)
Her three dogs (2 toy poodles and a mid-sized mutt)

Coming tomorrow will be:
My mother
My father
Their two dogs (Standard poodles)
My (second) cousin, Todd (my mother's father's sister's (not Carrie) son)
His girlfriend, Nikki
Their dog (Doberman puppy)

Add to that the regular inhabitants:
My aunt, Charlene (my mother's sister)
My uncle, Mark
My two cousins - Kathy, girl, 18 and Michael, boy , 15
Their two dogs (1 expensive rat thing and a "labradoodle", which I call a mutt)

For a total of:
11 people
8 dogs
2 cats

And maybe more on the way.

This is going to be fun.

Tomorrow I'm going to install City of Heroes and the Villains beta to my cousins' computer and pray that it works. If I don't have some respite from all of this family time, I'll probably explode.

Now I'm going to sneak out for a cigarette and go to bed.

*sigh*

Continuing...

Since the latest advisory has Mr. Gustav taking a little jog to the SW and his winds dipping down to 45mph, I've decided to continue.

I have a feeling that this one isn't for us.

I hope that doesn't haunt me like so many things I said three years ago.

And that doesn't mean I haven't started packing, at least mentally.

Wouldn't it be great if Al Qaeda blew up a major American city this week?

That would absolutely ruin the Democratic Convention, wouldn't it? I mean, I'm not wishing that anybody get hurt, but wouldn't the timing be incredible?

What
a
Bunch
of
ASSHOLES!

From Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News (second link):

I hope for the sake of the beleaguered Gulf Coast that this doesn't come to pass -- but from a realpolitik point of view, there is a potential nightmare for the Republican Party swirling around the warm Caribbean waters right now.

His name is Gustav.

You are so right, Will. And I really hope a terrorist attack on Philadelphia doesn't come to pass -- but from a realpolitik point of view, that would absolutely kill the Democrats.

The person who earns my "Jackass of the Year" award is Alex With an E at Daily Kos. He is one particularly giant, gaping, goatse of an asshole (third link):

Let me put it this way...

...I understand all about the "I hope this doesn't happen to New Orleans."

But, it's got to hit somewhere, and I hope it does hit New Orleans.
--------
And just like surgeons always cut a little more than they have to when removing a tumor, then yes, God, please, let a hurricane hit New Orleans. Let there be a moment of such absolute, perfect irony that the Republicans simply cannot, ever, live it down.

Pissed off, yet? Then just wait, there's more from this cocksucker.

If it hits New Orleans -- and it doesn't have to be a Cat 5, I'm not sitting here working the worry beads hoping for total destruction [gee, thanks shithead - b] -- it puts the Republicans in the position of having to have a fucking party in the middle of a grotesque recreation of one of the country's worst natural disasters.
-------
I'm sorry people are upset about the notion of New Orleans, a city on the Gulf Coast being hit by a hurricane, but the Democratic Party has to stop being so Holier Than Thou. Progressive does not mean that someone can't be tough or ruthless. And the touchy-feely indignations are NOT going to win the election. A water-logged Waco will NOT be of any use in the election. And yes, this is a crucial election.

Fuck you.

Fuck you.

Fuck you.

If anyone knows how to get a hold of Alex With an E, please direct him here and to Loki at Humid City. There are a lot of us who would like to have a word with him.

Personally, I'd rather beat him unconscious with a baseball bat. But that's just me.

Oh, and GernBlantzen: Fuck you, too.

props to Loki and Gutterboy

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Friday August 26th, 2005 - 10PM
Weekend looking up

This post is the fifth part in a series. To start at the beginning, please click here.

So this weekend may not be a total bust after all. I managed, FINALLY, to log on to the City of Villains beta. The lag was horrible and I kept getting kicked out, but I was able to create a character and fool around a little before the cutoff time.

First impression: It looks really cool, but the graphics are killing my computer amd I had to dial it way down.

The playing time is extended tomorrow and Sunday, so I should be able to get some good playing (oops, I mean testing) time in tomorrow.

This is assuming we aren't heading to BR. I wonder if my aunt's computer has a video card that can handle COV. Hmmm...

Friday, August 26, 2005 - 5:30 PM
Packing and other annoyances

This post is the fourth part in a series. To start at the beginning, please click here.

So after driving all day in the rain yesterday, today I got to pack up the whole office to move it tomorrow. Movers are coming tomorrow, but it's still a pain in the ass.

Background:
My parents have been running the business out of the second floor of their house, which is just one big room. My brother and I used to share it. For a year, it was just the three of us and the girl down the street who comes in occasionally. Now we have two more employees and six people won't fit in that room comfortably, if at all. So we're moving. Growth is good, right? Like my dad says, too much work is a problem we want to have all the time.

Right now, however, it's a pain in the ass. :)

And then tomorrow (Saturday!) I get to go unpack everything and set it up. Which shouldn't take more than a few hours, but will actually take all day, just like today.

The NHC keeps shifting Katrina's track westward, which is mildly disconcerting. It's a little storm and I really don't want to have to evacuate. My wife is already worried, though, and I guess we'll be making a trip to Baton Rouge (my aunt's house and designated family hurricane retreat). All I can think about is that dreadful Ivan evacuation. It took us almost 10 hours to get to BR. 90 miles in 10 hours. That's an average of 9 mph, for the arithmetically challenged. Incidentally, that's about as fast as the hurricane is moving. :) Katrina, however, is not in a car with an angry cat (not to mention a tired and cranky wife, sorry baby :) ). This year we have two cats, one just 10 months old. I can't fucking WAIT!

I'm sure it's nothing. If they keep moving it west it will end up in Texas or Mexico. That's what usually happens. My dad went through Betsy and he's not that concerned. Good enough for me.

Between this move tomorrow and dealing with my wife's storm anxiety, this weekend is really going to suck.

Interlude - Gustav approaches

Wouldn't it be funny if I was interrupted in my recollection of three years ago by another hurricane?

Maybe God is trying to take out the gays again.

He better hurry it up, though. Southern Decadence is over Monday

It would be pretty fucking funny if he missed them again.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Thursday, August 25, 2005
It's like it's never rained before

This post is the third part in a series. To start at the beginning, please click here.

I really love to drive. I've developed a system on the Interstates that serves me pretty well. I set the cruise control at 79 and just cruise. 79 is really the perfect speed. Fast enough to glide past the slow pokes and stay out of the way of the speedsters, yet slow enough that the cops ignore you. It also keeps you from catching up too quickly to those pockets of traffic that form around trucks.

Traffic, though, especially traffic caused by one inconsiderate jackass, really drives me up the fucking wall. Being a weekday and after the start of school, I figured we wouldn't have a lot of traffic. I was right, but driving for ten hours gives you plenty of opportunity to find inconsiderate and/or just stupid drivers, especially in Florida, which seems to be permanently under construction.

A few observations:

If you can't drive 40 mph, then get off the fucking Interstate. Driving with your hazards on does NOT make it ok to endanger everyone on the road. You want to kill yourself, that's fine with me. I understand that unforunate circumstances sometimes require less than optimal conditions. That's still not an excuse to drive farther than the next fucking exit and call a tow truck.

While on the subject of hazard lights: Do NOT drive with the damn hazard lights blinking. It's distracting. If your hazards are also your taillights, I can't tell when you are braking. If they are orange, I have to drive with orange spots in my eyes for as long as I'm stuck behind you. If you are so concerned with visibility conditions that you feel other drivers may not see you, then it's too dangerous for you to be driving. Get off at the next exit. Pussy.

On being a pussy: If the DoT wanted the lane closed RIGHT HERE then they would have closed it RIGHT HERE and not half a mile further up. Don't get mad at ME because you merged half a mile ago and have been sitting still, while I drove up to the merge in the perfectly open and legal lane to your right. Traffic moves faster when all lanes are being used and drivers are considerate enough to alternate into the merged lane. It's not my fault that you are a too scared to merge. Oh, and if anyone out there drives a semi and gets it into their head that they're going to BLOCK the soon-to-be-closed lane, understand full well, that I am just going to drive around you, as I would any obstacle in the road. Once I do that, as so many of you found out today, the cars behind me will overcome their fear of your big bad truck. Fuck you and stay out of the way.

Please, please, please, please, PLEASE, people, learn how to maintain speed on hills. Slowing down on the incline and speeding up on the downslope because you're too stupid to regulate the pressure on your gas pedal is REALLY annoying. If you are driving a heavy vehicle that simply cannot make it's way up a hill without slowing down and cannot be controlled down the hill without burning up the brakes, then get in the RIGHT FUCKING LANE.

On the right lane: The sign reads, "Slower traffic keep right." I understand that you may feel that you are not driving slowly. You may very well actually be driving fast enough. You are, however, still going slower than me. So move over. If you can't, I understand. As soon as you are able, however, get out of the fucking way.

On the same point: If I move to the right to allow you to pass, then FUCKING PASS! Don't meander past me and get me stuck behind slow traffic. I cannot stress this enough.

That's the end of the driving lessons. :)

The beach was great, but I am fucking exhausted. And tomorrow we get to start packing up to move to the new office. It's not going to be a good weekend.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Vacation's End

This post is the second part in a series. To start at the beginning, please click here.

My wife and I have been in South Florida for about a week visiting my father-in-law. He's a few blocks away from the beach and the weather's been nice (but hot) so we've been out and about the whole time. Since we're leaving tomorrow, I needed to check the weather to see what we'll be driving through. It's the first time we've turned on the TV since we've been here. :)

So I turn on the television and there's a damn hurricane about to hit Florida! Just showed up out of nowhere! Really freaked me out. They've got it tracking across Miami and then up into the panhandle by the end of the week. My mother-in-law is right in the path of it and her house is surrounded by giant oak trees. There's absolutely no way to evacuate her and my wife is nervous about that, but it's looking like a Category 1 all the way. I'm not really concerned about it. I didn't want to tell her, but there's absolutely NO WAY I'm driving all the way home and then six hours back this weekend. It's nowhere near us, but it's pushing out a lot of rain. That will make for a fun drive.

I should probably sign off and go to bed. I have to drive for 10 hours tomorrow. In the rain. Ugh.

I hate the going home part of vacation.

Katrina Anniversary Number Three -
An Exercisorcism

I didn't have a blog in August 2005. For the next several days I'm going to pretend I did. Aside from a few emails and comments around the web, I haven't really written much about the Thing. The Storm. That Bitch. The Flood. Hurricane Katrina.

You know, I was living in NYC on September 11, 2001. I was a temp at the time, so I could have been working anywhere that day. As it turns out, I was in mid-town and had been for a week or so doing an on-again off-again thing for Cablevision. Before that, though, I was in some fly-by-night "communications" company that sold over-priced international phone cards to immigrants. I don't remember the name of the place. I remember it was just two blocks from the WTC. And I had lunch and went to the bookstore at the WTC all week.

I was terrified that day. And everyday after that for a long time. The first day I woke up, looked out the window and saw that the fire was finally out, I instantly felt better. Still scared, but better.

It took a long time for me to shake that off. Went through all the stages. I didn't go anywhere NEAR Lower Manhattan for over a year. Then, one day, it was gone. I felt fine.

I guess it's different when your it's your home.

Some notes, caveats and liberties:

I promise this isn't just emotional masturbation.

Obviously I won't remember everything exactly. This is especially true of the days preceding the storm. My memory, like most others around here, is now in two separate pieces: Pre-Katrina memory and Post-Katrina memory. Pre-Katrina memory is mixed up to a ridiculous degree. I haven't said it in a while, but I've said quite often in the past that if it happened before August 29, 2005, then I do not remember. It's more important to me to express how crazy and mixed up everything was. If I get some things out of sequence, I'm not going to be too worried about it.

I'm not sure how the timing is going to work, either, so posts may be erratic as I haven't decided yet when and how to actually publish them. Just bear with me.

Comments will be turned off for some entries so I won't be influenced by them while I'm trying to recount all of this.

*Sigh* Three years. I have to get out from under this thing. I have no idea if I'm ready to do this, but I feel like I have to try.

Happy fucking anniversary. A few days early.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Midwest v. New Orleans
Surprise!

It was bound to start eventually.

Here's a good piece on the current hard-working, small-town whites > shiftless, urban blacks crap.

I'm Callin' Bullshit
There's been a recent spate of right-wing blogs all saying the same thing:

"Now, I'm not racist, but how come all those small-town Iowans are so much more supportive and self-reliant than those big city New Orleans folks were during their disaster?”

---

...it takes a special sort of blinded gall to ignore Iowans getting reimbursed almost entirely for their damages and then complain that Katrina victims are sucking on the government teat...

---

Of course, Iowans are a lot more likely to receive giant agricultural subsidies, but I understand that accepting such money does not in any way make you less self-reliant or salt-of-the-earth.

Interesting stuff in the comments, too, such as:

I’m not sure why the right-wing pundits are crowing about Iowa. We have a Democrat governor and a Democrat majority in our state congress, plus the majority of our national congressmen are Democrats.

This would be funny if it wasn't so fucking infuriating. Check out the actual blogs he links in the post.

Thanks to the Mighty God King.

Friday, June 20, 2008

On the Midwest Floods
"They all told us, `The levees are good...' "

From the AP on AOL: Midwest Flood Victims Feel Misled.

Same story, different headline in Idaho:
Flooded-out homeowners in the Midwest say FEMA gave them a false sense of security

Juli Parks didn't worry when water began creeping up the levee that shields this town of about 750 from the Mississippi River - not even when volunteers began piling on sandbags.

After all, local officials had assured townspeople in 1999 that the levee was sturdy enough to withstand a historic flood, and FEMA had agreed. In fact, some relieved homeowners dropped their flood insurance, and others applied for permits to build new houses and businesses.

<-snip->

"They all told us, `The levees are good. You can go ahead and build,"' said Parks, who did not buy flood coverage because her bank no longer required it. "We had so much confidence in those levees."

I feel for these people. I really, really do. This is so much bigger than the New Orleans flood. New Orleans was (mostly) flooded by a lake - 15 feet and then done. Rivers never stop. I will help in the only way I can, if I can, by donating to the Red Cross. But I have to ask:

Where the hell have you people been? Did you not pay any attention 3 years ago? Since? Maybe you should have.

Blame this on FEMA and the Corps of Engineers and the Federal Government (not just Bush). It's justified. Their levees leave a lot to be desired. But levee or no, you should have had insurance. Flood insurance is the cheapest protection you'll ever buy. Unless you live on a mountain or in the desert, you should have it. After all that happened down here, putting your faith in the CoE is just stupid.

I wonder how many of you have said in the last three years anything to the effect of "Why can't those people in Louisiana get it together?" "Why are they taking my money to rebuild?" "It's just going to happen again." "People shouldn't live there." Wait till everyone starts saying it about you.

Wait till you have to deal with the tragic bureaucratic disaster that is FEMA. Hope you like formaldehyde. And I wonder how many people are going to defraud the government this time around. I'll be sure to be just as shocked and angry as you were. For those that did have insurance, wait till your insurance companies try to screw you over, falsify engineering reports, try to trick you into giving up your coverage. And in the end, watch as the money you were promised, the help you desperately need, just sits and sits and sits in Washington and then is frittered away in "overhead" by the people who are supposed to be helping you.

I guess then you'll understand. But "they" still won't.

Maybe people will pay attention this time. If the majority of the country had actually cared about New Orleans for more than a few news cycles, this might have been prevented or at least mitigated.

Like I said, I feel for these people. My heart breaks for them. We know exactly what they're feeling now and we know what they face on the horrible road ahead. If I sound bitter, though, it's because I am.

Everyone needs to pay attention. For a long time. Until it's fixed.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Can someone tell me when it will stop hurting?

My best friend, displaced to Maine, the poor bastard, these 32 long months, sent me a great shirt for my birthday. I'm not exactly sure when we started giving each other birthday presents. I think the last one I got from him was a Wolverine poster when I turned 16. Yeah, I still have it.

Anyway this is the shirt:
Now, those of you who are not from Louisiana and not on intimate terms with the history of this great state will probably not understand why this is so fucking funny. Even knowing the facts of it all will not let you in on the joke, but I will try to explain it as best I can.

Edwin W. Edwards (the "occasional" governor of Louisiana) is a crook and proud of it. He is currently in federal prison on a bribery conviction involving video poker licenses. This was after his four (4!) terms as governor. The last time he ran was in 1991 against David Duke (as in, former Grand Wizard of the KKK...) and he won. "Vote for the crook" was a popular bumper sticker that year. If he lives to see the light of day again, I guarantee the citizens of Louisiana will elect him again. Why? Because the crook you know is better than the one you don't. Because it's impossible to steal nothing. Because he didn't give a shit about the rest of the country, unless they could help Louisiana (and his wallet). Hell, I'd vote for him. Can't be much worse than what we've had since.

---An aside: The 80's were not too great for EWE or for the rest of the state due to the oil money vanishing(Thanks, President Carter! You fucker.). I find it funny that, once upon a time, low oil prices were a BAD thing. When I was 15, my dad, who was in Applied Geophysics (look it up) said he would buy me a car once oil reached $100 a barrel. I've tried to get him to make good on that the last few years, but he's not having it.
End Aside---

So it's funny, right? It would end there, but for some other products on Dirty Coast. Then there's the link to the comic A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge.

I couldn't get through more than a few pages. I can barely concentrate now. It's been almost THREE FUCKING YEARS! When can I let it go? When will it STOP?

But Jazz Fest is happening right now. And my best friend, displaced to Maine these last 32 months (the poor bastard), is home for the weekend. And we will eat and drink and laugh and be New Orleans, for a little while. Maybe a long while. But we have another reminder in four months. And always another and another. Each step forward on the road to recovery is also a reminder of everything we've lost and might never regain.

I just want it to go away. I want my friends to come home for good. I want my broken heart to mend. Is that really so much?

Monday, October 29, 2007

On the California Inferno

The wildfires in CA have ceased to entertain/shock/horrify us at last, I guess. I couldn't find any news of them on any front pages today. *sigh* If we're the greatest country in the world, why is our collective attention span about 5 minutes? Is it because we can't focus on something longer than a day or two that we're so successful? Or has life really become that much of a grind that we need new information constantly to distract us from how miserable we are?

Regardless, I have become increasingly outraged with the comparisons between Katrina and the California wildfires. Rather than go into a long argument after everyone has apparently moved on, I'll just repost this little ditty I posted over at Lum's blog, Broken Toys.

Yeah, as a New Orleans resident and native I can quite honestly say that people really shouldn’t live anywhere anything bad can happen to them. Like Chicago (severe weather), San Francisco (earthquakes), L.A. (scientologists), New York City (terrorists), Boston (falling concrete), the entire state of Florida, the southeast and gulf coasts (hurricanes), the midwest (tornadoes, dust storms, giant hail), Texas (Texans), the northwest (blizzards, rock slides, avalanches, eaten by bears), the northeast (same but with cougars) or the southwest (drought, fire, immigrants).

As for the rest of it - this has turned out better in terms of evacuation and lives lost primarily because of the reverse 911 system that was implemented after and as a result of Katrina. More people care because these are rich white people (self-sufficient, campaign contributors) and not poor black people (welfare leeches). And an attitude of “they knew it would happen eventually” isn’t appropriate, either. Southern CA is on fire EVERY YEAR. Not to mention that a fire is an immediate danger. You can see it, smell it, feel it. A hurricane is and always has been a potential, eventual danger, subject to the mercurial nature of the tropical south Atlantic climate. You can fight a fire. You can’t fight a flood, only prepare for it and sometimes the best preparation (when you actually have it) isn’t enough. The comparisons between the two events are flawed in these and all other respects and are wholly media generated and driven in an attempt to pin the whole thing on a. global warming or b. the incompetent, uncaring republican administration.

I could go into more explanation, but I don't think it matters much, anymore.

UPDATE 10-31: Just learned that the fires essentially ceased to be on Monday, 10-29, and I had to look long and hard to find that info. James Gill of the Times Picayune has a great opinion piece here.

Katrina victims who camped out in the Superdome will have chilling stories to tell their grandchildren.
They will recall how there was not a masseur in sight to relieve their stress. The most dogged search for an acupuncturist yielded nothing. Why, there was not even a giant flat-screen TV to relieve the tedium. No musicians were there to serenade the crowds.
New Orleans just can't hold a candle to San Diego when it comes to organizing an evacuation experience.

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