Here's an update from New Orleans Friend, a regular commenter here. If you are new to these parts, during and after Hurrcane Katrina, our friends from New Orleans satyed with us for a little while. So many of you reached out to them with your prayers and gifts, and, for that I will always be thankful to you.
It's hard, because for most of us, Hurricane Katrina has come and gone. However, the reality is that it's still here. These people on the Gulf Coast and in New Orleans will live it every day for years. The physical and emotional tolls are devastating still. Please, keep these people in your prayers, and, if you still can, give to worthy agencies, the work is far from done.
On with the update.
April 29, 2006. Exactly 8 months to the day, not that
anyone's counting or anything. I thought I'd give another update on the
conditions down yonder in the Busy City Formerly Known as New Orleans.
I guess I should start with the fact that we had elections last weekend!
Joy oh Joy! What a thrill it was! Nothing like a city in ruins that
desperately needs major change yet elects all the incumbents back into
office, eh??? Yea, big change here we come. They did nothing for the
last 8 months, why does anyone think they are going to start now? It's
so sad. And the King of the Chocolate City hisself, the Honorable
Willa Wonka Nagin is actually in the run off for mayor too. (and no, I'm
not being racist - if any of you have kept up with all of this, you'd
know it's just what we the people of New Orleans call him now after
his MLK day rantings.)
Yes, he who could do nothing since Aug 29th, is
now 10 minutes away from doing more of just that. We're on our way
now! This was New Orleans'most important election in the history of
the city's existence and there was a whopping 39% voter turn out!
THIRY NINE PERCENT, PEOPLE! Stunning isn't it? And for months the
powers that be gave it their all to make sure that the displaced residents
across America knew how, where and when to get an absentee ballot so
they could voice their opinion. 39%. Sheesh. Like I said, it's sad.
And now, the Army Corps of Engineers (the fabulous group who mal
designed the levees) have come to the brilliant conclusion that, gosh,
there IS a flaw in the design! And it will take quite some time to
figure out how to (and to actually) fix it! But wait! Hurricane season
starts June 1st! But, true to their promise, the breaches will be
repaired by then! Great! And what about the hundreds of feet of mal
designed levee, between the lake and the breach that is now weak from
the strain of the pressure of the whole lake pouring past it??? I guess
we'll see, right.
Sorry if I sound jaded, sarcastic, frustrated,
aggravated, and lacking in hope, but that is pretty much what we are left
with here. The incompetence is overwhelming. There are areas that have
no garbage pick-up for weeks and weeks. Imagine this? Mail is not
regular for many either. In fact, there was a big news story today that
the main post office downtown is re-opened! And you can even expect to
get your magazines delivered too! But don't push it by looking for
catalogs of any sort, because they ain't on the deliver list yet. At
least all of the mail doesn't have to go through Baton Rouge to, or
from, New Orleans anymore. This should make mailing a letter from New
Orleans, to New Orleans a 2 or 3 day thing. Not an 8 or 9 day thing
like it has been.
I must admit that in my own little personal bubble, life
seems rather normal. And trust me, I thank God for it too. I know
this is the case for so many here. We, who were not quite so affected by
the flood waters, have this sense of normalcy back in our lives, or
I should say in our bubbles. My home, my work, my husband's work,
and my kids' schools are all back to normal and in full day to day
routine. It's a real false sense of existence though. Because for some
reason or another, like taking my 14 yr old to the orthodontist, I must
drive through the "war zone" and it becomes blatantly apparent that
nothing is happening! Maybe a few more houses are gutted, or maybe a
few more fell down due to dilapidation. In the "war zone", nothing
is open. Nary a Circle K, nor gas station, nor anything else for that
matter. And it even reaches beyond the "war zone" and into the areas
of the "normal bubbles". It's times like, say, oh, dinnertime,
when we are in a bind and need to grab some fast food and none of them
are open, STILL! Last night I passed 2 McDonald's, 2 Wendy's, a
Popeye's, and a Burger King at 7 pm to no avail! And this was all in a
very "back to normal", "hustle and bustle", and "ife is
fine" area too! It's surreal.
My daily trip to my childrens schools is the same way. I go all the way down
a very long avenue that once had retail the entire way and it's all still closed. Banks, post
offices, animal hospitals, convenience stores, hair salons, auto repair
places, fast food, gas stations, pharmacies, florists, bakeries,
closed, closed, closed. And who knows if they will ever re-open??? No
signs of it yet. There are a very few places that have gotten their acts
together and managed to open. Their businesses are booming! Kudos for
them! We need them! Desperately.
On a better note, many of the stop lights have been repaired. Not all,
by any means, but many. And on that afore mentioned particular avenue,
an entire city block burned down and they are finally razing it all.
It was an eyesore and it's sad, but better, to see it all being
removed. The Troops have moved out of the Seminary, I think. Their banner is
no longer flying above it anyway, so I took that as they moved out.
I guess it's good that they are not needed - at least in that area -
anymore. And the Wal-Mart that everyone in America saw being raped and
striped and overtaken by looting idiot freaks is now re-opened I hear.
I have not been there. Not too sure I want to either. But it's a
sign of some progression. And we had Mardi Gras. And Jazz Fest is this
and next weekend. And we have the Zurich Golf Classic tournament this
week. So, there are some things happening that are a sign of recovery.
If only the vast, endless blocks and blocks of neighborhoods could
recover. Empty. No one home. Very weird.
Oh, and now, there is an issue with all of the swimming pools that are filled with rotten, stagnant,
black & green algae infested water that is a reproductive heaven for the
mosquitoes! They said there are as many as 10,000 pools in the greater
New Orleans area that are posing a serious health threat to us all.
Imagine the mosquitoes that we will have very soon! Ugh! But, there is
some group or department that has found a way to try to deal with it.
They are flying over head and going house to house to check for a pool
there and they are putting these indestructible little fish in the
pools that eat mosquito larvae!!! How exciting is that!?!? Some weird
breed that they discovered that won't die and can eat as many as 1000 a
day, each! Weirder yet is that they are finding other fish in these
pools as well. Blue gill, trout, and the sort that got washed in with
the flood and when the waters receded, the fish did not.
ok, here's an odd one for you, since Charity Hospital was
completely destroyed beyond repair, there has been a make-shift "hospital"
in the old Lord and Taylor's in the New Orleans Center (shopping
complex) Strange, huh? Now they have moved it out of the upscale
department store and into a real medical center. It's about a 20 + minute
drive from where it's really needed, but it will accommodate all the
gunshot wounds and trauma events for those who have no other place else to
go.
And, speaking of gunshot wounds, we have had almost zero crime
since the hurricane, until recently. All the thugs are coming back in
full force in an attempt to claim stake on their new found territories.
Like dogs pissing up the fence to mark their spots, they are wreaking
havoc once again. Night before last there were 5 people shot and last
night there were 2 more. That's practically as many as we've had
since Aug 29 total! It's disgusting. And now Houston hates us now
because we shipped all the criminals to them and now they have this unreal
crime rate jump. But, in an attempt to appeal to ALL the voters, our
good Mayor gets on TV and says he wants ALL of the people of New Orleans
to come back home. Not that he REALLY wants that, but of course it's
what he has to say. So they try to heed his preaching. And they know
that there is newly unclaimed turf to reign over and control the drug
flow. Ugh.
New Orleans has been defined now. Pre-K and Post-K. It's nothing
any of you want to have to experience for your respective beloved cities.
It ruins it. Life here will never be the same and the lawmakers and
powers that be just don't seem to get it. At least the ones that
matter anyway. And I heard a report today that the depression rate for
many of the first responders is through the roof. I guess that is to be
expected though. Sad still. So many people are depressed. I have 3
personal friends who are now getting divorced since Katrina. And 2
different parents at my kid's school committed suicide. And we're
talking doctors and lawyers here. It's a mess. It's not the same. And
it's sad.
So many people and friends have moved away and won't
come back. We are torn. It sucks here, but it's home. It's our roots
and we are so proud to be from here. How could we sell out now?
It's an emotional train wreck everyday. But there are many, many good,
good people out there that are coming here to help us. Christian groups
galore. College kids on their spring breaks. Even high school groups
come here to help us. The PGA Wive's Association gutted a house
yesterday. The article said that they all cried the whole way through, but
they needed to do it for us. We love them for that. We thank the good
people for their generosity and assistance. We need them. We
appreciate them.
Anyway,I suppose I could go on and on and on and on. And I know
you don't want me to do that! It's really therapy for me to do this
though. So thanks for listening. Please keep us in your prayers.
It's what gets us through.
Recent Entries on Busymom.net:
- Ho-tel Mo-tel Holiday Inn
- Purchase paralysis
- One more time
- Getting the whiny posts off the top
- My dad is in the House
For Local Blog
Wow....I'm so glad she is continuing with the updates. It's heart wrenching to read about the impact of the hurricane, but so important to be reminded that the "normalcy" we take for granted is a struggle for so many.
Thanks for posting an update...it is difficult to remember that life has a completely different look to it, right around the corner from me, when we don't hear about it anymore. I hope and pray that helping hands abound and more "bubbles" of normalcy pop up until this whole mess is figured out.
Thanks for the reminder. We all tend to get so wrapped up in our own lives, that we forget the tragedies that others have had to endure.
It makes paying #3.00+ for gas not quite so disasterous.
What a hard piece of life they are all having.
Thanks for being so open and honest. I appreciate the look into a world that I'm not a part of.
You have my prayers.
Thanks for the update Busy Friend. I think you be a great blog writer. Depressing at it is I think people need to know about this and I imagine it would be a little therapeutic to get it out.
Speaking as one from Houston, we don't all hate you. I won't lie and say there isn't a feeling of unease, but I think people here know that we are dealing with a small subset of bad people and it isn't like you guys planned the hurricane as way of getting rid of them. Of course we certainly hope that they leave Houston and I can speak with such charity because I don't live in the part of town where they have settled down.
Best of luck to you and your family. Keep us updated!
oh my gosh... what an amazing letter. it's impossible to relate to the hell your friends (along with everyone in new orleans these days) are going through, i wish we were in a position to do more than donate money....
joel & i were in south florida during/after hurricane andrew--and, tho' not impacted personally--were incredibly touched by what the folks in homestead had to go through (we did 2 hour doc on the aftermath--which aired a month after andrew hit, and i looked through every inch of video. i felt as tho' i lived through it all, myself).
our hearts go out to your friends, as well as to all those who have had their lives turned upside down, thanks, in no small part, to our government. (don't know if you remember, but no one--and i mean NO ONE from the government came down to help until a full week after andrew hit. interewstingly, that was when bush sr. was in office. big schmuck)
it's not so difficult to understand why anyone would want to leave the area, i, for one, am not sure i could withstand such hardship. and yet, i have such respect and admiration for the folks who are there now, especially since so many of them really are determined to stick it out. not sure they're gonna have much help until we get someone different in office (someone who actually cares about what happens to the citizens of America), but we can hope and pray, and, as i said before, support them with whatever private financial aide we can afford.
i'm so glad you shared this letter with us.... it would be tragic for the rest of the country to forget what's happened and/or is happening in louisiana.
I'm always glad to read an update from Busy Friend as she's a true life account! I live in Houston and, yes, the crime stats have gone up and some of it is blamed on Katrina folks but not all of it by any means. Houston had a ton of crime before Katrina and some people just use Katrina as a scapegoat. Loved.loved.loved your comments on Nagin. Can't wait to pass the names on to friends who also think he's an @$$. He campaigned in Houston to encourage residents to vote. I pray me does not win the run-off.
They should read your update on the lacal news. It's much more real than the occasional stories we get . THye are all about local groups who go to help, not about the work or the need itself. As for the election results, amazing , aren't they/ ? That was a chance for a statement by the victims of Katrina, and it slipped on by.
Thanks for the update. We live overseas, and so didn't hear as much about K as you in the States did...although BBC Int'l did TONS of stories about it. But now of course we hear nothing about it, so I appreciate your news.
And, in my experience, it always takes those involved with a disaster much longer to deal with things than others realize. Everyone else thinks "ok glad THAT'S over with" and moves on, and you are still dealing with stuff everyday. So hang in there! Here's hoping things continue to improve and for a mellow hurricane season.
Thanks for the updates. We've sent a crew down from our church about three times these last 8 months and our pastor has gone down twice by himself as well. The pictures they bring back help me to see what you describe. I read your letters to the youth group which I work with and we pray for you. It helps them to remember that their petty problems are nothing and it helps us to remember to try and do something to help our disaster relief team when they go down.
Thanks for the update, I will keep you in my prayers.
Wow. That is tragic and amazing and heartbreaking all at the same time. Thank you for the update NOF and thank you for passing it on, Busy Mom.
The people of NO will remain in my thoughts for a long time to come.
Thank you for your well wishes and prayers everyone. We appreciate it! I will continue to update as time marches on.
I watched a special on September 11 tonight and it made me remember those victims and their tragic event. I suppose we all have some cross to bear and so long as we keep the faith and support our fellow humans, we will all get through in one way or another. Compassion and understanding are key. Thanks again.
Wow. My sister is volunteering with the AmeriCorps in your area .... she tells stories too about what she is doing, but she does not have the connection with the area (because it is not her home) ... reading your post brought tears to my eyes.
Thank you for your updates...I just got back from jazz fest (and I posted about how much the city still needs everyone's support), and I was glad to see that soem things are returning to normal. I am not naive enough to believe things will ever be the same though...what the residents of NOLA have been through is horrific and until major changes happen, many people will continue to suffer the many losses..