15 Months

Time moves on.

It's been fifteen months since Katrina devastated this area.

450 days. For those out there who haven't lived with the remains
of the storm, it must seem like a lifetime. You probably can go for
days without thinking about Katrina. Not so down here.

Sitting here at work, I can here two co-workers talking happily on their
progress in getting back into their homes. 15 months. Where I work, over
50% of the employees lost EVERYTHING except what they evacuated with.
I work for a company that employs over 2000 people. I am among the
minority here in that I lost very little. Yes, I have survivor's guilt. I cannot
imagine what it's like to live in a FEMA trailer full time. I admire and respect
all of the people out there who've pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and
started their lives over again. Dealing with insurance companies and government
entities.
In my group of a dozen people, six lost almost everything. They lived in Lakeview, Chalmette, New Orleans and Slidell. The past year
has shown the true strength and character of these people. They are a special breed
and I am proud to know them.

Driving home last night past the Northshore Square Mall in Slidell I remembered
how awe-struck I was three days after Katrina when we were standing in line at
Home Depot waiting to purchase a generator (which turned out to be three grueling hours in the 90 plus degree heat)
and I looked over at the mall parking lot. It was full - and I mean FULL - of electrical bucket
trucks from all over the country. I wish I hadn't been so shell-shocked at the time and had
carried a camera around to capture all of the unbelievable things we saw right after the storm. The sight
of that mall parking lot will be with me forever. It served as a staging ground for recovery and stayed that way for
at over a month. The Walmart parking lot turned in to an RV and trailer park for the longest time, housing
relief workers. Walmart, Sam's & Home Depot bussed in employees from Texas and beyond
until the Slidell employees returned home. A lot haven't returned.

link of pictures in the Bayou Liberty area

It's been a long, strange trip and there's a long and I'm sure very strange road ahead.
Thank you, Katrina survivors for showing the world your strength and resilience.

katrina tribute

The Birth of Floodwall

Moved and heartbroken by the profound loss New Orleans would endure for decades to come, local artists Rondell Crier and Jana Napoli attempt to preserve a small part of what the levees could not. What defies death, but the spirit of the city--made up of the vibrant, diverse culture and history of New Orleans that is tied to neighborhoods, material culture, traditions, and most importantly people.

Do you believe?

Bush Renews Vow to Aid Katrina Victims

I dunno why, but I'm somewhat skeptical, Mr. President.

There should be a law

This house on Prytania was demolished last week with no plans for salvage of any of the beautiful details . There should be a law.

What are the odds of this?

Men's Room

Ladies Room

Posts and photos of restrooms on two separate blogs.

I'm looking forward to Maitri's series on The Ladies’ Rooms Of New Orleans.

Scuzzbucket Part Deux

This lovely couple - Delores & Joshua Thompson - were GIVEN an $75,000 home in Memphis after evacuating there after Katrina. They never lived in the house and sold it for $88,000.

I really don’t like this area”, said Delores Thompson. I really didn’t, and I didn’t know anybody, so that’s why I didn’t move in and I sold it.

Scumbags. By the way, the scuzzbuckets are back in New Orleans

Thanksgiving Miscellanea

Happy Thanksgiving.

for your post Thanksgiving day browsing pleasure, I present the following:
Thanksgiving in New Orleans


guerrilla art in Mid City

Wet Bank Guide discusses the physical/emotional/psychological struggles of those who choose to stay and rebuild their lives and the city that they love

Get It Done Louisiana , a website dreamed up by Senator Walter Boasso. Still in its infancy, this site contains contact info and links for state and federal senate and representatives and state legislatures. Good place to bookmark. Unless we get involved, the same old crap will go on and on.

Now that you have that link bookmarked, you may want to use it to communicate with Baton Rouge about the proposed $135M sugar mill in Bunkie.

Dark humor brightens life in battered New Orleans

Vicky Moos shares a story that gives us a glimmer of hope for the good people out there

Rebuilding

Tim details the beginning of rebuilding his home post-k and, as usual, gives his personal positive perspective.

Thanks, Tim.

scuzzbucket of the week

He called two black hecklers the "n-word" and enthusiastically referenced a time when blacks were often victims of civil rights abuses, but former "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards said his verbal barrage during a stand-up comedy routine was fueled by anger and not bigotry.


"For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry," Richards said during a satellite appearance for David Letterman's "Late Show" in New York.

"I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this," Richards said, his tone becoming angry and frustrated as he defended himself.

Richards, best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor Kramer on the hit TV show, described himself as going into "a rage" over the two audience members who interrupted his act Friday at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood.


"Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don't happen to be African-American, then you have a whole lot of explaining," comedian Paul Rodriguez, who was at the Laugh Factory during Richards' performance, told CNN. "Freedom of speech has its limitations and I think Michael Richards found those limitations."

His Laugh Factory tirade began after the two clubgoers shouted at him that he wasn't funny. A videotape of the incident was posted on TMZ.com.

Richards retorted: "Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f------ fork up your a--."

He then paced across the stage taunting the men for interrupting his show, peppering his speech with racial slurs and profanities.


Sorry Mr. Richards, but even in the worst rage, there are some words that should never pass your lips. And if you're that uptight when someone heckles you, you shouldn't be doing standup. JMHO.

Thank You

At this time of year it is tradition to give thanks for the good things that exist in our lives.

I can't begin to individually name all of the caring, unselfish people who have travelled to the gulf coast from the comfort of their homes to give relief, feed, gut houses, build houses, clean up debris and comfort Katrina survivors. The kind people who have welcomed Katrina survivors into their homes and home towns. All of the electrical linemen, telephone linemen, debris haulers who have been working seven days a week for over a year to bring this devastated area back to functioning condition. And yes, all the immigrant workers who tirelessy do jobs that others won't do to clean up and rebuild the miles and miles of waste left in Katrina's path.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I'm also thankful that the end of hurricane season 2006 is ten days away and we have not had any of the unthinkable tropical devastation that visited us in 2005.