Spike Lee does a 4 hour documentary on Katrina. Oughta be interesting anyway. Thought I'd let everyon here know... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14322933/
Thanks for the heads-up. Sadly, or maybe luckily, I don't have HBO. I'll watch for it on DVD, though. YB, maybe you could give us an update on your progress, now that the first anniversary draws near.
Thanks Barbara. I'd be remiss in the telling of Katrina if I didn't tell about my dog. When I evacuated for Katrina, thinking I'd only be gone for one day to Jackson, you know, leave on Sunday and back on Monday evening. Well, Katrina had a different plan of course. I put my beloved, housebroken mutt of 9 years in a walk-in closet, with plenty of food and water and we fled to Jackson. As fate would have it, we didn't return until the following Saturday, and my dog Lucky was still in the closet. The same closet that had a tree limb come in thru the ceiling. Not once had she used the bathroom. We opened the door and she ran out peeing the whole way. We were very happy to find her. It was like finding a nice piece of home still intact. Well, Im very sad that Lucky died not an hour ago. Ah, old age, disease, who really knows. A good dog though and we already miss her. As far as my house is concerned, you can say I am fully back. New roof. New floors. New walls (in some places) and the ceiling damage has been replaced. I only lack some painting and a little molding work. As far as the neighborhood goes, most who are gonna stay have mostly rebuilt and I guess that was about 85% of them. Some suspicious fires in the neighborhood have resulted in 3 destroyed homes. I guess if you dont have flood insurance... New Orleans, at least from the interstate, looks pretty much the same. Though electricity has been restored, the East is still largely abandoned. I was there on Saturday night and it still looks desperate. Till you cross the hi-rise from the east, and downtown looks very good...
Strangely enough, this was all over the news today: Evacuees blamed for spike in Houston crime. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/14/ap/national/mainD8JGFG0O0.shtml
Oh geez. I'm sooo sorry. She sounds like she was an angel, though. I once had to leave a pet behind for a hurricane so I know how hard that is. I'm happy that it worked out okay for you, even if it was only for a short time. So yeah, it's gotten pretty dusty in here. There was a time when I would have said that the loss of New Orleans East would not be a great one, but that was before it was actually destroyed. I heard a thing on the radio today about all the trees that have died and are dying as a result of the storm. Something like 20 to 25% of the trees in City Park. Ugh. I'm supposed to go to a jazz festival in Vancouver, WA this weekend to see Dr. John but I don't know if that would be more upsetting than fun, given the anniversary and stuff. Enough about me. I'm glad that your house is back together and I'm also glad that your neighborhood is mostly back together. Again, I'm really sorry about the puppy.
I was in Ft. Worth last December getting some repairs done on my car and was informed by one of the employees there that Ft Worth was currently being overrun by sex offenders fleeing from Katrina. The asshole who said that to me didn't know where I'd grown up. If I hadn't really needed my car fixed, I woulda decked the guy.
i gather they didnt mention the huge rise in crimes being commited in new orleans by fugitive texans. front page article in the Times-Pic two days ago.
I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I remember every dog in my old neighborhood (where I grew up) fondly. They're really special animals when somebody loves them and treats them well as pups.
Well, I dont know who is committing the crimes, but the crime rate is rising and, sadly, it looks as though it's going to be as bad as before Katrina.