Why FEMA disgusts me

Check out this post from my blog with NOLA.com about the latest advice from FEMA. Frustrating, very frustrating.

Amazing Race

I have finally gotten around to watching Tuesday night's episode of "Amazing Race." It was bittersweet watching the teams racing through my backyard. As silly as I feel about it, I cried from the time they reached Hattiesburg til the end of the show. It just reminded me of how much things have changed.
I think that I could have done without seeing this one.

Katrina aftermath pictures

As promised, here are some of my Katrina pics. I hope that this works. I'm still looking for a nice and easy way to store photo albums online. In the meantime, this will have to do.

Katrina's macabre Halloween decorations

More destruction

Today, my cousin Amy and I went out to get a first-hand view of the destruction and devastation of my mom's house. Everyone said that the pictures didn't do it justice and, boy, were they right. It was surreal. Will post all of my Katrina pictures later.

Katrina destruction

Want to see what me and my family have been doing lately? Well, thanks to my cousin Chad, I can show you. Although these are pictures of my cousin's grandparent's house, the destruction looks much the same as my grandmother's house. I spent the last two weekends trying to salvage anything from her house, which was very little.

Want to know what it is like? The thought that kept coming to me is that it was like going through a ship wreck. There was water everywhere. Sitting in bowls in the cabinet, sitting in jewelery boxes, sitting in drawers. Anything that can hold water. And, if you weren't careful, that water would come raining down on you whenever you opened something. Oh, and the fun part, was that it wasn't clean water. It was moldy, smelly, dirty, disgusting water. (Want to know what it smelled like? Have you ever been inside of a dirty port-a-potty? Imagine it 10 times worse)

Did you know that when wood sits in toxic water for weeks that it turns to mush. My grandmother had many solid wood pieces of furniture. Heavy, solid wood pieces of furniture. I emphasize had. Now when we touch it, it literally falls apart. It was sad and gross.

Oh, but we did see some very interesting mold. Did you know that mold can spin webs just like a spider? Did you know that mold grows in spirals? Did you know mold can be bright yellow, pink and teal blue. My aunt, who lives with my grandmother, won the prize for the most colorful mold in her room.

On Tuesday, my cousin Amy (Chad' sister) is coming with me to go see my mom's house. I haven't been out there yet. I haven't wanted to go with the kids. I didn't want them to see their grandparent's house like that - talk about more nightmares. But now they will be in school, so Amy and I can satisfy our curiosity. I will take pictures and post those.

My thoughts on Mayor Nagin

There is much being said around the blogosphere about New Orleans Mayor Nagin. And, I thought that I would add my local two cents.

First, you have to understand the state of New Orleans politics over the past few decades. In every level and layer, corruption has been running rampant. From the school board to the city commission to the parish. Heck, corruption is synonymous with Louisiana politics. The previous mayor's administration was no different. In fact, I would argue that Marc Morial actually took corruption to an all new level. Which is saying a lot in Louisiana. When Nagin took office three years ago, this was all laid at his feet.

He ran on a platform of cleaning up the city. He wanted to take the corruption out of New Orleans politics. Unfortunately for him, that corruption was so ingrained and so beneficial to all those in politics and in charge, that he didn't stand a fighting chance. In fact, he was doomed. Every initiative, every plan, every candidate, etc. That he supported met with defeat. He had absolutely no support. No one wanted him to reform New Orleans' government because it would lead to their loss of power.

Last year, we were faced with Hurricane Ivan. Nagin ordered the evacuation of New Orleans. Other mayors and parish presidents did the same in their areas. What a disaster that was. Since that time, an evacuation plan was developed. Unfortunately, another outcome of that disastrous evacuation for Ivan was a huge backlash for Nagin. The parish officials in Orleans parish used this to grandstand for their own benefit against Nagin. They convinced their constituents that Nagin was wrong to order an evacuation. There was no need to leave. This set the stage for Katrina.

What many people don't realize is that we didn't know Katrina was threatening Louisiana until Friday before the storm hit. Before that time, Katrina was being forecast as hitting the panhandle of Florida. I remember how surprised I was when, while I was eating dinner out with my husband Friday night, I saw on an overhead TV that the storm was now being forecast more in our direction. Even then, however, it was still just being forecast as a Cat 1 or 2. Nothing too bad, nothing really to worry about.

On Saturday morning, the news started to turn bad. All of a sudden there was a flurry of information as it seemed that the storm continued to grow in intensity. Nagin, as well as other officials, were constantly on TV telling people to leave. Nagin also told people, "Do not come to the Superdome. It is not set up as a shelter. It will be used only as a last resort for the sick and infirm." Nagin kept telling people to make their own evacuation plans (of course, he had been saying this for the past year as part of his evacuation plan). Contrast this with Houston's evacuation for Rita and you will see that they had several week days to evacuate the city. That being said, there were mistakes made. Big mistakes. Buses went unused. Provisions not collected. You all know the mistakes. (I heard that the reason the schools buses were not used is because local officials wanted the buses to have bathrooms and air conditioning. I don't know who decided not to use them for those reason, but knowing the reputations and past idiocy of the city and parish officials, I don't find this difficult to believe).

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Nagin was being compared to Guiliani after 9/11. This was totally unfair. Katrina totally wiped out all forms of communication. There was no cell phones, no land lines, no two-way radios. Nothing. Top that with levees breaking, widespread looting, trapped citizens, officers abandoning posts and total mayhem. He needed help. He felt helpless and hopeless. I don't blame his outbursts. He was in a situation that was totally unprecedented. Those first few days were hell and it was scary. Imagine how you would have handled it. Although his outbursts and rants were widely televised and reported, what was not was the fact that he met with the President and apologized. Nagin and Bush both made amends and both said there were no hard feeling between the two men. Bush seemed to understand the circumstances surrounding Nagin's speech.

Since that time, Nagin has done everything in his power to rebuild the city. He recognizes what needs to be done, that now is the time think "outside of the box." He also realizes that he now has the time to clean up the city. He wants to rid it of corruption. Last Thursday, he spoke to a group of small and medium business leaders about their concerns and the future (Listen here). It was a great speech and when he was done, I was actually excited about the prospects for the future of New Orleans. Some of the things he said were:

1. His goal is to have a transparent city government. He wants to have all dealing with the city in the "sunshine." Closed door deals breed corruption. Those will be stopped.

2. He told everyone there to get used to working with people that don't look like you.

3. He challenged banks to help small businesses with loans.

4. He gave the following advise to the business owners: (paraphrase) If a politician comes to you and offers to reward you with a bid for a percentage of the profits, you kick them out of your office. (This has been the predominant way of doing business in New Orleans. As much as business owners hated it, they had no choice. Too much corruption before. I believe this advise will be wholeheartedly taken.) He also told politicians not to even try it.

5. He said that if you expected to come into New Orleans and win bids without doing much work, they could leave now.

These were amazing words coming from a mayor of New Orleans. I also love his idea of expanding casinos in New Orleans. It is a way to get tourists into the city fast.

So, what is Nagin's biggest obstacle? Not the lack of citizens, not the lack of money, not the police department, etc. His biggest obstacle is Governor Blanco. She has been the true disgrace of our state.

So, do I think that Nagin will win re-election in February? That is a tough question. I think that it depends on who comes back into the city. I hope that he does, but I also hope that those on the city council don't. We need a fresh start. We need to get rid of all those politicians who are in it for power. Unfortunately, that is most of Louisiana politicians.

When Nagin was elected almost four years ago, the conservatives locally were excited about the prospects. Those prospects were extinguished over the next few years. Now, I see a small flicker of hope again. I guess we will see if that light will grow to rival the bonfires that light the way for Papa Noel along the Mississippi River or if it will go out forever. This is our last chance to save New Orleans.

I want my life back

I want my life to get back to normal. I want to be able to go to the grocery store after the kids go to bed. I want stores to stop closing at 6pm because they don't have workers to cover longer hours. I want to go to a restaurant without having to wait 2 hours for a table because they don't have enough people to work. I want to be able to drive 2 miles without waiting in traffic for 30 minutes. I want to go to my maw-maw's house and sit around the kitchen table and laugh like we used to. I want to look forward to the upcoming holidays without wondering and worrying about the future of my entire family. I want to know that the stuffy nose I have been experiencing is not due to black mold. I want to drive down the street without my car getting scratched by all of the tree debris littering the sides of the roads. I want to go sing karaoke at Ron Charles - a restaurant that doesn't even exist anymore. I want to look forward to Mardi Gras. I want to stop feeling guilty that my house is okay. I want to stop hearing horror stories. I want to stop seeing destruction. I want to stop hearing sympathies of others. I want my daughter's nightmares to stop. I want the kids to go back to school and be with their friends. I want to have a third birthday party for my daughter. I want watch fireworks on the lake at my mom's house. I want to go fishing.

I just want my life back.

Not yet

I can't believe that I just saw a Christmas commercial. Not yet. I can't possibly start thinking about that. It's bad enough that it is almost Halloween. It feels like it should still be the beginning of September. The hurricane robbed us of an entire month. It is the weirdest feeling. Life stopped at the end of August and resumed at the beginning of October. We missed Labor Day, my anniversary, my mom's birthday. Now advertisers want to steal October and November. No, no, no. I refuse to think about it.

Ok, I'll admit it

I'm lame. Lame, lame, lame. I haven't been posting much. But I have a good excuse (well, maybe). The kids are still not in school. I am soooooooooo ready to have them back in school. Hell, I was beyond ready two months ago, but Katrina had other plans. Luckily, they start school next Monday. I'm thinking about having champagne with my MRE's. If I have to say "stop it" one more time, I will go insane. Not just prozac insane, but lock me in a padded room with a straight jacket insane. Actually, that's sounds really nice about now. I'll bet no one would want to know how they make padded rooms, or why... fill in the blanks. (I have a very inquisitive child - which is just wonderful and peachy. I know that I should encourage his curiosity - but enough questions already!) OK, I know that I'm rambling, but it's the first time all day that I can actually form full sentences.

Whew! Now I feel so much better.

About New Orleans. I have a question that I would love to have answered. Today, I heard a mention about the upcoming (February) mayoral elections in New Orleans. I started to think about the logistics of an election when half of your population is displaced. For example, my grandmother cannot live in her house. Even if she decides to rebuild, it will take many, many months to complete. Until that time, she is planning on renting a place on the Northshore. When election time comes, will she be allowed to vote? What about all of the other displaced New Orleanians. This is going to be a huge mess of an election. Will every displaced New Orleanian be allowed to vote absentee? What if they aren't coming back? Do they still get a vote? How do you determine which evacuee gets to vote? Or is it only those that are actually living in the city?

I'm glad that I don't have to decide this one.

UPDATE: Elections In New Orleans Present A Logistical Nightmare

I HAVE INTERNET! I HAVE INTERNET!

Miracles never cease to happen here. Today, I finally got around to plugging in my modem and wireless router. I couldn't believe my eyes when the lights started lighting up one by one. I quickly ran to my computer to see if it was true and my eyes weren't deceiving me. I HAVE INTERNET!!!! We were told that we wouldn't have internet for months.

I'm back, baby!!!

Goodbye, for now

I am heading back to the land of no internet, so I will not be posting for a while. Of course, I haven't been posting too much lately, but it is hard to blog when staying in someone else's home. Thank you all for all of the support, thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming. Even after the news moves on to something else, we will still be struggling to put back together some semblance of a normal life.

As soon as I get access to the internet, I will update you and maybe be able to share my thoughts and opinions again.

Thank you all again and I hope I can rejoin the blogosphere soon.

Dana

WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!

I just can't believe the audacity of some people. If I had any doubt before about the idiocy of Cindy Sheehan, she has just erased it from my mind. The woman needs serious help - maybe even an invitation to rejoin (as if she has ever been a part of it in the first place) the thinking world. I am so mad I could spit nails. In her simple, petty, imbile mind, she decided to take her little pity party to my backyard. She thinks (ok, bad choice of words) she can help.

I got to Camp Casey III in Covington, La today, after getting up at 3am to head for the airport. Now it is 3am the next day and we are driving in a car to try and find a hotel to sleep anywhere around Jackson, Miss. I was prepared to be shocked by what I saw in Louisiana, but I guess one can never really fully prepare for such devastation and tragedy. After living in a country your entire life it is so difficult to see such callous indifference on an immense scale. When I reflect on how the mother of the imbecile who is running our country said that the people who are in the Astrodome are happy to be there, it angers me beyond comparison. The people in LA who were displaced have nice, if modest homes that are perfectly fine. I wonder why the government made them leave at great expense and uproot families who have been living in their communities for generations.

I think that I speak for all of St. Tammany Parish (where Covington is located), WE DON'T WANT YOU THERE, CINDY. YOU ARE NOT PART OF OUR SOLUTION. WE HAVE ENOUGH TOXIC WASTE IN THE WATER AND AIR ALREADY! WE DON'T NEED YOU TO ADD TO IT WITH YOUR NEGATIVITY. DON'T USE OUR DOWNED TREES, FLOODED HOUSES AND BACKS OF HOMELESS FAMILIES AS BUILDING MATERIALS FOR YOUR POLITICAL SOAPBOX!

Now, as far as Barbara Bush saying that the evacuees were happy in the Astrodome, I would have to agree. Compared to the hellhole that was the Superdome and the Convention Center, I would even dare to say that they were ecstatic about running water, electricity, food, air conditioning, and safety.
Also, she says that people were forced to leave their homes even though they were "perfectly fine." The only people who were literally forced to leave their "perfectly fine" homes were in New Orleans. It was either that or leave them to face possible death! The rest of the people in the area were forced to leave their homes because they WERE NOT PERFECTLY FINE! Did she at all open her eyes to see reality or did she continue living in Cindy's World of distortion and conspiracy theories.

After we arrived at Camp Casey III, we took the Veterans for Peace "Impeachment Tour Bus" into New Orleans after stopping at the distribution center to pick up some supplies in Covington.

So, Cindy, already adding to our problems by using our supplies for your own personal gain. How appropriate.

The VFP took me to the city of Algiers on the West Bank. The part of Algiers we went to was very poor and black. The people of Algiers know what hard work is.

Algiers is NOT all poor or black, Cindy. Houses there go for over $200,000. There is a mix of black and white living in this city that was seeing a revitilization trend.

Algiers had no flooding. All of the damage was from winds. There are trees knocked over and shingles off of roofs. There are signs blown over and there was a dead body lying on the ground for 2 weeks before someone finally came to get it. (Cindy, did you hear about the rescue effort being made? People were trying to get to those still alive. A dead person is still dead if he is picked up today or a week from now, but living, breathing human beings need to be rescued now). Even though Algiers came through Katrina relatively unscathed, our federal government tried to force (mostly successfully) the people out of the community (because living conditions were horrible and likely to get worse). Malik Rahim, a new friend of ours and resident of Algiers, told us stories of the days after the hurricane. The government declared martial law, but there was no effective police presence to enforce it (yes, because the people that you seem to always side with - the thugs and enemies of law and order- were killing anyone with a uniform. Martial law had to be declared because it was the only way to begin to get a handle on the situation. You have no idea how horrible it was before it was declared.). Malik said the lawlessness was rampant. People were running out of food and water and they were being forced to go to the Superdome. They didn't want to go to the Superdome, because their homes were pretty intact: they wanted to stay and have food and water brought to them (There was a shortage of man power. You cannot possibly expect the rescuers to bring food and water to these people daily. THEY WERE RESCUERS, NOT CATERERS. People needed to be rescued, not waited on like it was some form of fast food delievery system). A town of 76,000 people dwindled down to 3,000. The die hards were rewarded last Wednesday when the VFP rolled into town with food and water. The Camp Casey III people were the first ones to bring any relief to Algiers. The people who were supposed to look after its citizens, our government, failed them. (No, I think they failed themselves and, lucky for you, they feed into your biased, uninformed view of reality).

The vast majority of people who were looting in New Orleans were doing so to feed their families or to get resources to get their families out of there. (Baloney! How do you think they were going to feed their families with a big screen plasma TV. Well, maybe they were going to use it as a boat. Cindy, you have no idea what the crime was like before Katrina. I do. Trust me, although I know there were some looting for essentials, there were many who were not. Go watch the news footage. Go do research about the type of criminals that were filled New Orleans. It was a dangerous city before the storm and worse after. The last time I checked there were no life essential foods or supplies at malls. I don't even think that electronics would be classified as such). If I had a store with an inventory of insured belongings, and a tragedy happened, I would fling my doors open and tell everyone to take what they need: it is only stuff. (Some grocery - GROCERY - stores did). When our fellow citizens are told to "shoot to kill" other fellow citizens because they want to stay alive, that is military and governmental fascism gone out of control. (You better believe I would shoot the first looter I saw if need be. Thank God the military came in and took control with shoot to kill orders. The looters had no qualms about shooting anyone who threatened to stop them taking TV, clothes, stereos, DVDs, CDs, etc).

I could go on, but frankly, I'm too furious to continue typing. This woman is a disgrace to her hero of a son. She should be very ashamed of herself.

A great email

My in-laws received the following email and it really sums up how I feel about all of this. It is from McComb, Ms resident Allan Baker (if I understand correctly). Here it is:

To my friends and family:

What I have seen since Katrina:
The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm.
Black, white, Hispanic, Oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm.
Christian people giving, giving, giving.
Churches going all out to minister in Jesus' name.
Neighbors going door to door helping one another.
Thugs and hoodlums going door to door looking for someone vulnerable.
Ice and water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace.
People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because shelters are full.
Out of town volunteers coming with food and staying for a week still serving it.
The Churches all over this part of the country doing what Christians do in a crisis.
The Red Cross doing a great job in the shelters.
The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community.
Four Hundred linemen from everywhere bringing back the power to our homes, churches and businesses.
Lines at service stations a block, to a mile long.
National Guardsman patrolling the streets of Mc Comb along with Kentucky policemen protecting us from the hoodlums and thugs of Mc Comb, Pike County and New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before Katrina.)
Drug dealers working outside shelters.
Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel working tirelessly, even sleeping in the hospital.

________WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN ___________

The ACLU setting up a feeding line.
People for the American Way helping in the shelters.
The NAACP doing any work whatsoever.
The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters.
Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations.

I could go on but you get my message. Its the Christian people with love and compassion who do the work.

The gripers in Congress should come on down and get in line to pass the water and the ice. Are you listening Hillary, Chuck, Teddy and all the sorry loafers we call Senators and Congressmen. They don't have a clue as to what this life is all about here on the Gulf Coast. Boy I feel better now.

R.I.P. Robert

I just received bad news from home. My husband Jim told me that our yellow lab, Robert E. Lee, died today. With all the mess from the hurricane, Robert has been spending a lot of time on his leash (no one has a fence anymore and even when we did, he was the Harry Houdini of dogs). It seems that he his leash got caught up under Jim's tire and he strangled himself in a matter of minutes.

Over the past three weeks, Jim and Robert had become in separable around the neighborhood. I hate that I can't be with Jim during all of this (I'm still in Florida with the kids).

Robert was such a great dog. I can't believe that he is gone. Just like that. Will the bad things ever stop happening?

Celebrities and New Orleans

Over the past week and a half, we have seen more and more celebrities flitting into New Orleans to "lend a hand." What egotistical crap! We are not some freak show circus to be gawked at and petted. If these celebrities really want to help, send some of their millions anonymously. No, instead they are there passing out food as their publicists make sure there are plenty of cameras around to document their good deeds to us poor, tragic souls. This is NOT about THEM! More and more I am sick of celebrities. I am so angry I want to reach out and punch them in their smiling, condescending faces.

Journal entries continue

Aug. 30, 2005

Bruce, Chris and Jim have just returned from surveying the office. Everything is lost. The water from the Storm surge was over 5 feet inside of the office. It is so upsetting to think of everything that was there.

The morning, though, we found out how blessed we were personally. Our house was spared any significant damage. A window was broken in our dining room and there was minor damage to the roof above Georgie's room. Our roof lost many shingles and, in one spot, plywood was exposed. I am breathing a huge sigh of relief.

I cannot say the same about my mom's house. Of course, we can only speculate. The news coming out of that side of town is not good. Nothing encouraging has been said, except that the old 5 mile bridge seems to have been spared. The Twin Span bridge has been washed away in many areas.

The word is that we will not have electricity for up to 2 months.

My current concerns are too many to mention. I worry about the kids' schooling. They just started last week. I doubt they will be back in school before 2 months is up. I even worry that J and N, who own their school, will choose not to re-open this year, if at all.

As I watch TV, I learn that casualties are everywhere. This is just horrific. Absolutely horrific! I will never stay for another storm again.

It is also amazing, though, how many people are turning to and speaking openly of God.

This is a warzone. I can't believe the reports coming out of New Orleans. And as I sit here, I can hear sirens all around the city of Slidell.

Will life ever return to normal? Thank God I can turn to His strength because I have none of my own.

Some postive from Katrina

If you have been a regular reader of mine, you know that my brother and I don't see eye-to-eye politically. It has usually led to much ribbing and some arguing.

My brother was in town for a family visit when Katrina struck. Together, our family witnessed first-hand the devastation and aftermath. Together, we would huddle around the small, black and white battery-operated TV and watch the only remaining local station. Together, we heard the stories coming out of New Orleans and the surrounding parishes and states.

I was stunned when Chris announced that he really liked what Haley Barbour and what he had to say after watching a press conference. He said, "He maked a lot of sense." Of course, I immediately said, "That's great. You know, he used to be the chairman for the GOP and he worked closely with Newt Gingrich." To which, there was a moment of stunned silence til he responded, "Oh really."

Chris also was stunned to find, when we left the area on Saturday and started to hear national news, that the MSM was blaming Bush. He just couldn't understand why. Being brought up in the New Orleans area, it was a no-brainer who really deserves the blame. Believe me, they have had 40 years since the last major hurricane (Betsy) to prepare. They knew the levees would break because they broke with Betsy which was only a Cat 3. The administration of New Orleans before Nagin was as corrupt as you can get. And, the ironic thing is that, in light of the race card being played, the New Orleans government is entirely black. And they are the ones lining their own pockets and posturing for more power. They couldn't care less about their own race.

Anyway, back to Chris. He actually defended Bush to his girlfriend. I couldn't believe it! He, in the past, has looked to the government to solve problems. But this experience has taught him that people, ordinary people, can get the job done faster and better. It is best not to rely on the government to solve problems because all that does is take away people's abilities to help themselves and others.

See, some good can come from tragedy.

Journaling

My family and I spent many long days in Slidell in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. During that time, when I was unable to have access to the internet and my blog, I renewed my habit of good, old-fashioned journaling. I decided to reprint my entries here.

Aug. 29, 2005 about 6:45pm

I'm sitting here watching our battery-operated TV. I have just experienced the scariest day of my life and the realization is dawning on me now that the next few weeks are going to be worse. To what do I owe this? Hurricane Katrina. The worst-feared threat to New Orleans has occurred. We have experienced our Camille.

The kids, Jim, my brother, who was visiting from Rhode Island, and I joined mom and B at their model home in the subdivision Tuscany in Slidell. Of course, they had no option but to evacuate since they live on Lake Pontchartrain. We chose to leave our house since we live close to the Pearl River. As to how our homes have fared, we have no idea at this point.

The devastation in the area is very evident. The scenes coming out of Jefferson, Orleans, etc Parishes are frightening. A lot of flooding. People going into the attic to escape the rising waters. I keep hoping to see some news from St. Tammany Parish. We are most anxious about the storm surge. Is mom's house still there? Please, Lord, let her house still be there. Hopefully, tomorrow we can get out of this subdivision. From what I understand, there are some big oaks and pines down with tangled power lines blocking Robert Rd.

Here, there is not one house untouched by a fallen tree. While sitting in the hallway during the storm, a tree limb came through the ceiling above the fireplace. But, I think that we had the smallest amount of damage in the subdivision. We were lucky.

More tomorrow

Prayers were answered

I don't know where exactly to begin. I guess that I should start by saying that my immediate family is safe and accounted for. We did stay in Slidell and rode out the storm. Thankfully, we had a place to ride it out that was on high ground and relatively safe. We did have a tree limb go through the ceiling about the fireplace, but compared to the other houses in the neighborhood, we were lucky. Also, compared to the rest of Slidell, we were lucky.

If you are a regular reader of mine you know that my mom and stepdad lived on Lake Pontchartrain. I am forever grateful that they rode out the storm with us, although staying at their home was never an option. Their home was absolutely destroyed. They had a three story home made of I-beams and bullet-proof glass (it was built by a local mobster after Camille - a story for another day). Of those three floors, only the third remained unscathed. The bottom floor was completely gone and 3/4 of the second was as well. There were a few possessions that they really were mourning, like my grandmother's suitcase full of pictures, my dad's electric train given to him by his grandfather, my porcelain dolls, etc. Unbelievably, even though they were on the second floor, they were in the one bedroom that only got a small amount of water damage and they were up high enough to be saved. See, even in such tragedy, I still believe in miracles. The third floor was my parent's bedroom. So, they do have their clothes and bedroom furniture. Also my mom was able to get to her kitchen and salvage her pots and pan and dishes. She was one of the few lucky ones in her neighborhood. Most of her neighbors have no house, only a foundation.

Most of my dad's family, however, lived in New Orleans. At least 12 families within my family are homeless and half of those I have no way of knowing if they got out. Telephone service, as I'm sure you can imagine, does not exist. No one has heard from those that we know nothing of. All we are left to do is register with the Red Cross, wait and pray. I worry about what my family will do with their lives. I know not where they will go. I really fear for my 87 year old grandmother. She lost everything and I can't imagine starting over at that point in your life.

What really makes me sick is in the midst of all this devestation, there are people who use this issue for political grandstanding and sickening self-promotion. The last thing that the people of New Orleans needs to hear is that their rescuers don't care about them. What kind of sick mind games are they playing on these people. They need home and comfort, not more hatred and loathing.

I thank you all for your concerns and prayers. Now that I am able to have access to a computer, I will be writing more often. Please check back. Thank you so much. YOur kindness has soothed this very heavy heart. Time to go register with FEMA.