Remembering Katrina, Watching Gustav: Life in the Big Easy
Posted: August 29, 2008 Filed under: New Orleans | Tags: hurricane katrina 8 CommentsLife here in New Orleans has been tipped up and down and sidewise since Hurricane Katrina showed us how little we can trust the government to build a better levee. I can tell how many folks trust the upgrades by the amount of traffic I saw leaving town as I was coming back in from Hammond today. Katrina was the first hurricane that got me to evacuate. I was less afraid of the storm than the after storm chaos. I was suprised the levees broke, however, the total human drama afterwards was no suprise to me. I was kept pent up in my french quarter home for three days while the Morial adminstration was trying to figure out how to let the folks out of the superdome peacefully after Hurricane Georges. They were upset they only had hotdogs to eat and were allowed to bring an aresenal inside. While they corrected some of that after Katrina, more huge mistakes were made. They are really really anxious down here not to repeat either of these experiences.
I think that is why they are evacuating every one earlier than usual. I just hope they are sending folks to places where they may not get torrential rain or tornadoes. My little kathouse stood up to katrina and experienced superficial damage. I’d rather be in a ditch than a motel built in the 80s if there’s tornadoes and flooding. I was born in Oklahoma, raised in Iowa and Nebraska, and moved down here from Minnesota. I know floods and tornadoes well.
So, the question is, do I stay or do I go? Right now, I’m staying put. Like I said, I don’t want to head to Florida and be creamed two days later by Hanna or head to Texas and then have Gustav go west and rain hail and tornadoes on me in some poorly built motel room. So, stay tuned folks as the center of my life the next few days becomes getting my house and act together. Emily insists she’s okay at LSU and wants to see the football game now scheduled at 10 am. LSU has underground generators and very sturdy buildings so I have no doubt she’ll be safe there. I have a kitten, a cat that think its a doberman, and an goofy old retriever mix. That’s always a consideration too, however, after Katrina, I have to say the chances for animals actually being cared for is good this time. They’re making arrangements to evacuate pets if people have to take buses and seek public shelters. Hopefully, that will make the vulnerable and old more willing to go.
I just thought I’d post a few more Katrina pictures here for you so you could remember three years ago. What I’m actually going to post is the pictures I took after we got home and shared our common love of our wonderful city. Just remember, we’re a resilient lot down here.
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
The first time I delivered a paper at a refereed conference was at the Montleone Hotel.
Two years ago in Atlanta, I shared a paper session on environmental education with Randall Curren, who dedicated his paper to the community in New Orleans where he was raised, which, like many, was heavily flooded.
Best wishes for the forthcoming storm.
Thx, i went to my local watering hole last night. Those in the low-lying surge vulnerable areas are leaving today. Most of us that live here in the older parts of the city which tend to stand up well, haven’t made up our minds yet.
Did talk to one friend who is like me … NEVER want to have to spend 5 weeks back in Nebraska again. He said two weeks in Birmingham was less preferable to seven minutes of drowing to him.
Would much rather live with out electricity in the kathouse and eat cans of tuna while throwing back tequila than going back to the Omaha Hell realm via Texas. Plus, I really loved freaking out the Washington state national guard at night by playing the steinway in a city of complete darkness. I was one of the first ones back in the neigborhood. They were used to a ghost town and I think they thought I was one of those ghosts!
The steinway imagery is marvelous. It makes me think of the Phantom’s organ playing echoing through the sewers. Chalk up another piece of evidence for the “dull like a finely knapped obsidian blade” hypothesis.
My experiences in American cities are limited. Nebraska and Birmingham just became less likely destinations.
I was only in New Orleans for 4 days. It’s feel is (was?)so unique that my recollection of the streets is visceral.
Though the steinway imagery is marvelous, I hope that the circumstances that created the context remain unique.
Shalom.
I heard testament that the kathouse is actually haunted.
But I love the idea of someone preferring drowning to Birmingham.
And Mr Mather, I can vouch for Kat being dull like a finely knapped obsidian blade. She tries her best, but even all that economics sounds great when coming from her.
Stay safe Kat.
We lived in Nebraska for two years after nine in San Diego and I must say it made moving to Texas a lot easier.
There’s a tape up on Red State. Someone on an airplane caught the ex Dem National County Chair (Don Fowler) laughing about Palin, but also laughing about Gustav and it hitting in time for the Rep national convention. He said it proves “Gods on our side”.
Very sad thing to hear and see.
Kat, y’all take care of yourselves down there. I never got back to you about Secretary of the Treasury gig. It’s yours. You get to have your signature on all the money. But seriously, take care and let us know how you’re doing.
Depending on where,exactly, you are, you should probably go. My roommate and I did a long study of hurrican probabilitiesand just that lookthey get before they come slamming in, I thik this one will be trouble. If you havetogo, Tampa area is the safest, this time of year. Most storms that come up the gulf coast,get sucked into Charlotte Harbor before they get tous. Badfor Charlotte folks, good for us just south of Tampa Bay. Our worst case are the ones that stall in the gulf, and beat the crap out of you for days. But they still don’t have the gusto of a Gustave, or the killer instinct of a Katrina.
We watched Ivan all day long, because there were some errant steering currents that might affect it, and I didn’t want that one sneaking up on us.
I work with real estate rental people, and every year about this time, I pick up a set of emergency keys for someplace on the mainland to take our parrots and us if need be, but we would stay on our island up to a strong two.
You are at the top of the gulf, water builds up in front, so you will get some surge, unless something happens to slow it and shear off the top winds. Safer is better, especially for your animals.
I am proud to live in Manatee county, Fla. where animal friendly shelters began. Gulf Coast Animal league went to our county leaders after Charlie, because older people in Charlotte county died in mobil homes rather than leave their animals, all they had left in the world.
The Gulf Coast people said they would staff a couple of shelters if the county would approve it. They did, and during Jeanne, Francis, and Ivan we had the only pet freindly shelters in the country. They worked well, the news picked it up and the state said each county should try to do the same.
After the horrible tragedy of Katrina, other states sent people down here to see what we did and how it worked. HOpefull, the were not be another situation like Katrina, or, for that matter, Andrew.
I know this wasn’t particularly political, but life is made up of more, and, actually, you are an asset of this movement, and therefore,important beyond yourself.
So…take care, please.
I hope you got boarded up if you stayed. If it stays on this way, it won’t be a Katrina. It won’t be pleasant, but it won’t be a Katrina.
Hope you’re okay wherever you are.