Last Exit From The Big Easy

[NoRRmad]

Welcome to New Orleans; Do Not Resuscitate

Well, a smiley won't quite do here... That was a coffee-out-the-nose moment.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The saga continues, mostly for the good.
There was a glitch when people started to come back--yes, Kristi, they are coming back this time, really; no, really.
There was a little incoordination among the various parishes, but that was straightened out in relatively short order--about 45 minutes.
So people are streaming back. There are runs on groceries, but it has remained orderly. The governor, Bobby Jindal, did a remarkable job running the whole show. Aside: Rumors swirl that this guy is being groomed for a run at the White House. We could and have done worse.

About half of my block is back and we are still under a dusk to dawn curfew.

Out of my bedroom window about 8 pm last night. I painted the houses with a flashlight from my window on a time exposure.


It is pretty dark down on the street, but the lights from downtown illuminate the sky with a pinkish yellow glow, subtle to be sure, but we do not have dark skies as you might expect. About 68% of the city has power. I don't. Still on generators and typing this with a coleman lantern at my side.

My family is still out of town--Cleveland, Tampa, Navarre Beach--but will start coming in tomorrow. I hope my 89 year old mother is coming back to a house with power. It is very hot and sweaty. So hot and sweaty that the heat and sweating woke me repeatedly last night. A scrub tech at the howpital today said she slept with wet towels on her in "strategic" places and that kept her cooler. I may try that tonight.Fortunately I can take a shower with hot water. So I can wash off the smell and the sweat.

cell service is much better today.

Mail supposedly started today and we gor a newspaper

People are upbeat/

Thanks to all for the kind words and I will post again when I get power

John

[Dr. Strangelove]

HALLELUJAH

LET THERE BE POWER !!

AND GOD SAW IT WAS GOOD

THEN HE LOGGED ON TO CHECK HIS EMAIL

POWER RESTORED JUST BEFORE 830 THIS EVENING

I have a hot date with an AC

John

[Biff's R]

[bruno71]

Doc,
What an incredible and emotionally gripping first hand report. During Katrina, an old college buddy of mine (Steve Goodman) ended up holed up in his church, which he had to safeguard from looters with his shotgun. Seeing the potential for the landfall of another Cat 3-5 was gut wrenching to watch (maybe an overstatement for non-resident). If I ever run into you in person, I'll tell you an inside D.C. story of how our National Command Authority deliberately set back and watched NOLA drown. What I do know from being near there myself (I flew out of Alexandria, LA a day or two before Katrina made landfall) is that the government had assets 2 1/2 hours away that could have brought both relief and security to the city. I don't care if you are a red state guy or a blue state guy; the government failed the people of the gulf coast. I do not believe that history will be kind to those who were in charge. (rant complete)

Thrilled to hear that you and yours made it through Gustav intact. Few cities have the tradition and culture that New Orleans enjoys. I was watching a discovery channel show the other day that featured Holland's reaction to the flooding they had there in 1993 and, of course, the ongoing threat of climate change. Among other things, they have designed houses that set on a fairly normal looking hollow concrete foundation, but they are engineered to float It was a simple and cost effective enough solution. The houses were held in place with pilings that enabled utilities to remain connected even if they suffered a significant amount of lift. Would innovative solutions like that float down there?

As for Beck and Geraldo, what can I say that could possibly add to what you have already felt? They are just sad little performers in a modern day media sideshow. The more hyperbole, hysteria, faux indignation, exaggeration, and skewed perspective they can rehearse the more attention they seem to garner. All of which somehow makes them feel/appear relevant. It is not news or informed commentary, just entertainment television for the segment of the population tto which they appeal (Screaming to the choir so to speak). I can't watch them without getting a headache.

Take care and outstanding report! You framed the issues in such a way that really drives home what is at stake for you and your fellow residents.

-Bruno

[NoRRmad]

I'll tell you an inside D.C. story of how our National Command Authority deliberately set back and watched NOLA drown.

I'd like to hear that story; perhaps you could do a post in Pat's Playhouse.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Damn

I had hoped this was over.

"Gut-wrenching" is an appropriate term if you are referring to that feeling you get in your chest-well, not really your chest, but that spot where your chest meets your abdomen--kind of like a twist, and ache, a pull. You've had it. It is indescriminate. It will do it with joy or sadness or fear or hate. Primal, visceral, way way down on the evolutionary ladder. Just a hop step and a jump from fight or flight, but not nearly as thought out.

So, someone named Ike is out there. Hanna's overachieving cousin. Down here, hurricanes are personified, teased, cursed, mocked, and anthropomorphed--not a word I know, but neologism is a characteristic of schizophrenia, thank you.
Ike, Cat 3-4 now, and who knows. the weather people are playing their cards close to the vest on this one. Btw, we never get our weather from the national media. For the most part they are out of touch. Our locals do a much better job and and it is not unusual to give flood forecasts for neighborhoods. It is melancholy resigned news, it is tired and a story as old as the hills. Hey, hills, yeah we don't have those. If we did we'd go up there. Remember the picture of the cars on the overpass? Those are our hills. Anyway...

Ok, there is the Bermuda High and another high over the US mainland that is associated with a weak "cold" front that we are told might push Ike farther south and therefore more to the west. but computer models still have us squarely in in the Cone of Boy-Are-You-Likely-To-Get-Forked; but remember, it is also the Cone of Utter Cluelessness; everyone's an expert.

We are looking at our latest potential demise as scheduled for next weekend; Film at 11! Yesterday, I went to Lowe's and bought an extra gas can, 5 gallons, limit two per customer. Then since most of the gas stations are now open I filled all I had and they are in the basement. I cleaned the RR. I cleaned the front lawn and garbage was collected. All the formerly frozen food in our freezer is now in a landfill somewhere. The pool is mostly clean, but the Polaris keeps getting twisted. Where are my priorities?????

Mrs. Strangelove came home along with Daughter #1 and her litter. And Cecile, her 3 year old, can be really cute, but what a challenge she can be. 3 going through PMS; on a dime, she can turn. Daughter #1's husband is a general surgeon and was at his hosptial for the duration. he was part of a medical team that flew down to Grande Isle. He actually saved a life while down there. Someone went into anaphylaxis after ant bites. yeah ant bites can be a problem with flooding. Ants will float in clumps and if you are in the water, well, to the ant brain, you represent "higher ground." Connect the dots.

The students are back at Tulane--we live a block away--oh, cool! Not. There was a party across the street last night and now beer cans and six packs are on the sidewalk. Most are cleaning up, but time will tell on these leaders of tomorrow. That's it, up to the minute; you are there.

Up next? stay tuned.

Ok, this is the tease for the next week or so. Ike may or may not breathe down our necks. The mayor, what a maroon, as mentioned earlier, called for the citizens to come back Wed midnight, but then the police dept was stopping people from coming back. Some motels raised their rates for evacuees, example, from $69 to $109. Some gas stations jacked up prices 10 cents a gallon during the evacuation. Some of the bussed away evacuees complained that there was nothing for them to do, no "activities" planned. The levees held, but can they take the water again within a week or so?
That is not old news, it is only prologue.

The concern is that people will not evacuate for Ike if it is called. That the re-entry did not go without a glitch. And Gustav was a near miss for New Orleans (but not for Terrebonne and Lafourche and Assumption and East Baton Rouge and St John Parishes, among others ). New orleans was for the most part spared the brunt.
If people don't leave it is feared the post Katrina problems of crime and civil discontent will resurface.

We talk of what guns we have for the storm. I am NOT a gun person. Pre Katrina I had no problem with a government sweep of the country confiscating all operational handguns --don't lecture me, ok? Please?
During Katrina, and Bruno, I believe you, things changed. The stories we were hearing about the crimes not reported during that storm were chilling. My favorite, and I would hear these from reputable sources were that there was a restaurant whose freezer was being used as a makeshift morgue for the gangsters that were cut down by Delta Force who came here are were picking them off one by one using night vision sights. Extraordinary and maybe exaggeration? We heard it time after time and knew it would never be reported because of the political incorrectness of it all.
Anyway, during Katrina I bought my first, and only gun, the Benelli 12 ga. I still haven't shot it, but I love the chik chik sound of it. It is a bit unwieldy though. 9mm automatics seem to be a favorite. 45's have their proponents as do 357's. My brother has a police riot gun, kind of a sawed off shotgun with a flashlight on it.
Isn't that amazing?
I am thinking about a 9mm using hollow points, dum dums, but that won't be before Ike. This is our water cooler conversations along with where did you go, and what do you think Ike is going to do--remember everyone's and expert and has an opinion, probably more valid than Jim Cantore's

Mrs. S has made reservations in Birmingham, 4 rooms, for next weekend, but I am going to "hunker down" again so you may hear more. I am not taking the window boards down and I am not putting the furniture back into the foyer. I am continuing to prepare for my basement to be flooded.

And I am continuing to prepare for my solo trip to Colorado at the end of the month. IN fact, one of the thoughts that briefly passed through my mind as I was watching the sycamore tree do the fandango with Gustav was how hunkering down during a mandatory evacuation is similar to a solo motorcycle trip. You have to be self sufficient and prepared and thoughtful about your surroundings. You have to have certain skills that are not particularly useful in western civilization. you have to be comfortable with discomfort. You have to enjoy a challenge and accept responsibility for your sometimes foolhardy actions. And you have to realize there are no support personnel available, no medical, police, fire to respond in a timely fashion.

And like Blanche Dubois, you are frequently dependent on the kindness of strangers.

John

[GypsyRR]

Ike is coming to visit me now. I'm staying to make sure he has a nice welcome when he arrives.

[NoRRmad]

Good Luck!

[Dr. Strangelove]

Good luck, Kristi; I will be thinking about you

We are getting a couple of Ike's bands here. I was going to ride to work today, but the weather early this am called for squall lines coming through when I would be riding home. Sounded unpleasant. Didn't ride.

Supposed to be Cat 2-3, outside chance 4 when it hits the coast. A 2 you can deal with, a 3 is iffy and a 4 takes off roofs readily.

Take care and post if you can. It will get pretty eerie at night especially if the storm is in full fury then.

John

[iowabeakster]

Kristi,

Wishes for good luck and safe hunkering to everybody down there.

[GypsyRR]

Kristi,

Wishes for good luck and safe hunkering to everybody down there.

Well, thanks. And the city officials suggested those of us staying behind should practice safe hunkering as well!!

I grew up in Kansas with tornados. Hurricanes don't scare me. It's the tornados they spawn that scare me the most!!

[NoRRmad]

Ever been through a hurricane? They can get scary, and they last a lot longer than a tornado.

I hope all goes well. Keep yer head down.

[GypsyRR]

Ever been through a hurricane? They can get scary, and they last a lot longer than a tornado.

I hope all goes well. Keep yer head down.

Oh yeah, I've been through them. I was in one in a pop-up tent once. I ended up going inside a washateria for shelter and a plate glass window blew out right behind me. I was certainly glad it blew out and not in.

But I've also been in devastating tornados in Kansas that left the city looking like a war zone. In the aftermath, I saw things I don't ever want to see again. Tragic stuff. Things you don't ever forget.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Kristi,

Wishes for good luck and safe hunkering to everybody down there.

Well, thanks. And the city officials suggested those of us staying behind should practice safe hunkering as well!!

I grew up in Kansas with tornados. Hurricanes don't scare me. It's the tornados they spawn that scare me the most!!

Just a point of information--and Kristi, I know you know this, as you indicated.

Hurricanes and tornadoes always travel together. When Camille slammed into MS in 69 with 200 mph winds, it was peppered with tornadoes, and not F1's. There were estimates of 400 mph tornadoes. Houses were reduced to slabs. Much of the damage during a hurricane is caused by tornadic activity. And we are not talking about a passing cold front. Hurricanes can be stationary or move very slowly and NOT lose intensity, and not lose their ability to spawn tornadoes. For hours and hours and hours.

Hurricanes and tornadoes are not mutually exclusive.
I just checked our weather. the storm is over 200 miles away from us and we have had tropical force winds all night. We have two tornado watches going now. The wind and rain are howling and radar shows two areas of what they refer to as "circulation", indicating tornado activity. Because it is still dark out no funnel cloud has been reported.
Yesterday afternoon on my drive home, waves were spraying on the road surface on the causeway (24 mile bridge across Lake Pontchartrain) and the clouds were rolling East to West: from John to Kristi.

That was probably a tornado that burst the window in the washeteria, K.

Please stay safe.

Hurricanes should scare you. Let us know as you fare and how you fare

John

[GypsyRR]

One week later:

Still no electricity at my house. Water is just now becoming clean enough to drink again. Cell service is very spotty. I have to walk 2-3 blocks to make a phone call on a good day. On other days, I have to drive at least a mile. I can get a text message out periodically if I keep my phone in a corner kitchen window. Why that one? No idea.

Gas lines are just now beginning to thin out. I bought some groceries the day before yesterday, but there were no freezer or refrigerated foods for sale. I lost all perishable foods. I lost 2 trees. None fell on my house. I have some roofing damage and am waiting and wading through the claims process now.

The sound of the storm was horrendous and lasted forever!! Although it hit at only a category 2, the storm was very wide and caused much damage along the Texas Gulf Coast. As of Thursday only 44% of Centerpoint Energy's customers had electricity.

So -- - one week later, I had a chance to leave for the weekend and I took it!!! Ahhhhh, electricity, air conditioning, refrigeration, appliances, hair dryers, fans, phone chargers, iPods. Life is sweet!!!!

And no - it is not like camping. The biggest difference being: sitting in a house watching things deteriorate around you while you are helpless to do anything about it .................... for a while. The only thing still deteriorating at my house now is the pool and the roof. The other things have been carted away. But even those two things can be repaired.

As I left Houston for Dallas today, I did see 2 trucks on my street working. Unfortunately, there are still about 20 trees laying across power lines one block away which have not even seen a chainsaw yet.

[BigEasy]

At least you're safe and sound Yhankfully I've never been through one of those on land, rode through a couple on a ship when I was in the Navy though

[Sunbeemer]

Dr. Strangelove, I concur with your diagnosis, and believe we should do everything we can to to keep the city as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. There may yet be discovered a cure, we can only hope.