tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13080538.post113432437696734905..comments2023-10-08T07:07:36.538-04:00Comments on Search the Sea: Gannet Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374279595560691174noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13080538.post-1134488632718599432005-12-13T10:43:00.000-05:002005-12-13T10:43:00.000-05:00As I sit here 3 months AK, After Katrina, I am sti...As I sit here 3 months AK, After Katrina, I am still filled with the same despair that I felt during those horrible days after the levees broke. In September, my heart broke for the inhumane conditions and the horror of the losses. Today, my heart breaks for all those who WANT to go home and can't. It also breaks for the city of my ancestors. So much of New Orleans is in me and makes me who I am; I can't bear the thought of it simply disappearing. <BR/><BR/>I shouldn't be surprised by our government's reaction. The figures have been repeated over and over again. Clearly, nation building is far more important to this administration than is the preservation of our own soil and people.<BR/><BR/>Pitiful and shameful treatment all the way around. My relatives will recover physically but the emotional scars will never fade. Even those whose homes were untouched see painful and horrifying images day in and day out. Life will never again be the same for any of these people and our government needs to understand and act on it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13080538.post-1134400278079164792005-12-12T10:11:00.000-05:002005-12-12T10:11:00.000-05:00As I cry in my coffee...The following was written ...As I cry in my coffee...<BR/><BR/>The following was written by Boysie Bollinger, who is the<BR/>CEO of one of the state's largest shipyard operations, and a widely regarded civic leader. An interesting look at the times of New Orleans.<BR/><BR/>There's not a working clock in this entire city. This morning I went on my<BR/>walk and the big clock by St. Patrick's Church on Camp said it was 2:30; as<BR/>I walked on, the Whitney clock said it was 11:15, and by the time I hit the<BR/>French Quarter a clock there told me quite firmly that it was 6:00 o'clock. <BR/><BR/>I'm not really surprised at this - New Orleans has always had a problem with<BR/>time. Time is not linear here; this is a city where people live in two<BR/>hundred year old houses, have wireless Internet and use 600-year-old recipes<BR/>while singing 60's songs to their newborns. Time is more of a mental game<BR/>in New Orleans...you can pick the year you liked the best and stay in that<BR/>year for the rest of your life here and no one says a thing. You can talk<BR/>about your great great grandparents as if they were still alive and talk<BR/>about your neighbors as if they were dead, and we all understand. <BR/><BR/>As I walked up Royal from Esplanade on my way out of<BR/>the Quarter, a dark sedan stopped in the street right by the Cathedral and<BR/>all four doors opened at once. I was twittering with curiosity when the<BR/>driver hopped out, ran to the other side and escorted a smiling (former<BR/>Ambassador) Lindy Boggs out of the car. Before I could stop myself I'd<BR/>yelled out, "Hey Lindy, good to see ya!" Mrs. Boggs, accustomed to such<BR/>raffish behavior smiled and yelled out "Hey yourself" as she waved, laughed<BR/>and headed to church, surely thinking it's time to pray for better manners<BR/>for the likes of me. <BR/><BR/>We're dealing with a lot of time issues these days, time to meet the<BR/>insurance specialist, time to call FEMA, time to put out the refrigerator,<BR/>time to get a new refrigerator, time to decide whether to stay in New<BR/>Orleans or head elsewhere, time to register the kids for school, time to<BR/>sell the house, time to buy the house, time to find a job, time to leave a<BR/>job, time to figure out the rest of your life. <BR/><BR/>Could we maybe, while dealing with all those time issues, take a minute and<BR/>remember ? Remember that there was a time when all of this was different,<BR/>there was a time when slaves were sold in the Napoleon House, a time when<BR/>Mid-City was considered the country, a time when people staged sit ins<BR/>downtown, a time when there was no McDonald's or Wendy's or even Popeye's, a<BR/>time when the Quarter burned, a time when people spoke French or Spanish, a<BR/>time when the Opera House was open, a time when this was all uninhabited, a<BR/>time when your refrigerator worked, your house was whole, your neighborhood<BR/>wasn't flooded and your city wasn't defined by a Hurricane. <BR/><BR/>More than any other city in this country, this is a city defined by the<BR/>quality of the times people have had here. Maybe it's because it's a port<BR/>city, maybe it's because of the food, maybe it's because of the heat, but<BR/>this city remembers everyone who has ever lived, loved and laughed here.<BR/>People visit us because they can feel the difference as soon as they get<BR/>here, they can feel how time is honored here, in the time to craft our<BR/>houses and the time to make a roux. They can feel that the city holds all of<BR/>our memories, our joys, our sorrows and our triumphs. That any time spent in<BR/>New Orleans is kept in the breath, air, water and sky of New Orleans. What<BR/>happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in New Orleans changes<BR/>the city and its people, minute-by-minute, day-by-day, year-by-year, so that<BR/>we can't help but live in the past, present and future. <BR/><BR/>Time will tell what we will end up looking like, how strong the levees will<BR/>be, how many houses will be repaired, but we will tell time how strong the<BR/>people of New Orleans are, how deep our commitments to each other are, and<BR/>that sometimes the best stories are the ones we write for ourselves. <BR/><BR/>Once upon a time in a city called New Orleans...... <BR/><BR/>(by Boysie Bollinger)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13080538.post-1134392766140252002005-12-12T08:06:00.000-05:002005-12-12T08:06:00.000-05:00The French quarter will survive, but be owned and ...The French quarter will survive, but be owned and run by a private corporation like Disneyworld, or will be totally inauthentic like Branson (how about "Jesus-jazz"?). The levees will receive minimal repair. The low lying business and neighborhoods will never be rebuilt. Bush, a liar? Who knew?Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05566267303671253480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13080538.post-1134340145181804202005-12-11T17:29:00.000-05:002005-12-11T17:29:00.000-05:00This is from the Chicago Tribune:Restoring New Orl...This is from the Chicago Tribune:<BR/>Restoring New Orleans to anything like its former self would take an astronomical amount of money--to rebuild infrastructure, clean up horrendous pollution, resettle people, and replace many or most of the 150,000 properties that were flooded. That doesn't count the vast sums that would be needed for levees and other flood-prevention projects that were too expensive to undertake before Hurricane Katrina.<BR/><BR/>No amount of money will change the fact that this is no place for a large urban population. Most of the city is below sea level, and it continues to sink, even as the ocean is rising. <BR/><BR/>From the CBS News website:<BR/>Kusky talks about a withdrawal of the city and explains that coastal erosion was thrown into fast forward by Katrina. He says by 2095, the coastline will pass the city and New Orleans will be what he calls a “fish bowl.” <BR/><BR/>“Because New Orleans is going to be 15 to 18 feet below sea level, sitting off the coast of North America surrounded by a 50- to 100-foot-tall levee system to protect the city,” explains Kusky. <BR/><BR/>He says the city will be completely surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico just 90 years from now. <BR/><BR/><BR/>It will be a very tough call, which is probably why no one seems to be doing anything. I don't know what the answer is, just know that there is not an easy one.<BR/>StacyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13080538.post-1134332317391396412005-12-11T15:18:00.000-05:002005-12-11T15:18:00.000-05:00Powerful essay.It seems our leadership is much bet...Powerful essay.<BR/><BR/>It seems our leadership is much better suited for destruction than construction or recontruction. If we can invade countries, we should be able to take care of our own cities.<BR/><BR/>VirginiaVirginiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04451139904242764009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13080538.post-1134331782502310122005-12-11T15:09:00.000-05:002005-12-11T15:09:00.000-05:00Powerful essay.It seems our leadership is much bet...Powerful essay.<BR/><BR/>It seems our leadership is much better suited for destruction than construction or recontruction. If we can invade countries, we should be able to take care of our own cities.<BR/><BR/>VirginiaVirginiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04451139904242764009noreply@blogger.com