Life after Katrina

[Nemo14]

Debbie,
I cried when I read your last post. Just thinking of what an impact that storm had on our entire country is just so unimaginable! The lives that are forever changed, and I think about all the kids who will grow up always in fear of such a disaster recurring!
The other night on NBC news, Brian williams was reading some of the e-mails that have come in since they did a follow-up report last week. Naturally most were very supportive, but there were a few whose attitude was "Enough of this already!" It really broke my heart to hear people so uncaring about such a tragedy.

Hang in there - our thoughts and prayers are with you!

 

[lisahb]

January 29 update; 5 months after Katrina:
Just thought that since today was an 'anniversary' of sorts, I'd give an update of life:
Not much has changed..................most everything is still limited menus, limited hours, short staffed, etc. Anyone who comes here to visit should cross the Jefferson Parish, Orleans line on Veterans Hwy at nite. I did for the first time Friday, and the feeling I got was undescribable. I wanted to cry for everyone that lived near the 17th Street canal. You go from a half-vibrant Metairie, to the Twilight Zone. Lit streets, lit business signs, lit parking lots, then nothing. No lights, no sign of light. Just blocks and blocks of residences where people once lived their dreams, now vacant, without lights of any sort. Coming back from the French Quarter, one has to know where they are to turn to go back to Veterans Blvd. It's actually frightning in the sense that this was a bustling area, always with traffic, families, kids.
The Wal-Mart in Boutte, where I live, has new hours! 6am to 9pm! I now go to Houma for major shopping since Katrina glanced them and they didn't have the population leaving to never return. Most places here in my community are still dealing with labor shortages.
The French Quarter had more people on Bourbon Street than I expected. But I was surprised at how many businesses haven't reopened: Cat's Meow, Howl at the Moon, Mike Andersons etc. St. Louis Cathedral wasn't lit, nor was Jackson Square. The restaurants are closed by 6pm .
Folks, I think we're in for a rough ride..........and a long one.

Hey again!

My DH has been propositioned to return to Kenner, La to return to his old job. According to Debbie, I'm not sure I want to come back. I have returned a few times since August, and those few times we were privy to the sights she was talking about. I have started my new job in Al, and am starting to really like it here (aside from being away from family). We are waiting for the offer from his previous boss(more money) to see if it is worth coming back. We would have to find a new place to live (my house is on the market) and from what I hear they are killing people with apartment rates. one bedrooms for 700.00/month. Doesn't seem too promising..... Not to mention, I don't like Wal-Mart on a good day......No way i'm waiting in hour long lines for groceries. I'll keep ya'll posted on the relocation:lookaroun

 

[LouDisney]

My prayers are still with you all. I am thinking of you Debbie, Lisa and all the others struggling everyday to get life back to normal.

 

[Debbie]

Hey again!

My DH has been propositioned to return to Kenner, La to return to his old job. According to Debbie, I'm not sure I want to come back. I have returned a few times since August, and those few times we were privy to the sights she was talking about. I have started my new job in Al, and am starting to really like it here (aside from being away from family). We are waiting for the offer from his previous boss(more money) to see if it is worth coming back. We would have to find a new place to live (my house is on the market) and from what I hear they are killing people with apartment rates. one bedrooms for 700.00/month. Doesn't seem too promising..... Not to mention, I don't like Wal-Mart on a good day......No way i'm waiting in hour long lines for groceries. I'll keep ya'll posted on the relocation:lookaroun

Apartments are very much in short supply; you have to be in the right place at the right time. I don't know what's out towards Kenner; but alot of complexes sustained millions$$$$ in damage and hundreds of units are not habitable. There are a few homes for sale in my area, PM me if you need a realtor.

 

[ralfsmith]

Oh its very interesting. Could you provide me more information ?
johntvery@operamail.com
johntvery@hotmail.com

 

[Debbie]

Yesterday, I went to help my girlfriend and her husband gut their home in St. Bernard. There were 6 of us, and we worked from 9am to 4pm. I was so tired when I got home; physically and mentally. Taking something that one has worked so hard for and dumping it at the curb; it's heartwrenching. Everything has to go: sheetrock, insulation, cabinets, toilets, tub, etc. The nails are so rusted, that when you go to pull them out with a hammer; the heads just disintergrate. There is a marsh grass line on the sheathing. One can plainly see into the attic. The walls in her kitchen were still wet; with the black, sooty mold solidly covering the bases of the wall studs. Pots still had floodwater in them. The blender at the top of her pantry had water in it. The washing machine had water in the tub, and the waterbed had water in the framing, along with the water in the mattress. After pulling up the bathroom cabinet; her brother yelled "Holy #$^#!". A 9" water mocassin had buried itself in the mud. This is why they needed to gut now; waiting until it warms up will find nests of snakes everywhere. They still don't know what to do: re-do the house or sell. She really wants to come back; but all of her immediate neighbors are not coming back. In fact, their homes are untouched, remaining in the same condition as when the floodwaters went down. It's really an eery feeling; almost like a bomb went off; a ghost town. There is no sign of life, it's so quiet. From street to street, you might see one house being worked on. The house behind her still has a Saturn leaning vertically on what's left of the patio cover. Everyone should see the mass devastation first hand. The 9th Ward is even worse, with entire blocks washed away. St. Bernard will come back, but it will take years. This site has really good pics, in case anyone has never seen them: www.dancebackwards.com

 

[Debbie]

I also got to see some pics of Gulfport; I couldn't see the one MKCP posted a link for. Here's one:

 

[Debbie]

Also, I forgot to add one thing: My girlfriend collected Disney snowglobes. They had at least 75 of them. She had pitched at least 30 of them out last weekend; then we found another 30 this weekend. They are caked in mud, but intact. What would you all recommend to try to clean these up?

 

[Woody13]

I urge you to listen to this radio broadcast by Cheryl Wagner of New Orleans. It's a powerful story concerning the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Go here and then click on 06. Then scroll down to episode 307 entitled "In the Shadow of the City". Click on the Real Player link. This story is about 29 minutes into the broadcast. This is a story you should hear.

 

[LouDisney]

Thanks Woody, I will listen to that soon.

 

[MansionFan415]

I live in Metairie, LA...about 5 miles west of New Orleans. My parents live in Slidell, LA...about 20 miles east of New Orleans.

We all left for Hurricane Katrina. Well, most of us. One of my sisters and her family took off for Pensacola. My other sister went to Houston with her husband and son. My third sister and her husband HAD to stay behind because she had just given birth 4 days before the storm to a 3 month premature baby girl. I went with my parents and my niece and we evacuated to Tallahassee.

All of our places did ok, except for my parents. All of us out here in Metairie had no electricity til about October and some roof damage, but otherwise ok. My parents, one sister, and her two kids who live together out in Slidell lost their home. About five feet of water sat still in the house, but it looked to have filled the house totally at one point.

They lost everything.

At least we are all safe, and are in the process of rebuilding, helping, and getting things back to normal.

Hell, my girlfriend lives about 200 miles west of New Orleans, and most of us had evactuated to there after the initial first week of Katrina's aftermath. Sad part is, we had to leave there 3 weeks later because of Rita and head back this way towards New Orleans. Thing is, my girlfriend lost her home, and her parents suffered major damage to theirs.

All of us kept things at our parents. Ya know, storage in their big ______ garage, things we didn't have room for at the time, old memories, etc... So in some ways, ALL of us lost some things. Including tons of Disney meories.

My entire scrapbook and all my pictures from my two College Programs were destroyed to no fixing. Gone. Among many other things.

All my Disney beanies I had stored in plastic tubs happened to get soaked to death and caked in mud, but we washed them and they came out just fine.

As for your snowglobes, if you can save them, save them. There are a TON of those you may never be able to get again, and if all they have is some mud on them, maybe a small broken piece here and there, and perhaps some biggr bubbles in the globes...take the time to clean them up and preserve them. A lot of thigns could not be saved, so do all you can to keep what you can. Best of luck to you!

Oh, and all of us...the ENTIRE family I mentioned above, including my girlfriend...we all arrive at WDW in mid-April...a little relief and fun times for us all after these horrible past 6 months!

 

[LouDisney]

I was a resident of New Olreans many years ago. I have been going to Nola all my life. I am always down throughout the year visiting with my friends and for other things like Mardi Gras. I am ALWAYS there for Mardi Gras, but because of all that happened, I did not make it down this year. I really wish I had. I am constantly on the phone and emailing friends that were affected by the hurricane. They are keeping me updated on things going on down there and I also read the news on Nola.com You all are in my thoughts and prayers constantly. I have yet to return for a visit since the hurricane, honestly, right now, I don't know if my heart could take it, seeing the city that I have always loved and once (still do) call home so badly damaged.

Have a great trip, like you said, it will be a little relief for you all. I know you guys are in much need of some fun time.

 

[Tigggrl]

Also, I forgot to add one thing: My girlfriend collected Disney snowglobes. They had at least 75 of them. She had pitched at least 30 of them out last weekend; then we found another 30 this weekend. They are caked in mud, but intact. What would you all recommend to try to clean these up?

I would suggest a spray bottle with water, and a soft toothbrush and soft cloth. I would not pitch them, I would salvage whatever I could even if the globe is broken, I know there are places that repair the globes! My large beauty and the beast snoglobe was knocked off the table, and belle is broken. I know I can fix her...but her fingers are broken too....LOTS of the 2000 glue!

 

[Debbie]

I was thinking of doing the same thing. She was hesitant to save them because one of her favorites (and very expensive too) was the pirate ship. She said she placed it in a bucket of water to loosen all of the mud (stinky swamp muck at that) and when she went to lift it out the next day; it disintegrated (sp?). She is over losing everything. But, knowing what a Disney fan she is; I felt maybe if we could salvage something, it would be nice. Those snowglobes are beautiful and it's amazing that they weren't all smashed. They were in her bedroom on a hutch and the hutch floated and landed on it's side. Most of the globes were under the hutch in about 5 inches of muck. Only one broke when we were moving the hutch out of the room; because we didn't see it on one of the shelves. It was covered in mud and fell off. It was the Dalmation one. Flood insurance is based on depreciation of contents, so you know there is no way she could recoup the money spent on collectibles like this.

 

[Nemo14]

Debbie,
I don't collect the movie snowglobes, but I do have the one from 2000 at the parks, and also the 20th anniversary one. I would gladly give them to her if that would help!

 

[Debbie]

Debbie,
I don't collect the movie snowglobes, but I do have the one from 2000 at the parks, and also the 20th anniversary one. I would gladly give them to her if that would help!

Thank you so much Nemo , that is really sweet of you. Actually, she and her husband, like many folks I know, swear that they are downsizing since this. After throwing everything you have worked for on the curb; alot of people feel we just have too many Things. If we get these cleaned up, they will get packed up (not to be put in the attic), and stored until they find out what they are going to do. They still do not know if they will be allowed to rebuild.

 

[Debbie]

I went yesterday and got the snoglobes. There are 24 of them and they all can be cleaned. To think she tossed 30 out before I got there..........I also grabbed her Wizard of Oz ornaments, scrubbed them with a toothbrush and Greased Lightning and they look brand new! When I spoke to her tonite and told her they were cleaning up; I thought she was going to cry.

 

[Woody13]

Thanks Debbie, I'm glad you posted that update. I was thinking about you today and wondered how things were going. :wave:

 

[Woody13]

Hero of Katrina, sheriff may be prosecuted
Feds say he was wrong to take ice, but locals say the move saved lives
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Associated Press[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Updated: 3:21 p.m. ET March 24, 2006[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]JACKSON, Miss. - Randy Walker swears he would have died from his diabetes after Hurricane Katrina had a sheriff not seized two FEMA trucks filled with ice and distributed it to residents, many of whom had to keep their insulin cold.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Now, that sheriff could be prosecuted on charges of interfering with a federal operation.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee commandeered two 18-wheelers full of ice from Camp Shelby, a Federal Emergency Management Agency staging area, after five days passed with little relief for residents living without electricity in the wake of the deadly storm. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“Man, I was wanting to hug Brother Billy when I saw that ice. We were glad somebody was there to help us,” Walker, who would not give his age, said Wednesday.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]McGee had worked out a deal to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of interfering, intimidating and impeding a federal officer, but U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton withdrew from the case without explanation and the Justice Department sent it to federal prosecutors in Louisiana.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]U.S. Attorney David R. Dugas in Baton Rogue, La., said he has not decided whether to prosecute McGee.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]McGee and his attorney declined a request for an interview.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The ice trucks had been sitting idle at Camp Shelby, a National Guard base just south of Hattiesburg, before the sheriff ordered them sent to the towns of Petal and Brooklyn on Sept. 4. McGee has said his deputies detained a National Guard soldier who tried to interfere.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Residents of Forrest County have circulated a petition in support of McGee, who has been in office since 1991, and some have collected money for his defense.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“If it hadn’t been for him, I’d be dead right now and I know that,” Walker said. “I’ll go to court for him or whatever it takes. I don’t want to let him down as much as he has done for me.”[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., a critic of the federal government’s response to Katrina, has urged the Justice Department not to pursue the case.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The congressman said he is “convinced that there’s not a jury in the state of Mississippi that would convict the sheriff for doing what he did under the circumstances.”[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Even though Forrest County is some 60 miles inland, the hurricane downed trees and destroyed roofs, and the power was out for weeks in much of the area.[/FONT]

 

[Debbie]

Thanks Debbie, I'm glad you posted that update. I was thinking about you today and wondered how things were going. :wave:

Things here are about the same. Some places are open an hour more than last month, most are short staffed.
I went to St. Bernard twice this week. Tuesday, to retrieve the snowglobes and to show my co-worker the devastation. Thursday, Don and I went to help our new neighbor try to retrieve things. Someone has gone through her house as evidenced by the ruined Seiko watch dropped on her driveway. Her husband is seriously depressed since Katrina and there is noone else to help. She really wants to find her diamond ring; which will entail an archeology dig. There are rats running on the rafters; thank goodness we got all the shots when we went back to work. We were able to clean out two rooms; her living room and den. Don needs to bury the dog, whose remains are in the dining room. Her 11 year old son doesn't know Chico didn't make it and they want to keep it that way. The chest freezer floated and landed on it's side with the door swinging open. I started to shovel the whole hams and various meats that were laying about, then I got to what was chicken..........:hurl: . I yelled at Don to get out because he would lose it. I ran the wheelbarrow to the neighbor's curb and dumped that stuff quick! But enough 'whatever' ran out along the door to warrant ditching that project for the day.
Ms. Celma has until the 31st of this month to tell the parish if she wants to demolish the house. She doesn't know what to do, and asked my opinion. I said I would probably demolish because a) She has purchased another home and has no plans to live there again b) to renovate and rent out wouldn't be cost effective and c) only three people of the 35 or so in the immediate neighborhood are coming back. Noone knows what to do. Even the Parish President doesn't know what the Corps is going to do, what FEMA is going to determine for flood plains, and a blueprint can't be finalized yet for the community. It just doesn't look promising. And how long is someone supposed to wait around for someone else to decide their fate?