Manning The Supply Depot, Part II
I woke up at about 6:30 AM as the volunteers started arriving. After packing up what little stuff I had brought into the trailer, I started helping set up the assembly line for the day. While I did this, I went through a mental tally of my financial status. It wasn't costing me much to actually be there (gas, mostly), but I had bills that were due before I left and I certainly wasn't making any money while I was away from home. I was determined to have another crack at getting into the city, but I could only afford another couple of days before I had to get back to Los Angeles. I made up my mind to spend the rest of the day distributing food, but the next morning I'd be off.
The National Guard guys arrived shortly thereafter, and we opened the gates. Cars began flowing through the assembly line and the day dragged on. I have to admit it. This work sucked.
A few new volunteers made the day a little more interesting. One in particular was an older man who showed up to lend a hand. Actually, I think he showed up just to get out of the house. He seemed friendly enough, but man, could he talk! I spent close to half and hour not getting any work done (or a word in edgewise) while he went on about his ex-Air Force Intelligence son's cloak-and-dagger activities (toeing the line of telling me too much, if any of it were true), the local chemical plant he used to work for, and just about anything else he could think of. I kept inching away, looking for an out, but he'd close the distance right back up and continue the conversation. Someone else made the mistake of joining us, and when the old man's attention was diverted to the new arrival, I made my escape. I spent much of the rest of the day playing cat and mouse with him, trying not to get caught back up in conversation. It was funny watching others get trapped, though, and I amused myself by seeing how long they lasted, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another, before making their own getaways.
The old man's crowning achievement of the day occurred as we were getting to the bottom of one pallet of MREs and needed to strip another of its plastic strap packaging. Our hardest-working trustee asked if anyone had a knife to cut the boxes free. The old man looked up and said, "What? A brother without a blade?" Geez, man! Even the crickets must have been shocked, because for the next few seconds silence reigned.
"It was a joke," he said quietly, realizing his faux pas.
I was a little conflicted. It was sort of a funny comment; even funnier coming out of the mouth of an old man, but the trustee was right there! He's a prisoner and had his race and his internment rubbed in his face. I've got to give it to him for taking it well. He ignored the remark and continued working as hard as ever.
We finally closed the gates at 6 PM. I was dirty and soaked with sweat, so when one of the local volunteers offered the use of his shower, I gratefully accepted. After washing off, I felt like a new man. I sat in the kitchen with my host and his wife, drinking beer and discussing the situation while their three kids ran around the house, fighting and playing.
They had a copy of the New Orleans Times-Picayune from a couple of days before Katrina hit the area. As has been currently focused on by the MSM, the paper had been highlighting the worst-case disaster model for NOLA for years. This particular issue revisited that possibility, with full-color graphics of the downtown areas that they believed would be inundated. Besides the fact that the hurricane really only grazed New Orleans, and also that (I am pretty sure) the article spoke of Lake Pontchartrain overflowing the levees rather than breaking them, it was a remarkably accurate prediction.
Although the "nobody could have predicted this" argument is scoffed at (rightly so) in this sort-of post disaster environment of finger-pointing, it has been pretty obvious that many people had not taken the warnings seriously. Even NOLA locals who had been at the heart of these discussions had done virtually nothing to prepare for the possible deluge besides storing a couple of day's worth of food and water, if that. My hosts had done little more than that even though other models (they told me) had predicted that if a hurricane had struck the Western areas of New Orleans, massive flooding was expected in their very neighborhood!
An aside: I am mildly amused by pundits from points across the spectrum (full disclosure: myself included, unfortunately) reciting all manner of NOLA and State disaster plans, noting catastrophic computer models, and discussing the constitutionality of federal aid under natural disaster conditions, all nodding sagely to each other as if they had been dutifully studying these sources for the last thirty years and had been fighting the system, trying to make things right. I'd argue that the majority of these brave soldiers (again, myself included), fighting so diligently for their current unshakable beliefs, had previous opinions of New Orleans that ventured no further than the French Quarter, its great atmosphere, and drunken, co-ed tits.
I wanted to get back to the Parks and Recreation trailer so I could continue to organize my thoughts and pictures, as well as to get all my gear repacked for my next attempt at infiltrating New Orleans, so I wrapped up our conversation, thanked my hosts for their hospitality (especially the shower!), and made my way back. I wanted to pick up some beer (to focus the mind and calm the soul, of course) at a gas station on the way back, but found that the Parish had restricted alcohol sales after 7 PM due to the hurricane.
Due to the hurricane? At what point in life could I possibly enjoy a cold beer more than in the stressful aftermath of a hurricane? Hasn't there been enough damage done already? Oh, the humanity!
The National Guard guys arrived shortly thereafter, and we opened the gates. Cars began flowing through the assembly line and the day dragged on. I have to admit it. This work sucked.
A few new volunteers made the day a little more interesting. One in particular was an older man who showed up to lend a hand. Actually, I think he showed up just to get out of the house. He seemed friendly enough, but man, could he talk! I spent close to half and hour not getting any work done (or a word in edgewise) while he went on about his ex-Air Force Intelligence son's cloak-and-dagger activities (toeing the line of telling me too much, if any of it were true), the local chemical plant he used to work for, and just about anything else he could think of. I kept inching away, looking for an out, but he'd close the distance right back up and continue the conversation. Someone else made the mistake of joining us, and when the old man's attention was diverted to the new arrival, I made my escape. I spent much of the rest of the day playing cat and mouse with him, trying not to get caught back up in conversation. It was funny watching others get trapped, though, and I amused myself by seeing how long they lasted, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another, before making their own getaways.
The old man's crowning achievement of the day occurred as we were getting to the bottom of one pallet of MREs and needed to strip another of its plastic strap packaging. Our hardest-working trustee asked if anyone had a knife to cut the boxes free. The old man looked up and said, "What? A brother without a blade?" Geez, man! Even the crickets must have been shocked, because for the next few seconds silence reigned.
"It was a joke," he said quietly, realizing his faux pas.
I was a little conflicted. It was sort of a funny comment; even funnier coming out of the mouth of an old man, but the trustee was right there! He's a prisoner and had his race and his internment rubbed in his face. I've got to give it to him for taking it well. He ignored the remark and continued working as hard as ever.
We finally closed the gates at 6 PM. I was dirty and soaked with sweat, so when one of the local volunteers offered the use of his shower, I gratefully accepted. After washing off, I felt like a new man. I sat in the kitchen with my host and his wife, drinking beer and discussing the situation while their three kids ran around the house, fighting and playing.
They had a copy of the New Orleans Times-Picayune from a couple of days before Katrina hit the area. As has been currently focused on by the MSM, the paper had been highlighting the worst-case disaster model for NOLA for years. This particular issue revisited that possibility, with full-color graphics of the downtown areas that they believed would be inundated. Besides the fact that the hurricane really only grazed New Orleans, and also that (I am pretty sure) the article spoke of Lake Pontchartrain overflowing the levees rather than breaking them, it was a remarkably accurate prediction.
Although the "nobody could have predicted this" argument is scoffed at (rightly so) in this sort-of post disaster environment of finger-pointing, it has been pretty obvious that many people had not taken the warnings seriously. Even NOLA locals who had been at the heart of these discussions had done virtually nothing to prepare for the possible deluge besides storing a couple of day's worth of food and water, if that. My hosts had done little more than that even though other models (they told me) had predicted that if a hurricane had struck the Western areas of New Orleans, massive flooding was expected in their very neighborhood!
An aside: I am mildly amused by pundits from points across the spectrum (full disclosure: myself included, unfortunately) reciting all manner of NOLA and State disaster plans, noting catastrophic computer models, and discussing the constitutionality of federal aid under natural disaster conditions, all nodding sagely to each other as if they had been dutifully studying these sources for the last thirty years and had been fighting the system, trying to make things right. I'd argue that the majority of these brave soldiers (again, myself included), fighting so diligently for their current unshakable beliefs, had previous opinions of New Orleans that ventured no further than the French Quarter, its great atmosphere, and drunken, co-ed tits.
I wanted to get back to the Parks and Recreation trailer so I could continue to organize my thoughts and pictures, as well as to get all my gear repacked for my next attempt at infiltrating New Orleans, so I wrapped up our conversation, thanked my hosts for their hospitality (especially the shower!), and made my way back. I wanted to pick up some beer (to focus the mind and calm the soul, of course) at a gas station on the way back, but found that the Parish had restricted alcohol sales after 7 PM due to the hurricane.
Due to the hurricane? At what point in life could I possibly enjoy a cold beer more than in the stressful aftermath of a hurricane? Hasn't there been enough damage done already? Oh, the humanity!
posted by RNDMSFREE at 10:54 AM
6 Comments:
No fuckin' beer?! This IS a disaster!
Go ask one of those brothas for a blade and loot some hooch!!! Yeehaaww!!!! *kerpow!* *pyoo!*
So are you preparing to come to Houston after Rita? I'm sure there will be plenty for you to do!
The thought crossed my mind, but no. The last trip cost me quite a few duckets. What discretionary reserve I had is gone, and there's no sense in adding another bankruptcy to Katrina's tally. I'm going to have to be content with the support my taxes provide at this point.
I would have to say, though, that Katrina was a gigantic bitch-slap back into reality, and folks at every level of "Civil America" are laser-focused on not fucking this one up.
Vultures from all sides are poised and waiting for the first mistake - waiting to see if they need to spin offense or defense. Disgusting.
I think the biggest problem to the involved leadership will be the comparison of the Houston effort to the New Orleans effort. Houston, which, regardless of damage caused it by Rita, I predict will be a complete success in terms of almost immediate rescue and clean-up. We have thousands of Active and National Guard troops in the area, (that often useful, but still bloated tick) the Red Cross is there in force, and police and ambulance crews from around the country continue flowing South and East not only brace for Rita, but to relieve those already exhausted by Katrina.
Rita will highlight just how much more "could" have been done than had been in New Orleans, but it will be an unfair argument, because we will NEVER maintain an on-call, rapid deployment, CONUS emergency reaction force of that size as it would cost an unacceptable fortune and require a rather free-wheeling attitude towards the powers Constitutionally assigned to the President.
(I'm not knocking the National Guard, here. I know how fast they canceled their schooling for the semester, left their jobs, left their families, and mobilized, but that's not the same thing as having a huge force of military and civilian response groups already camped next door.)
I agree with your assessment and I have to also add that we have an awesome mayor. Bill White is the best mayor we've had. He isn't afraid to make decisions. People might not like his decisions, but he at least makes them and he really cares about this city.
I was listening to an interview of Joe Bastardi (www.accuweather.com) on FoxNews. He was stating that for the past year or so he has been telling us that we are back to what we had in the '40's '50's & 60's and that this isn't global warming. It's a natural cycle. I've seen reports of Al Gore trying to use this as an opportunity to push his environmental platform.
Unfortunately there are many people who don't think critically and many of them have bought into the argument that the entire problem was Bush's fault. That's really who his political enemies are targeting any way.
The ironic thing though is that Blanco and Nagin were so fast to pin this on Bush that they didn't think about the fact that they were going to have to rely the Federal government to bring their constituents BACK to LA. Looks like they got scattered all over the U.S. Bush probably wasn't in a big hurry to make sure they got them back after being unfairly nailed so hard.
would you at least agree that the natural cycle could be exacerbated by global warming?
*eyebrow raised toward possible right-inclined idea that all our garbage and crap can't possibly fuck up god's green earth built for christians/FoxNews*
I thought not, stupid texan cow. "think critically?" sounds as though all your thinking is done for you by pundit radio and tv personalities. you may be a cow, but you're also a sheep.
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