T&P&C to all the TE'rs in the Katrina area

We probably have some TE'rs in the area hit by Katrina. Just sending out thoughts, prayers, chants whatever we all do. With the power and phone lines down we might not hear from you for a while but you're in our thoughts. :(

Do we know if we have anyone there?

Maybe it's a funny thought to have but as i watched the footage of the city evacuating and the gridlock, the thought occured that if for some reason Hayward was evacuated, thanks to this place I absolutely could just throw a leg over my bike at any given moment and ride 100 miles out ahead of all traffic.

But then I thought...no, I couldn't leave Mae (dog) behind.

Ok, ::: rides off to shop for a trailer::.

Also....if you know anyone in the area it is quite common, tradition, expected even that when massive amounts of lines are down the local phone company willl establish voicemail or call forwarding on your line so that your calls are answered or forwarded to another number that you can be reached at.

Since lines may be down, central offices lost and call centers effected bear that in mind but if you've lost your home and number that's a way to keep in touch.

As I look at film of the destruction I imagine that even central offices (where your dial tone is from and service maintained) are down or even completely gone. These buildings are staffed 24/7. As a phone co. worker I'm holding my breath our folks are ok. A check of the union website found that our annual convention just sent $4 million in relief!

http://www.cwa-union.org/news/WhatsNew.asp?ID=714

another thing if you know people in the area all sCingular wireless stores still standing in the area are acting as a contact point, folks can go there to make or get calls free. Check Cingular.com for locations.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing this morning - thanks for starting this thread.

Good wishes are winging to anyone who lives (or was) in Katrina's path from me too. I really feel for all who are in the midst of that devastation.

--- Denise

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Originally Posted by DeniseGoldberg

Funny, I was thinking the same thing this morning - thanks for starting this thread.

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DITTO...

I was just thinking on my next little TE fix i would start a similar thread...Thank you and more-so...well wishes to the south!!! all too close for me...we were hit directly with Katrina's eye 3 days (a catagory 1 at the time) prior here in FtLauderdale...we had trees down, power out, a few killed, it has affected soooo many!!!! Good luck to our country on this one!!!!

Yes, best wishes and prayers to all.

I'll stop complaining about the heat here or whatever the flavor of the month is. My life is not that bad. I'm writing a check to some charity today.

Yes, prayers and good thoughts to all.

It makes us appreciate the really important things in life - family, friends, health....

Thank you for starting this thread! I, too, had thought about starting it....and kept thinking the words that came to mind were just so insufficient! What devastation! Frightening, really!

Watching some of the footage last night I found myself hugging my 'Cuda dog, crying and chanting about how lucky we are!

Many many thoughts and tons of healing light are headed that way.

Does anyone here know if any of our girls are in that area? Extra special light goes to them, of course.

In the meantime, let's all of us count our own blessings.

Big hugs to all my girls,
~T~

The tragic realities of this hurricane are just now coming out: all the people who couldn't evacuate stuck in their homes in flooded areas, the deaths, the amazing destruction of property. I wonder about all the animals who might still be stuck in houses, unable to climb to the roof to be rescued, too. It's just horrendous to think about.

I made my donation to the Red Cross today (online) and urge others to do the same if you can. Just give what you can afford - every little bit will help those in need get their lives back. Living in NC, where Hurricanes Fran and Floyd delivered a one-two punch in the '90s, I can only imagine what the Katrina victims are experiencing. We lost power for three days from Fran, had a few trees down, and our back fence torn up, and I thought that was bad. The folks in Mississipi and Louisiana may not have power for weeks or months and many have lost everything they had.

So very tragic...

Emily

i just found this site

http://www.networkforgood.org/topics...on/hurricanes/

haven't had time to explore it cause i am actually supposed to be "working" :eek: but i wanted to pass it on to others...


Emily...it has sites on there for animal help...let's hope for the best :)

Thank you, Bouncy!

I was going to look for Noah's Wish tonight to donate....I had forgotten what they were called and was envisioning it would take time to find them....now I can take care of donating to them right now.

I'm like Emily, trying to not picture the doggies and kitties and all the other critters.....it's too hard to think about it!

Namaste,
~T~

my T's and P's to all those suffering from this tragedy too... it is simply overwhelming the amount of lives lost and the devastation... as well as the thought of how long it will take people to get their lives back to "normal"... :(

It's difficult to imagine what these people must be going through.
I look around here and count my blessings.
Our thoughts are with all those affected.

adding my Ts & Ps also. It's almost eerie how much we all think alike: when I saw the devestation this morning on the Weather Channel I thought, if someone hasn't done it already, I want to start a thread just like this!

Bouncy: glad to see you post hun - you were one of the ppl I was thinking of.

For all you BJ members: Slantzs has set up a link on the home page over at Bike Journal to the red cross for donations to the relief fund.

Thanks corsair...ironically enough i was in Jersey & PA during the storm (after all those near hits last year that i was home for...we were out of town when a storm actually hit our neck of the woods)

we typically shutter-up the house when we leave as a precaution...and thank goodness we did!!!! the damage was minimal (extremely compared to the gulf coast) lots of branches and many trees (on houses :( ) ...power is still out for about 29,000 (i guess our house was out for 2 days which is unusual since our power lines are underground) my bosses house was out for 4 days (in north miami) our aunt & uncle are still without power (they are in the boonies west of FtLauderdale) ...several people lost their lives (7 :confused: ) when trees fell on them...

I can only count my blessings...nothing was damaged (oh...a little rip in the patio screen :eek: big whoop {sarcasm}) we are lucky!!!! we are going to finish up branch clean up tonight and be back on the cycles this weekend :D our mtbike trails have been hard hit but our trail maintenance crews are amazing and they are already rideable....maybe we should all head to the gulf coast...of course that would result in single track all over!!!
(not to make lite - but we always could use a chuckle) my heart truely goes out to those on the bad side of the storm...my thoughts are with them :)

just as i am excited to get out of here to a calmer place (asheville, NC) they experience an earthquake the same time....there is always something!!!

I have been checking the images online this morning - the devastation is astounding, and the individual stories are heart-breaking. I feel so terrible for all those who couldn't evacuate - no money for gas, no car, no one to help get them out of town in time...

bikerz "I feel so terrible for all those who couldn't evacuate - no money for gas, no car, no one to help get them out of town in time..."

Would we do any better here if we had to?

Can't help thinking while I saw the footage of the evacuation most had cars piled to the gills with family and pets, many were single occupancy vehicles.

If they had established a '"casual car pool", if any had stopped to pick up just one more person how many would have been saved?

My hat's off to the mayor and even the president (yep, mark the calendar Trek's saying Dubya did 1 thing right, it'll NEVER happen again) emphasising this is serious stuff, get outa Dodge, we mean it, right now, just go. They saved countless lives.

As bad as it is if Katrina had remained Cat 5 it would be unimagineable.

I just checked online to see if there is a redcross blood drive in my area, my first thought as something we all can do. Unfortunately the drives are on Saturday, I work Saturday. Guess I'll make a donation.

One thing we TE'ers do well is shop. If anyone needs a child bike trailer, I found this on e-bay, money goes to the red cross, c'mon gals, bid it up:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7179715014

I can garantee if i did not have a car...i would have been hoofin' it!!!! or pedaling!!!! especially in new orleans...i would hope that people would open there hearts and car doors...but look at what is going on now with the looting & chaos :eek: :eek: :eek:

unbelievable and disgusting!!!!

Anyway...for those who are truely in need and deserve it...trek: have you looked into your local hospital? you sometimes do not need to wait for a blood drive...call them and see if they have a blood donation center (most do) :)

I truly hope everyone is safe and sound.

[QUOTE=Trek420]We probably have some TE'rs in the area hit by Katrina. Just sending out thoughts, prayers, chants whatever we all do. With the power and phone lines down we might not hear from you for a while but you're in our thoughts. :(

I only heard about the disaster when my mum called from Aust and told me. We dont have TV and I normally read the news online but had been busy lately and hadnt gotten the chance. I went and got the paper and looked at those pictures and its hard to take in the magnitude of this disaster. My heart and prayers go out to the people in these areas.
I know one thing though you are a strong people who pull together when things get tough and I know that no matter how dark things seem these places and people will know better times because of your ability to overcome great hardship.

A friend from OH called yesterday to rail and pontificate on the stupidity of building in New Orleans or anywhere nearby, especially the last 40 years, just because something like this could happen. He knows Louisiana will always be home to me, since I was born, raised, and lived there 38 years.

He railed about this for a long time and the lesser damage suffered by Florida....blah blah blah. Katrina was a Cat. 1 storm, when she hit Florida and a Cat. 4, downgraded from a 5, when she hit Louisiana. There was a significant increase in energy once Katrina hit the shallow, warm gulf waters.

He sure sounded like there are no smart people in NO, which I know to be untrue. No empathy for what they endure now. After I called him Bubba enough, he backed down on his position.

The same can be true of any coastal region of the Gulf or Atlantic; however, he refused to admit they need to stop building along other coastal regions, just NO.

I think his real issue is the disruption to his travel plans due to the cost and shortage of gas.

On a happier note, a friend of mine from Lake Charles is offering his boat and assistance this weekend. Louisiana has some great people and they won't be down long, they always find a way to enjoy life!

Katrina Facts

uh, excuse me but don't they have tornadoes in OH? the nerve of him.

Trek-livin' on the faultline-420

i just thought i would pass it on...

http://www.usgs.gov/

I've donated to the Red Cross. Prayers and wishes are great, but something more tangible will really help people out.
http://www.redcross.org/ You can designate your donation for hurricane relief. United way and salvation army are also good organizations. Money is more easily used for direct results than "stuff".

NO has been at risk for one reason or another, but there are not many areas in the world that are completely immune to natural disasters, be it earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding,tornadoes, volcanoes, ice storms, fires, etc.

For those of you interested in reading about such things, NO has been at risk for year, not only from ocean based storms, but from the Mississippi River. If you know anything about river deltas, rivers naturally migrate across the deltas, changing thier flow pattern, leaving and pirating channels and so on. For years, the Army Corps of Engineers has been trying to prevent Old Man River from doing what it wants to do naturally, that is, shorted it's course to the sea by pirating the Atchaflalaya River, which would shorten it's route by about 50 miles. They've actually built reverse dams on the Atchafalaya to keep this from happening. Which hasnt' yet, but they always figured it was a matter of time. Anyway,..... no point really, but an interesting book about this kind of thing is In Control Of Nature by John MacPhee.


irulan

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Originally Posted by Irulan

I've donated to the Red Cross. Prayers and wishes are great, but something more tangible will really help people out.
http://www.redcross.org/ You can designate your donation for hurricane relief.
irulan

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Me too. The first time I tried to access the site it didn't respond - but I kept trying and was able to make my donation. So if you're having problems accessing http://www.redcross.org, wait a bit and try again. (The web site seems to be much more responsive today than it was earlier in the week.)

--- Denise

My computer has been down for almost 3 weeks, so I haven't been able to get on as much as I would like. I am babysitting for my little grands today, so have a few minutes to get on my daughter's computer. I was really glad to see this thread, and want to add my t's and p's as well...and will be sending my donation to the RC today...

Irulan, the Corps of Engineers has done a marvelous job keeping the course of the Mississippi from going down the Atchafalaya River Basin. Twenty years ago they presented a show at E-Week on their efforts. It was impressive and fascinating. I've had friends here, PA, probe about all that stuff and basically to allow the combination of the Mississippi with the Atchafalaya would leave Baton Rouge and New Orleans, two major ports, high and dry. It also allows tankers to dock at the refineries along the Mississippi from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. To move the infrastructure for industry, commerce, and residential would be a whoppin' lot of dough. This is making financial analysts look again at the feasibility of doing such a move so the outcome will be interesting.

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Originally Posted by pkq

Irulan, the Corps of Engineers has done a marvelous job keeping the course of the Mississippi from going down the Atchafalaya River Basin. Twenty years ago they presented a show at E-Week on their efforts. It was impressive and fascinating. I've had friends here, PA, probe about all that stuff and basically to allow the combination of the Mississippi with the Atchafalaya would leave Baton Rouge and New Orleans, two major ports, high and dry. It also allows tankers to dock at the refineries along the Mississippi from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. To move the infrastructure for industry, commerce, and residential would be a whoppin' lot of dough. This is making financial analysts look again at the feasibility of doing such a move so the outcome will be interesting.

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That all might be a moot point now. :o

but ya know I'm concerned that so far we have not had 1 TE'er chime in with "hey, we're ok, thanks for thinking of us".

Does anyone know if we have any board members in the area?

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Originally Posted by Trek420

but ya know I'm concerned that so far we have not had 1 TE'er chime in with "hey, we're ok, thanks for thinking of us".

Does anyone know if we have any board members in the area?

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That's what I've been hoping to hear! Can our administrators check the stats and see if anyone is from that area??

~T~

I think the reason nobody has responded is because there is no power, no telephone service. Think, y'all!!! I have family in Hattiesburg, MS, (60 mi from Gulfport) and in their neighborhood only 1 cell phone is able to be used--no land lines. I'm happy that my family there is okay--all considered. Downed trees and debris all over. Not too bad compared to Gulfport, Biloxi, and New Orleans. But they won't have any power for about 3 more weeks I'm told.

Do consider the Red Cross donation. I cried and cried watching the television and seeing places I knew that were devastated. They need our help and thoughts and prayers. You do have to be a bit patient waiting for the web site. My hope is that is because so many are donating and that slows things down.

as i sit here listening to a telethon on a local radio station...and see the array of critical headlines my heart cries!!! am i angry? am i disgusted? am i sad? or am i relieved?

my first reactions to the cat 5 rolling towards the gulf was relief...that could have been my city! that could have been my struggle! but now that relief is guilt for feeling that way in the first place!

then i saw the damage and thought of the asian countries hit with the tsunami and was sure we could bounce back faster and easier (heck we are a civilized country, right?)

now look at us?!? i do not know what to think...i heard this morning of a crew of new orleans police officers trying to stop a group of looters only to be shot at, one officer was shot point blank in the forhead!!! a national guard troop was beaten back at the entry to the covention center by angry citizens!!! a relief helicopter was shot at trying to deliver water!!! boats are lined up waiting to enter the flooded areas only to be told to enter at your own risk or not to enter at all because of the danger (not the environmental danger, but the mobs and thugs) women are being raped as they try to walk through the street for refuge...no wonder relief is slow!!!

FEMA said that their normal method of operations is ill equipped to deal with this magnitude (they usually begin registering victims AFTER red cross has comforted them...supply the victims with long-term help by direct depositing money into bank accounts - which there are none) ....red cross' supply of relief was dissipated with overwelming amount of people seeking relief immediately!!!

i am now struggling with the anger and/or pity...these people were told to evacuate...in fact they were urged to leave (in fact some were required to sign waivers in order to inentify the remains or missing) so why didn't they leave? poverty, no transportation, too immobile with sickness...who knows?

i guess my real question is why is this disaster's aftermath so violent and out of control...and others like the twin towers, the tsunami, california earthquakes, etc seem to be a true sign of humanity??? what has our country come to???

can we stop looking for someone to blame and just get together to help each other in a huge cotastrophe???

my rant is over for now...thank you for listening (reading)...my heart continues to struggle but i do find peace in the group of women here and the amazing amount of good people out there donating, volunteering, and helping!

Of course we realize that until power is restored we won't hear from any of our girls that live in the area. However, until then, some of us would like to know *if* any of our girls live there! I always think my thoughts & light are more powerful if they have a clear focus, so names help.

By all means, donate to the NGO of your choice. These people need all of the help they can get!

I think our thoughts, prayers, light, chants and all the things we can do may help in a more powerful way if we truly focus.

Let's send the message of healing to New Orleans for desperate people to "put down your guns". If enough of us send the message, the healing may begin.

The Vancouver, British Columbia urban search and rescue team arrived there yesterday, but they've been unable to begin searching because it is too dangerous! I'm proud they are there and heartbroken that they have to wait.

put down your guns, let healing begin
put down your guns, let healing begin
put down your guns, let healing begin

Namaste,
~T~

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Originally Posted by LBTC

However, until then, some of us would like to know *if* any of our girls live there!

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I didn't look at all 561 posts (on 38 pages), but I did a search of the "Getting to know" you thread using the "search this thread" function. I tried the words Louisiana, Orleans, Biloxi and Mississippi, and I the search didn't get anything. But that doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't any TE gals there.

my thoughts are all over the place.

I hope you California folks are taking notes and reviewing your earthquake preparedness. I'm a former Bay Area resident, and I have deep concerns for my family that resides there, because if the local/national response to this event is any indication, I would suspect that most people aren't nearly as prepared they ought to be for an epic earthquake.

The scientific community has known for year about the potential for this kind of disaster along the coast, in fact in 2001 FEMA listed NO getting hit by a hurricane as a 1/3 chance of happening, but getting politics and science on the same page in this country is a joke. Even Nova and Discovery Channel have consistently run documentaries over the years on the likelihood of this kind of disaster. Not intended to be an I-told-you-so, but there is always some other priority than fixing a city's infrastructure or having a master plan.

Evacuation - were not mandatory prior to the storm. It became a mandatory order after the storm. Disaster planners have known for years that up to 1/3 the population of the city would not leave on a non mandatory evacuation order. Not everyone left in the city is poor. Anyone rememer Harry Truman, the guy who wouldn't leave his home when St. Helen's blew? While many people obviously didnt' have the means to leave on thier own ( no cars, povery etc) there are many people who chose to stay, thinking they could ride it out.

And here's a couple of things I just don't get.
Why were the airports bringing people ( tourists, visitors ) IN to the city as people were evacuating just prior to the storm, on Saturday?
Since when is ICE a necessity? Food, water, medicine, sure, but ICE? Plenty of people live in hot, humid climates without the benefit of air conditioning and ice, ferchirssakes.

ok, done for now I think.

interesting read:
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/inte...372455,00.html

Irulan, ice is necessary for many reasons. One being the risks of heat stroke. yes, plenty of people live in hot humid places without a/c, but to put 25,000 people in the superdome (for example) without electricity, a/c etc., the heat will be even worse than if you are outside, I think. Ice is also used for treating injuries, given to dehydrated people who can't even sip water without vomitting (to melt slowly in their mouths), can be melted into drinking water, is needed for makeshift refrigeration (b/c there's no power) for medicines, blood products at the hospitals, etc.

My heart goes out to them.

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Originally Posted by drplasma64

Irulan, ice is necessary for many reasons. One being the risks of heat stroke. yes, plenty of people live in hot humid places without a/c, but to put 25,000 people in the superdome (for example) without electricity, a/c etc., the heat will be even worse than if you are outside, I think. Ice is also used for treating injuries, given to dehydrated people who can't even sip water without vomitting (to melt slowly in their mouths), can be melted into drinking water, is needed for makeshift refrigeration (b/c there's no power) for medicines, blood products at the hospitals, etc.

My heart goes out to them.

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OK, I'll buy that. Sort of, as it appears nothing is making it to the hospitals.

It's beyond tragic.
Read this transcript of a CNN interview with the Mayor of NO, from this morning.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/nag...ipt/index.html

NO is a complex city.

I doubt Houston would be able to handle a natural disaster of this magnitude better. They had massive, deep flooding a few years ago from heavy rains, no hurricanes, simply heavy rains. They are above sea level.

I've seen flooding in other parts of coastal and inland Louisiana from heavy rains, too. They are above sea level. I've been flooded badly in two of them in Lake Charles. Water was everywhere and it was real high. We built above the 100 year flood mark by a substantial margin but still got flooded badly.

This hurricane was bigger than any rain storm lasting for days.

My sister and I have been on the Gulf of Mexico, with waves lapping at our feet as they dangled from the deck of our uncles front row beach house, when hurricanes brewed in the warm, shallow waters. Why? The area had not been completely evacuated and we wanted to see it. Many a week were spent in that beach house during Summers.

We waded through waist deep water to reach the deck. It was quite exciting because of the energy being whipped up in the gulf. The winds were high, the water was high, waves crested much higher than normal, dark clouds swirled in the skies, and hard rain was intermittent. We left in plenty of time. The hurricane blew in somewhere else so there was never any great danger. That was over 25 years ago. Would I do it again? Yep! I would. Why? Just 'cause........

There are many vulnerabilities in the U.S., natural and man-made. Danger and risk are part of life. Roll the dice and keep moving.

i realize there are far too many suffering but in the midst of all of the suffering and inhumanity i wanted to share a photo i saw on another forum (this is for all you animal lovers out there - and i know there are alot on this board...)

That is great! All isn't bad news and lost.

i am awaiting and searching for the article that coincides...i have to assume this is from days ago or not in the center of the disaster...but it still give you an inkling of goodwill!

Aint Doody says "I have family in Hattiesburg, MS, (60 mi from Gulfport) and in their neighborhood only 1 cell phone is able to be used--no land lines."

Aint Doody, I have unlimited calls from home, if you need me to call others to let them know your peeps are ok just pm me.

Happy to do that.