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

[Irulan]

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.

That all might be a moot point now.

[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?

[LBTC]

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?

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

~T~

[Aint Doody]

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.

[bouncybouncy]

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!

[LBTC]

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~

[Adventure Girl]

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

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.

[Irulan]

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

[Trek420]

Adventure Girl "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."

AG, can we ask admin to search by area? that way there may be a way to e-mail our gals.

If they are at the Astrodome we heard here that SBC is setting up call centers there to make or get calls and access e-mail.

Granted there is likely a crowd. I only know a few people in SBC Texas, trying to find out more about contact there.

I know we here are waiting for the go ahead to start sending every technician we can spare to loan to BellSouth to rebuild the phone networks and by that I mean we are waiting till it's safe for our techs.

So besides the healing the rebuilding is put off.

I'm not saying that for any love of the company (because I'm having a s****y day, I think everyone everywhere is on edge) just frustration and sadness at the delay.

[Trek420]

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.