Disaster Free Birthday

I was one of those teenagers who clung to her little girl things, and when I was a freshman in highschool, I had a pet snake made of blue clay. I named him Ike, and Ike was about an inch long and very skinny. I had to keep him on the back of one of those buttons people wear for school spirit. People were always telling me, "He's too little." I've actually been thinking that if I were to have a son, I would name him Ike. Last night, a beautiful brown moth flew through the window and hovered on the wall over my computer desk. I called Josh in to see it, and as he started to shoo it out of the room, I stopped him. I named him Ike and prayed for him to leave. It looks like I might break the curse this year and actually have a good 9-11 birthday. I think I had a blast two years ago in Mimi's, but I remember very little of the occasion. So I'm going to Vaughn's Thursday night. All ya'll working folks out there, I understand if you can't make it. I am going to have a housewarming/birthday party for me and Josh (9-11 is his birthday too) in about two weeks, when we hopefully have power.

 

Serenity

So I went and met with some people tonight and we talked about how we felt about our reactions to the storm. A lot of people expressed distress that they'd evacuated because other people had begged and badgered them to. There was an overall consensus that those of us who stayed were choosing to have confidence in ourselves and be true to that and risked making our loved ones very angry, and now felt guilty and ashamed. I'm just going to go ahead and say it. I feel like shit b/c I feel like everyone who urged me to evacuate is disappointed in me, or didn't think I could cope with staying here, or thinks I'm a selfish idiot. I'll never know what I could have coped with if things had been worse. I am going to say that I did stay on ground that did not flood during Katrina, so if the same areas that flooded had flooded this time, my generator would have functioned differently than the generators owned by people staying in areas that flooded. Maybe I was crazy for thinking that if an area didn't flood during Katrina, it wouldn't flood during Gustav. That's the logic most of the people who stayed who I've been interviewing followed. I'm glad that those of you who evacuated are having a great time out there enjoying whatever vacation spot you've landed in, and I really mean that. Maybe the fact that I was on vacation for the past 2 months made me hesitant to see this evacuation as a vacation. I stand by the fact that I couldn't have handled evacuating. My car wouldn't start on Sunday. I could not have carried 3 animals in Andrea's truck. Those are coincidences; I'd already decided to stay. One thing I can take away from this experience is that I need to go to therapy about evacuations I experienced in a certain toxic 5 year relationship. If you want to know why I'm afraid to evacuate, ask him if he's sober enough to answer you. The main point that everyone I met with tonight at 8 p.m. and everyone who I interviewed agreed upon is that it is not fair to yell at someone for staying, to ream someone out for staying, to accuse someone who is staying of causing you stress that you don't need. That is something for a person to discuss with a therapist. It is not my fault that certain people had nothing better to do than blame me for contributing to their stress. I am not talking about Joe or Sarah or Matt here, whose comments were brief and came from love and concern and not anger. I am speaking for everyone who chose to stay here who didn't need to hear it from everyone who was watching CNN news or suffering from whatever affliction prevents them from staying out of other people's lives. It does not help to browbeat a person into evacuating. Some of my friends who evacuated because they were yelled at and blamed for others' anxiety are a mess now. They're either not back yet or here, crying and breaking down that they are more anxious than ever. They may be ingesting certain beverages that are deadly for them. People make their own choices, and I am not blaming anyone who evacuated. I am not sitting here thinking I was smarter than anyone else. I was just lucky that it wasn't Nagin's "Mother of all storms" and that I had my wits together to prepare for the storm. The fact that my parents supported me speaks volumes b/c they actually listened to my plan instead of telling me I was putting the life of a rescue worker at risk. So for all of you out there who reamed out those of us who stayed, who yelled at us and belittled us and made us cry from anxiety, please try to keep the focus on yourself next time. It did not help. Whatever calm reaction/behavior the people who stayed held onto was in spite of the blame and anxiety of other people. I hate this blog and I hate the way I've been writing it because I'm so afraid of f*&king offending anyone who yelled at me about staying that I have barely put any of myself into it. That's my issue, and I can only correct it by getting some distance. An actual article is to follow this. Welcome home.

WORD OF THE DAY

Lootering: loitering around with the intention of looting? ABC news reports that it's a good thing that Mayor Nagin lifted the midnight return rule because according to Nagin, homeowners need to protect their own properties from looters who are organizing in groups. Also, groups of contractors are waiting outside the city to come back in and steal copper and appliances from homes they recently renovated. Yes, the NOPD and National Guard are still ready to protect all properties from looters, but if you see anyone "lootering" or looking suspicious, call 9-11 immediately. Can he even tell if he's taking his foot out of his mouth or shoving it further in?

COME ON HOME!

ACCORDING TO NOLA.COM, ALL CHECKPOINTS HAVE BEEN LIFTED DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WAITING TO COME IN, SO I GUESS IT'S JUST THE TRAFFIC YA'LL HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT.

Local Update

My friend Laura came back early this morning after driving in traffic all night. She got in through Jefferson Parrish by coming over the Causeway and then taking the back roads to Riverbend. She lives a few blocks past The Maple Leaf, and she has power. I heard on the radio yesterday that The Maple Leaf did not have power (when they were inviting people to drink warm Budweiser and were powered by generators), and I'm going to drive around and see which neighborhoods have power and which do not. She said people entering Orleans Parrish directly are being turned away. In Markey Park on Piety, we heard rumor that there were MRE's and vodka at Spain and Rampart, but a nice National Guard officer who called Josh "Sir," went and checked and said that no help/comfort stations have been established yet because no one is allowed back in the city. I met a total asshole at the park too. He grabbed my press pass and said I didn't need it and should have made it dirty and that I should have been interviewing him as he surveyed "The Bank." I told the rule was that if you stay, you can't be al asshole. I'm going to drive around soon and see what's going on as far as power goes.

Man Falls Down Leaving Country Club

Apparently, the cops aren't only getting their information from the news; I saw them huddled around the corner store on Dauphine right before Vaughn's (not open) as I drove back to Poland Ave. I saw no signs of flooding on Kentucky or Japonica or under the St. Claude or Claiborne Bridge. I took some pictures that I'll upload soon. I took Poland all the way to Tonti and didn't see any signs of flooding, and it started raining pretty hard while I was driving. On the way back down Poland, I saw a convoy of NOPD/National Guard vehicles crossing the Robertson Bridge into Holy Cross, so apparently it's okay to drive over there. I obviously have no idea what they were doing and didn't want to find out. Driving back to C's house on Royal, I stopped behind a pick-up truck at Louisa and Royal. An older man had walked from the direction of The Country Club (which according to local weird C.I.A. Mike is open) and fell down on the curb. He didn't fall in a way that looked dangerous. It was more the kind of stumble a very drunk person makes. The truck in front of me drove away, and I rolled down my window and asked the guy if he was okay. "I can get up now," he slurred, and sat there in the pouring rain. I did not give this man a breathalizer test, so I am not going to say he was drunk, but he appeared to be very drunk. Now that I don't drink, it's not that I think people shouldn't be drinking, but drunk people do careless things all the time. I've noticed that the Phoenix and Smitty's are opening, and these people are eventually going to stumble home. I hope somebody's watching over them, because I'd hate to be drunk here now. I can't imagine being drunk or even drinking when things are this serious. So maybe that was the little voice that urged me to stay - my sobriety? I can also see how an officer of the law would be really annoyed to have to stop to help a person b/c he was so drunk he fell down. So people in New Orleans who are drunk: you might want to stay at home. The cops aren't exactly being nice, but they're not in the mood to help anybody.

Hi Jenny Jams

I'm glad you actually motivated me to drive back there (I was a little scared to). You can rest, I saw no signs of flooding at all on Kentucky or Japonica or Poland. I drove all the way to Tonti before I saw some power lines down and turned around. Definitely no flooding there. When I figure out how to put pictures on here, I'll upload some.

Interview with bywater resident

"Nagin's hyperbole "The mother of all storms" is going to hurt New Orleans the most. He shot is wad too soon." - Bywater resident (more to come)

the cops don't need you and they expect the same

I was just sitting outside of Cafe Flora interviewing people about why they stayed (more on that later), and two NOPD breathed hello before going inside and getting some coffee. Their greeting was again friendly as they passed us on the way out. One of the men I was interviewing (and older, well-groomed male wearing a clean blue T-shirt) asked them when curfew was. The male officer stopped. "24 hours," he replied. "We though it was dusk til dawn," guy in blue T-shirt said. "We saw on the news that it's 24 hours. That's where we get our information from. The news," said one of New Orleans' finest. It seems like as long as you don't talk to a cop or do anything remotely suspicious you'll be left alone, but they don't want to deal with any of us. Some officers have been surprisingly nice and suggested different routes to take to get around the city. A friend of mine just got back in with no credentials. He and his wife came in over The Bonabel Spillway and were waved along by state police. From http://www.nola.com/ Checkpoints at numerous Orleans-Jeff locations by Sarah Carr Tuesday September 02, 2008, 3:31 PM There are law enforcement checkpoints at numerous locations along the Orleans-Jefferson line. Motorists should expect to have to show the proper placard - a JP1 placard - to enter Jefferson Parish, or a city of New Orleans homeland security sticker to enter the city. Law enforcement also is allowing members of the media with credential to enter the parishes. The Orleans-Jefferson checkpoints on the east bank include: River Road, Metairie Road, Earhart Expressway, Claiborne Avenue/Jefferson Highway and Airline Drive/Tulane Avenue.Continue reading "Checkpoints at numerous

Lucky and Alive in New Orleans

1:40 p.m. I just drove around Mid-City, Gentilly, Bywater, French Quarter, and Marigny neighborhoods. Tattered flags hung in shreds. All National Guard and NOPD ignored me or waved back when I waved for them to go through intersections. All NOPD cars have their lights on. The overhand blew off the Shell gas station on Paris and St. Bernard. There is definitely no water at all river side of St. Claude, and while I didn't cross Saint Claude, I didn't see any flooding over there. Places that I saw that were open:

• Cafe Flora
• Mardi Gras Zone (called "Money Grab Zone" by local girl)
• The Abbey
• Molly's at the Market
• The Lambda Center (2:00 was spray painted on the plywood)

I heard on the radio that The Maple Leaf is open w/ a generator and tons of Budweiser.

Disturbing local madman Michael Gladfelter (a.k.a. CIA Mike) was sighted stumbling down Royal Street in a disheveled condition. He said he had just woken up at The Country Club and that I'd better watch myself. He kicked a tarp. This man is dangerous and paranoid and should be avoided at all costs. That was the only suspicious activity I saw.

Some NOPD have taken my press pass seriously, and some haven't. I've been carrying a camcorder to look legitimate, but for the most part, nobody cares that I'm here. I am going to ask around (guard, NOPD if they seem approachable) about coming in with Press Passes.

A handful of people are wandering around the Marigny/Bywater/Quarter.

I've seen a few trees down in Gentilly, but luckily, they all fell into the road instead of on houses.

Anyone with questions about specific properties/addresses/streets should post them here, but really, it looks like things are very okay, except for the tattered flags hanging in shreds in the F.Q.

I saw a lot of city vehicles out and the SPCA was driving around in Gentilly.

Good Morning Tuesday

Hi everybody who's reading this. I finally slept for a long time; I was having some kind of nightmare I already can't remember. This is not first hand experience, but Josh was changing my tire outside and he told me he saw people lined up outside of Mardi Gras Zone b/c it is about to open. It's not hot outside, but it's humid and overcast.

Drive By

After hearing on Channel 6 News that Mazant Street and Poland Ave were flooded, I went out onto Royal Street and looked towards the Industrial Canal. Per usual, no one I heard on the news could distinguish between the 9th ward and the lower 9th ward. J and I drove around, and there was NO, absolutely NO flooding at 4 p.m. anywhere in the Bywater (river side of Saint Claude). Branches had fallen in the street, but no trees were down. Some phone and cable lines had come loose, but I didn't see any electric lines down. I still have power in Bywater, but it's flickering. Cafe Flora was open, and a few people lingered outside. The NOPD officer didn't even want to see my press pass. As far as the news is concerned, the curfew is dusk til dawn, and he confirmed that. He told us we'd have no problem driving to Gentilly, so we went up Elysian Fields. No flooding, no puddles, some branches down on Elysian Fields and Franklin, but no trees. I checked on A.'s house and everything was fine. The Capital One bank lost its metal awning. I didn't drive to the Industrial Canal as NOPD and National Guard were everywhere, but I did meet some residents who I got on video. They were covered in mud and had been over at the canal but said there wasn't too much flooding. Right now, nothing looks bad, but I heard parts of Mid-City took a beating. I was about to go back out, but as I parked in front of C's house, NOPD stopped me and told us the curfew was 24 hours. They didn't give a shit about my press pass. The point is, that officer was either uninformed or lying. I'm calling into the radio about it.

Canal

According to Fox News, it seems that Industrial Canal has water flowing over it but has not breached. Poland ave is too flooded to drive, and Galvez and Mazant has water. This flooding did not take place riverside of St. Claude, but ABC news (where is Claiborne AVe???) did not know the difference between lower and upper 9. Right after I posted this on 8/1 I did not see any flooding riverside, or as far as I could see across St. Claude (20/20 vision).

Damage on 3100 Block Royal

The power just went out for 30 seconds. It's not raining right now, but there is wind. I went out to Royal Street, and I garbage can had blown over. Leaves, not branches had fallen onto the street. There was no water on the street, no looters, no national guard, no police, no animals. I'm going to take a nap. My cell phone still works; I'm picking up WiFi signal. My mom called to encourage me to take some pictures, but they look like pictures of parked cars. Tornado Warning central St. Tammany for 1/2 hour. TJ

Other news

I just looked at yahoo news, which has none of this information. 16 minutes ago. NEW ORLEANS - Hurricane Gustav steamed toward the Louisiana coast early Monday on track to hit west of New Orleans as the few remaining in the city watched nervously and hoped levees only partly reinforced in the three years since Katrina would hold. Those who heeded days of warnings to get out watched from shelters and hotel rooms hundreds of miles away, praying the powerful Category 3 storm and its 115-mph winds would pass without the same deadly toll. "We're nervous, but we just have to keep trusting in God that we don't get the water again," said Lyndon Guidry, who hit the road for Florida just a few months after he was able to return to his home in New Orleans. "We just have to put our faith in God." Water gushed off buildings and flags hung in tatters, ripped to shreds in the high winds. But there were no reports of serious flooding, and only scattered clusters of power outages. The painful memories of Katrina, which flooded 80 percent of New Orleans and killed more than 1,600 along the Gulf Coast, led officials to aggressively insist that everyone in Gustav's path flee from shore. As the storm grew near, the streets of the city were empty — save for National Guardsmen and just about every officer on the city's police force standing watch for looters www.yahoo.com I can't stand this shit. I believe in trusting in God, but what about Bob Breck? "Flags ripped to shreds." Is that their best attempt at sensentionaliztion? We just got to see one palm tree lying on the ground outside the Fox 8 building. Now I'm watching Channel 6 and the ticker tape is going by: WDSU's coverage: 87.7 f.m. Water is now being pumped to maintain safe elevation. Power Outages. Entergy reports more than 93,000 customers without power. 32,268 in New Orleans. 639 in St, Bernard. I don't know if it's helpful to anyone (myself included) for me to type what I'm seeing on television onto a blog. WDSU says Gustav is still holding category 3 strenght and we're expecting 115 mph winds. Hurricane Force winds will spread across the area (gulf coast) over Monday and Tuesday. There is also risk for tornadoes on the right side of the storm. All of this is true, but it's not specific enough. Water is being pumped, but they're not mentioning that the pumps are working or that the heavy rainfall is only coming in spurts so the pumps can keep up. I can hear the wind whipping around out there again. The power hasn't flickered in a while here. WDSU has now called Gustav a Category 2. I'm going back to FOX. Oh, I hear Chief Warren Riley's voice superimposed over the shot of that fallen palm tree. His goal is that everyone will come home to a house that has not been looted. Nancy Parker isn't sure if they're counting households or people suffering from power outages. Bob's 8 a.m. update: Good news. "Gustav has not had the chance to get organized." New Orleans has been more organized than Gustav. And he's moving really west as opposed to NW.

Outside

Just went outside with J to check on what's happening to the cars on the street, and there is maybe an inch of water on Royal Street, and it's draining as it falls. All the cars are fine. My umbrella did not get torn inside out by the wind. I really didn't get blown around at all, and i weight in around 110. I didn't see any trees down or damage on Royal Street. Bob Breck says we might see sunshine this afternoon. He's really into the three dimensional graphics he's got there. He also says the bands are far enough apart that the pumps will have time to keep up. Where is C.Ray Nagin? He hasn't been on FOX news yet.

Bob's Update

He has dark circles under his eyes and we're looking at an image of Xavier and the interstate. Only interstate has power. He just got a tornado warning in for Northshore until 7:30 a.m. He looks so tired. Winds are going away. Poor Gulfport is getting 48 mph winds. The Northshore is getting storng gusts (about 50 mph) but not sustained winds. It's not raining outside in Bywater at the moment. So, far, C's stucco house is holding up fine. We're all dressed. Josh just told me he didn't sleep at all. My dad just called me; phone working fine. He says he can see on Connecticut news that it's not as bad as originally anticipated. He told me he has been planning to buy a generator. Bob thinks Houma is going to be okay when the surge comes. I can hear the wind. Maybe the power will go out. We see all these news crew members standing outside. Rob Ennis in Metarie: power not out but expects it to be soon. He has a spotlight that we will see if it does. New Orleans is as bad as it gets. Sabrina Wilson is downtown in a raincoat. She says conditions are starting to deteriorate by the Casino (which is shuttered). Decadence Tourists are gone. She describes it as virtually a ghost town except for the media. It's not a place for people to be out, she says as she stands outside. We are reminded that she is very small, so that's why she's blowing around so much. A very frail old woman was found wandering aimlessly at the foot of Causeway. She is older and sitting on the curb with a cane and was walking down the street. Her car hit a curb and the wheel rim was bent as she evcuated, and she went to her house and passed out. She lives in Metairie and was trying to evacuate but hit that curb and just woke up and wandered outside. She thought she had a bad heart, but she doesn't think she does anymore. Wow.

Bob Breck feeling very encouraged b/c storm is moving 16 mph and it's going fast. We're in one of the squalls. He's coming back at 7. St. Bernard Parrish President Craig Taffaro: we're feeling less cautious and more optomistic. Chalmette image on television they're getting sustained winds of 40- 50 mph with light rain bands. Fortunate on all fronts. Doesn't want to jinx it. Bob said it will clear by afternoon. They'll make an announcement tonight about when people can return. Craig Taffaro is very concerned about Mississippi I-10 closures and doesn't know why they broke an agreement with L.A. and didn't let people go East. I can't believe they don't know why. Taffaro is not opening borders during the night tonight unless there is no damage or trees down. He's calling it a small level hurricane and will ask everyone to sit tight. If we can start bringing people back on Tuesday. For those who did remain in the parrish, stay put. We are still under curfew and should not roam about while storm passes. The French Quarter, what looks likeDecatur and Conti has no rain and electricity. He said it looks like the area by the French Market, but since he does not have the image of The Abbey burned into his mind, he's wrong. www.fox8tv.net I never thought anyone would be able to get me to rely on FOX news. Bob.

Labor Day Morning

The alarm, not the storm woke us up at 6, and the storm is coming in. Pounding rain outside. Lupe knows something's wrong; she's in her little carrier hiding. I can't believe i'm watching FOX news b/c Bob Breck. The power has flickered a few times. Right now, Nancy Parker has Aaron Broussard on the phone. He says the pumps are working and will keep working. Our curfew is dusk til dawn still. He's expecting a 6-9 foot storm surge. He's talking on the phone to Bob Breck. Bob says giving this hurricane a category of 3 is flattering. He says the surge is not going to be bad, not nearly as bad as predicted. The storm is moving fast. There has been one announced hurricane on the East Bank. It's going to go a little west before it hits land, towards Morgan City. A band is passing through the city right now. After 1 o'clock we will have less and less rain. Tornado watch is extended for areas further northward. He says what we have now is as bad as it's going to get. Broussard waiting to hear from Bob when worst of surge has hit westbank. Eye is west of Grand Isle. If we can get through 10 a.m. without water spilling all over the place, we'll be in good shape. I'm picking this up with rabbit ears. Bob thinks JP will be back on its feet in a day or so. They just had a long talk about contraflow and why I-10 was closed. Mississippi closed it, and L.A. officials don't know why. Bob Breck's opinion is that Mississippi didn't want people from L.A. clogging up their Labor Day Shopping, but he and Broussard agree that Mississippi should have told us. Many people turned around or ran out of gas. Bob's concerned that many people will say "I'm never evacuating again" after sitting in traffic for 15 hours b/c Mississippi won't cooporate. Howling wind will scare us, says Bob. He says the worst is here now, and these bands will keep coming over us. The t.v. went out, and now it's back. I had a nice talk with C last night and we're the windowless bedroom. They are talking about Contraflow still and an 85 year old woman who had to pee on the side of the highway and lost her dignity. I'm going to post this one in case I lose the T-Mobile signal

Sunday Night

I'm not used to having a blog, and this feels really awkward. For one thing, I'm just giving this list of events and initial impressions that I haven't been able to analyze, so I feel like I'm just rambling. For another thing, I am not aiming for quality prose at this time. I don't know how people write these great blogs like antiplath. I almost left this afternoon, and I thank the people who told me to, especially Sarah. I know that people are angry with me because now they have to worry about me. I don't want anyone to think that I imagine myself being tough or strong or that I think I have something special that anyone else doesn't have. J and I keep getting text messages from people all over the country (people who were already in other parts of the country as opposed to those who evacuated). It seems many people have gotten the impression that if people in New Orleans metro leave their homes, they will be sent to Angola. The curfew is when it gets dark, and looters will be taken to Angola. Anyone stopped who isn't looting should have a very good reason for being out after dark, and if they do, they will not be taken to Angola or anywhere else. Bob Breck was on Fox around 7 p.m. Many people have written in on his blog that they can't get him on television. He has good news. He began by saying, "I am addressing those people in New Orleans metro who did not evacuate." He said confidently that Hurricane Gustav is not the mother of all storms as C. Ray Nagin described it. He also said this storm will not be nearly as bad as Katrina. According to Bob, the storm has shifted northwest and is moving quickly. Our side of the storm is not the strong side; it's being killed by a dry pocket of air. A miracle. He called this a dealable storm for people in New Orleans metro. "It won't be catastrophic," he said. He expects it to be a Category 2 or a high 3 when it makes landfall NW of New Orleans metro. Winds and Lake Pontchartrain will not be problems, he says. "It will not be anything like Hurricane Katrina," he added, and he meant that in a good way. Rainfall is going to be the worst problem. The storm could very well stall in Western Louisiana, and New Orleans metro could get heavy rain all week, which will lead to flooding. Be careful Andrea. I was up all night almost after I read the comment posted. I'm not going to argue with a word of it. This morning, Joe and Sarah got me thinking that I should get the hell out. Then my car wouldn't start. When it did, I got my friend Andrea's truck from Uptown (thank you everybody) and drove it downtown. Lupe's godfather, K, has lived here all his life, and we'd been on the phone all night. At one point he called to say he was leaving, and then he called back to say he wasn't. K and his wife have a generator and supplies and have waited storms out and evacuated, and it was the phone calls from worried loved ones that finally was the deciding factor. K knows me well and lately, he's been concerned that I never take his advice. When he decided to go, he gave me all of his gasoline. I felt like the ground was shaking. He'd sworn he'd be right down the street. I asked him to tell me honestly what he thought I should do, and we stood there in his yard on N. Rampart Street, and I asked him if he thought anything would happen to Lupe or to Lupe and me. I told him I would take his advice, but he wouldn't tell me to go. I was ready to leave if he told me to. I can't give the explanation right now for why I took his advice and not other people's advice except that he was standing there in person and the mandatory evacuation had begun. I don't like keeping a blog b/c I'm writing all this stuff as it comes and I haven't figured it out yet. I hope I figure out the reason I was ready to listen to K and not anyone else (I really thought he'd tell me to go), but right now I'm too tired to know. He said he didn't think anything horrible would happen if I stayed. Then he gave me all this ice and gas and left. Josh boarded up all the windows and got the generator working and we organized all the batteries and flashlights and cooked up a lot of meat and filled up everything we could find with water. On one hand, it seems like it might be really good for me that I trusted myself that I could handle staying and actually did something I wanted to do. People keep telling me that since I stopped drinking I have more confidence in myself. I have always been the kind of person who has done what I was told to make other people happy. On the other hand, it seems like it's scary and self destructive and crazy that I didn't take anyone's advice and leave. Obviously a therapist will be helpful in this area. Right now, the forecast (according to B.B.) is better than anyone hoped for, so the reality is that New Orleans is lucky and that I'm lucky. Something is watching over this city, even if it's in the form of dry air. I sincerely apologize to those whom I have worried. I went to Flora's right before dark and Ali (sp) the owner was there with his son and a firefighter. His son is in his mid twenties and seems pretty in shape despite the Kool cigarette he offered me while smoking two. I interviewed them on camera, and his son, Mon, said he saved two people's lives during Katrina, and he came here to help his father and anyone else who needed it. The firefighter said he didn't think I was putting his life in danger by staying. Scattered people wandered the Marigny in pairs. It seems like everyone who stayed has a dog. The firefighter is assigned to Lakeview, and he he'd been boarding his house up somewhere near me. He expressed concern that I would tell him if I have a gun and insisted I needed one. Aside from that, he said he thought I was prepared. Already, people have approached him asking him for canned food b/c they don't have any. What else??? The National Guard was everywhere this morning as I drove from Bywater to Gentilly to Uptown and down Tchopitoulas around the Convention Center and then down Decatur. They waved at me. The shell on Franklin and St. Claude was trying to close, but they still had gas. They wouldn't sell anybody anything else, and a few people were bitching that they couldn't buy alcohol or cigars. I was turning up Dauphine from Elysian Fields around noon, and two people in a really nice looking S.U.V. flagged me down. At first I was confused b/c they didn't have anything in the car, so they obviously weren't evacuating. They asked me how to get to St. Bernard Parrish and they asked me where Claiborne was. I told them, and they explained that they were from A.B.C. news and had a hotel room in the quarter. I gave them directions and my phone number. Soon after that, Mardi Gras Zone was the only store still open, and as I bought more water and cigarettes, the guy who always works there told me he was going to close and stay inside and open as soon as possible, using generators. I can't imagine how many generators they must have. That place is huge. I met a man outside who had a Press Pass and was wearing a white T-shirt with PRESS written on it in huge blue letters. He gave me his number and we talked about being afraid of getting arrested/in trouble for being out. Rumors were flying about curfew at that time. He was not invited to wait out the storm with ABC even though he contacted them. I know someone in the French Quarter who is staying on Dumaine with two doctors. He said he's staying because he can't deal with evacuating and not knowing. I don't know what it is that makes me think I can't deal with evacuating (aside from certain issues involving a companion of mine that I suppose should be reserved for my therapist). I really felt and feel like I couldn't do it. I'm sorry everybody who thinks this is selfish of me. If you think it was stupid of me, you're probably right. Anyway, it's good to know doctors are around. The neighbors went to the Nighthawks Diner to wait out the storm, and I guess anybody can go there if they want to get drunk (I am not going to even worry about pronoun number agreement in sentences like that one). Josh helped all these people board up their windows and knows where a lot of people are staying. I ran into several people I know from the Marigny (know and like, I might add). It's not raining yet. We've organized everything so we can grab whatever we need at any time. It's just kind of drizzling out and the wind's whipping out just a little bit. Josh's mother told me that when a large number of people pray (substitute any other word like meditate, etc) it can change the weather. Thank you nuns. Thank you storm for calming down for now. His mother also said she wouldn't have left either and wanted to make sure we hadn't parked our cars under any trees. For some reason, my parents have been oddly calm and supportive about this. I told them not to watch the news too much, but to read Bob Breck's blog and try not to panic, and they're not panicking. Now that tornados are much much less likely, they actually told me they were glad I stayed. I made Lupe a floatation device out of styrofoam and we have a floatation device of our own. The animals are not acting like anything weird is going on like I thought they would. Aside from the fact that they've aquired fleas, they're just hanging around begging for chicken. Lupe's been humping her ugly dog toy for an hour now. There is a chicken in the yard by the way. A live one. It could kick Diesel's ass. I still have a T-Mobile connection for my phone and internet. Something's wrong with my WiFi connection, but T-Mobile said they will send trucks with satellites on them to this area, which was nice of them since their internet service really sucks. My friend has this alcoholic brother, a really bad one. We've all probably given him change on Decatur at some point in our lives. I guess he got on a plane and is now in a far away state (he was really really drunk). Good for him. Thank you everybody who loved me enough to tell me to evacuate. Thank you storm for calming down. I'm sorry I made you worry, especially you Erica. Oh, and my mother says she's glad I have a boyfriend who's not a wimp. I hope everyone out there is safe and sleeping. If Bob Breck is right, we'll all be here by the end of the week, but you never know. Good night and God Bless, Tara Jill

Supplies

I just posted the link to Bob Breck's hurricane supply list and am including the link here: http://www.bobbreck.com/supply.htm Please add any items you recommend having around by posting a comment to this post! My extras: Mace Gaoulshes A boyfriend/girlfriend A sturdy backpack Aviator sunglasses A safe with all your important documents, especially your lease and proof of address here! A waterproof notebook Sharpies Spray paint

My Motives

Besides the fact that I have never wanted to evacuate and have always been forced to by a certain extremely lame ex-boyfriend of mine, I have a real motive for deciding to ride Gustav out. My motivation seems to stem from a deep resentment towards the media. I remember sitting on a futon in Austin and watching the news and seeing all the houses with the water up to the roofs and some news lady saying, "80% of New Orleans is under water." I, like everyone else, grew an umbilical cord that connected directly to my laptop and tried to find out how much water my neighborhood had, where my friends were, and if there were actually sharks swimming in the French Quarter. In a bar bathroom in Austin, I kicked the shit out of a door because some guy from New Orleans had been crying to me, insisting that my apartment in Mid City had flooded because the Ford Dealership had. And this lady in the Schlotzky's wouldn't shut up about how I had to come to terms with the fact that I would never return to New Orleans or my apartment again. 80% of the city. An image of water to the rooftops. My boyfriend drunk and screaming at me that we could never go back. I remember telling a good friend of mine that I flat out did not believe her that we would not ever be allowed to come back here. I was drunk, very drunk, and crying that Corey Henry would play the trombone in the French Quarter someday and we would be there. It wasn't that I knew something other people didn't or was more practical or had more information than anyone else. I was deeply in denial because I could not deal with the fact that all my collections and pets were gone. I also didn't want to waste the energy mourning when I wasn't sure. I was taking a shower outside on the bayou in Arnaudville when Jarret Lofstead called to tell us that he'd kicked in our backdoor and there was no water in our Mid-City apartment. He had a press pass. Right now, I don't care whether it will be hot and sticky and I will never find a generator and I'll have to eat cold beans out of a can. I don't care if holing up in C's apartment will be boring, or if I'll end up on some highway bridge waiting for help. As long as I can keep Lupe safe, I don't care what I see or how hot I feel or how crazy it makes me. I would rather stay in the sweat and stink and terror of New Orleans than sit on some nice dry couch wondering if what I'm seeing on the television is true. Because I won't be able to look away if I leave here. I can say I'll try, but I'll want to know what's happening here. So I am taking this opportunity to use my tools as a journalist to record whatever I can about New Orleans as Hurricane Gustav ravages the coast. I promise only to include information I have experienced first hand. At least I'll know what I'm seeing is true.

Generators

J. and I went to the new Home Depot and all the generators cost about 800 bucks. It seems all the generators anywhere around here cost that much. I'm really glad to have J. with me. I didn't even know what a generator looked like until he showed me his boss's yesterday. There are certain things I can't see myself getting mixed up with without a guy involved: microwave popcorn, cable television, tents, extra ice cube trays so the guy doesn't use all the ice up, and generators. I pictured it looking much differently, more like a huge A.C. window unit than a lawnmower. I later went to Lowe's to copy C.'s keys (twice and they still don't work). Before each of these expeditions, I took my time with a cigarette and prepared myself for the hectic nightmare in which everyone was running around with huge squares of plywood and fighting over the last gas cans and screw guns as the lines snaked through the aisles. In actuality, I have never seen either store so deserted. A few employees wandered around talking about everything that had sold out, and the parking lots were almost bare. I didn't even have to wait in line. I can't understand what people are doing if they're not going to Lowe's or Home Depot. Lowe's, by the way, is closing at 2 p.m. Saturday, which is fine with me since they can't make keys or sell cheap generators. At this point, my sole motivation for attempting to obtain a cheap or free generator is to keep cool.

Air Conditioning

A. is still packing. It's funny, I was asking Josh to explain to me how a generator actually works, and A. seemed astonished that my motive for wanting a generator was air conditioning. I still can't figure out what else I would really use it for. I have this Red Cross Radio that is also a cell phone charger. I can put AA batteries in it or wind the crank around and around and around. "Lucky me," A. says as she grabs some of her daughters panties. She has officially become the first person I've seen evacuate. This afternoon, Josh got a haircut at Salon D'Malta, so I got one too. It seemed like a weird thing to do while driving around buying all that shit on the above list, but I was really glad to see my hairdresser, M. A guy in an LSU shirt came in while M. was blow drying my hair. "Where are you going?" he asked. "Shreveport. Tonight," M. said. "I might go there too," LSU guy replied. A long pause followed. "Do you think the boys down here for Decadence will evacuate to Shreveport?" LSU guy asked. I told M. that I was staying because I want to document the experience as a member of the media, and I asked him if there was anything he wanted on the record. "Get the hell out!" M. told me.

So this is it

I'm spending my last night in Gentilly, creating this blog as A. shows me a suitcase she's stuffed under the bed, the kind an expectant mother might prepare for the hospital, but this one if filled with her journals (or should I say, her journals that were not destroyed in Katrina). A. came home from Rockn Bowl and told me she was going. It's kind of weird, because Josh and I have been staying in A.'s house since we came back from vacation. We have actually put a deposit down on own apartment, but since it's right down the street, right near the lake, we have not moved in yet. Tomorrow, we will move to a friend's house in Bywater and 'watch' it for her as she takes a flight to Tennessee. Josh and I have been camping and beach housing with our two dogs for two months. Most of my stuff is on the second floor of a storage unit uptown, and since the car is full of camping gear and we don't have an apartment, we are oddly equipped for a hurricane. Here is the list I emailed my father a few hours ago: 15 gallons of water (We can fill up more things with water at C.s when we go there tomorrow) 20 AA batteries 4 AA lithium batteries 15 C Batteries (the radio takes C) 10 D batteries A flashlight that can use all 3 types of batteries A flashlight that uses AA batteries or can be wound up and is also a radio A huge light that you can charge and lasts for a long time. 8 votive candles of various saints/jesus/virgin mary A Red Cross Radio/phone charger/ac adapter that runs on AA batteries or can be wound up with a crank and can give one minute to the phone per ten cranks. A Coleman stove and propane for it A raft (from camping; we really won't need it) A 2 month supply of dog food for Lupe, all Lupe's medicine (heartworm/flea) A 2 month supply of cat food ( i can't find the cats though) A 2 week supply of Diesel's food (we can get more; the dollar store is full of the stuff) A gas lantern and whatever goes with it (it's Josh's and I don't know how it works) Matches Tons of lighters and cigarettes Gauloshes A survival knife Rope A tent A tarp Josh's tools (hammer, screw gun, other portable tools that he says are useful) A full tank of gas in the car. A ten gallon red gas thing full of gas A generator that someone is lending us that we don't have yet An ad on craigslist asking to rent/buy/borrow generators 3 friends within spitting distance with generators No way to buy a generator at Lowe's or Home Depot b/c they are all so expensive since the cheap ones sold out Almost a month of my medication Laptop w/ T Mobile signal 2 T Mobile cell phones with 504 area codes (josh is 504 344 4448) A legitimate press pass (Nolafugees is a real corporation now) A video camera and tons of tape A huge cooler A really good first aid kit Acceptable clothing for the situation (i.e. shorts with pockets for me to wear if I have to) Sunblock Bathingsuits Charcoal and lighter fluid (to grill the meat before it rains) A Map of various evacuation routes The Club for the car Diet rootbeer Canned foods (C. has tons, and she said we shouldn't worry about eating them, but we have our own too) An axe (from camping) Mace A sword Plywood to board up C's windows if necessary Ugly dog Books to read I don't want my parents to worry about me, but they can't help it. They are already worried that I will die hacking my way through an attic or by being raped by looters or in the Superdome. They don't remember that I took swimming lessons until I was 15. They, like most of the country, are already convinced the city will be gone forever as soon as Gustav hits. I can't blame them. They have, after all, been watching the news.