O.T. New Orleans latest (very long)

Sorry to hear this. Most likely Mark and I will never go to New Orleans again. We normally went once a year. I want to remember it the way it was. From the people I know who are professional environmentalists, it is said to be one of the most toxic places to live in America right now. If I had the money, and I were you, I'd move out of there till the city was back to whatever the new form of "normal" will be. The mold and fungal spores are going to continue to upset your respirtory system.

I'm so sad to read your message. I visited and loved New Orleans a few times and I know now that I probably will never see it again. Stay well and be careful of the mold. It certainly can cause respiratory problems. I've been there and I've done that, so be careful.

Lucille

A friend of mine's daughter lives in her (my friend's) former home, in Chalmette, which is St Bernard Parish. She has posted pictures of the house and surrounding areas - this is the house that she raised her children in!

I will contact her for permission to post the website here.

Jangchub wrote: From the people I know who are professional

*nods* I just started working with the National Brownfield Association, and most of the damaged areas are now classified in the same category as industrial landfills - and that doesn't include the mold issues.

My heart goes out to you, Mary. I have severe mold allergies and asthma, and if I went down there I'd be dead within days.

My environmental friends tell me that where I live the air is OK. I figured it must be as the pneumonia seems to be cured, it just left me totally weak, like a wrung-out rag. On the rare occasions when I have to go through the devastated areas, or even high up over them on the freeway, I make very sure the car windows and air vents are tight shut. Water, however, is a different question. I didn't move back into town until the water was officially pronounced "potable", but I do NOT drink or cook with it. When I go into the bathroom in the morning and turn on the shower, the place smells like a swimming pool the water is so heavily chlorinated. So, for the first time in my life, I am hauling gallon jugs of water home from the supermarket instead of drnking that which comes ot of the tap, and for which I am already paying. Oh well. I just hope I don't get out of the shower one morning and discover my hair has turned green!!

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

I looked at a few of your pix, and they are very familiar. I, too, have friends who "used to" live in Chalmette and Arabi. However, no matter how many of these pix you see, it does not come anywhere near the effect of when you drive past, blocks and blocks and blocks and blocks, mile after mile after mile after mile, of nothing but ruined houses and businesses, drowned cars, totally dead lawns, trees and shrubbery.

Remember, New Orleans itself used to be a city of nearly half a million people, and 80% of it was flooded, then you add in the suburbs like Arabi and Chalmette, not to mention the rest of St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes (i.e. counties). It is almost incomprehensible, even when you do physically see it.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Last I had heard from my dad's girlfriend's family they too had lived in Chalmette. My uncle and I were quite worried about them so through the internet we discovered she had passed away (we found a government death notice) for not long after I had lost touch with her and then we found a reference to her son who also lived there had sold their house about the same time and another reference to him in Baton Rouge. Hopefully that's where he and his family are now.

Wow, you've been to Ottawa. I too lived in Montreal for a while after we emmigrated from Scotland. (We came when I was 4 and lived there until I was 18/19, then came to Ottawa in 1984).

Lynne

Olwyn Mary wrote:

I know what it's like to have that water, although our problem is drought, and not floods! I, too, bought water for the first time, but then managed to get a water filter which doesn't need the filter replacing every 20 litres, and are very happy to have clean, chemical-free water to drink.

I do hope your city gets all the help it needs, and it won't be too long before things get reasonably normal.

Joyce in RSA.

I often wondered why they sent the Canadian Armed forces packing before they really had time to accomplish anything. The money spent to deploy the ship and personal was much greater than the value of the actual assistance they were able to give. It was reported the reason for their sudden dismissal was that general contractors didn't want volunteer workers taking away paying jobs. I don't know who made the decision.

Mavia

Maybe big a Texas Macho Rancher,living in a large white house in DC, can't accept assitance from good people beyond our borders because it shows how imcompent he is. Juno

Well so all the americans know, I had a couple of friends who are part of the armed forces here in Canada. All were pleased that we were sending people down and they knew a few of the sailors that went. They really packed those ships with stuff that was needed, every space and nook and crany of the ships were packed with toys, diapers, food, camping equipment and other necessities that were felt that you all needed. Nothing was asked for in return. We all agreed with it too. But we too were suprised that they didn't stay long. We did however leave one ship down there that had special sonar equipment or another, I think it was to help with weather detection (I'm really not sure).

Lynne

Juno wrote:

I find these stories of yours very interesting as they are not "prettied up" by the media to make Mr. Shrub look good.

Ray Nagin may be imperfect but so far I'm liking his style - he seems to not put up with too much b.s. ..... or at least that's the impression I get from what the media lets us see.

My sister has 2 very good friends who live just across from the French Quarter who were lucky enough to evacuate before Katrina and stayed with friends and family in California for a month or so before returning home. They were very fortunate in having virtually no damage to their home but their jobs were definitely impacted (one is a pastry chef) and their lives have changed. Between news from them and your emails here I feel as though I'm learning about what is REALLY going on - and it can't be swept under a rug with a few press conference comments and be made all better. I would even suggest sending some of your comments to a national news organization/publication in hopes the true story might get told to the general public.

Hope that your health continues to improve and that life continues to get a little better each day as well. Thanks for the updates - they're very interesting to read!

MelissaD

Seeing those pictures just makes my heart sick. I don't see how New Orleans will EVER recover and be the jewel she once was...

This is truly the worst natural disaster in American history. The ramifications are going to be very lengthy and will take decades to clean that all up. Of course, no rush. They WANT everyone to give up and stay away so they can come in and make it a huge Las Vegas East. Mark this date as I am certain this is on the agenda. The clue I got was when the man who is supposed to be running America said this was a great opportunity to have a great Gulf Coast. It was already great. So, by my estimation, his form of GREAT means big business and lots of money to be made. It's disgusting.

It won't.

I am not familiar with any of this incident, so I assume it happened when I was in hospital, not able to tqake in the news, and not having any real access to it, either. Can someone please clue me in??

Sorry to come back so late, but my news server has been sulking for the past few days, and wouldn't talk to me or let me talk to it.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Canada sent four ships, a destroyer, 2 frigates and a coast guard vessel to the Gulf of Mexico shortly after Katrina hit. These ships were crammed full of humanitarian aid such as diapers, clothing, water, small boats, heavy equipment and manned with 1000 troops. This was a self sustaining force that was prepared to stay at least a month or as long as their help was needed both for clean up and reconstruction. A lot of the supplies were dropped in Pensacola before the ships continued on to Gulfport and Biloxi. Because of US security the Canadian vessels were forced to anchor off shore and troops were ferried ashore by landing craft from a US Naval vessel. This was a round trip of 4 hours! After 5 days there it was decided their help was no longer needed.

The official word was that it was a successful mission but the unofficial word on the street was that it was a colossal waste of time and money. Most felt their early return was caused by pressure from contractors who didn't want to lost paying jobs to volunteer labor. Also the high security that caused so much time to be wasted just in traveling from the vessels to shore made it impractical. The coast guard vessel did remain for a month helping to re-establish buoys and navigational aids.

Another instance of bureaucratic bungling was the blocking by Homeland Security of the Disaster Assistance Response Team (D.A.R.T.) out of Vancouver, which wanted to go to Louisiana to provide fresh water and medical supplies. I never heard if they finally got clearance or if this aid too never made it to the people.

Mavia

This news sickens me. The Gulf Coast needs all the help it can get. The fact that the Canadians responded so swiftly makes me feel lucky to have such generous neighbors. The fact that they were rebuffed depresses me.

Dianne