K+10 minus one week

Here we are, one week from the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the Federal Flood ("Katrina" for short). Like most of my friends who lived here and through Katrina, I don't want to relive those days so I've been actively avoiding watching TV. I know it's not healthy to stuff the emotions down so I'll just deal with them as they come. I have been reading some articles and one that really spoke to me was this one by Robert Mann. I've enjoyed his OpEd pieces he writes for the T-P and hadn't realized he worked for Gov. Blanco at that time. I knew watching the reports by the big networks on New Orleans and Katrina that they were full of shit and making shit up, and he confirms that.

I worked for the governor of Louisiana during Katrina. Here are 5 things I learned. 
by Robert Mann on August 20, 2015

The Gambit has an interview with the former Governor and it's sad how politicized the rescue became.

Katrina at 10: An interview with former Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco
The former governor talks about Hurricane Katrina and the politics of Louisiana recovery
By Walter Peirce

The lies that were spread immediately following the have mostly been proved wrong, but most people will remember what they heard on the TV. I remember ranting in my emails and my blogs posts to friends to not watch CNN or FOX news. I encourages them to visit NOLA.com and get news from a local source. I follow my own advice today. When a disaster hits a distant city, I go to the local media outlets to get the facts, not the sensationalized conjecture and speculation. Here's a wonderful video that overlays the chatter of the media reporting on Katrina with footage of the city today. It was put togther by several very talented men, graphic design Tom Varisco (to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude for taking the time to meet with a newly graduated art student looking for a graphic design job in New Orleans) and photographer Jackson Hill (who I had the pleasure of working closely on a number of projects).


High Water Mark from Tom Varisco on Vimeo.

Issac Aftermath part 2

Got mail delivered today. Was hoping trash would be picked up but no. Power still out but saw trucks around. Walked up Magazine Street to Jefferson-no power. PJ's had iced coffee so we both got one and walked back home. Our neighbor Bill left a copy of today's paper for us.

Cleaned the yard up and the house. Leaves everywhere. And hung the towels we used to sop up water blown through windows up to dry. Our friend Dr. A invited us to come hang out at her office that had AC. We really needed that. I even fell asleep sitting in the chair! So tired and the heat really saps your energy.

Got home to the past three days of newspapers on our steps. Now resting comfortably at our cousins' who have power. Looking forward to a good, cool night's sleep. Reading the Twitter posts more power has been restored even in the past few hours! As we're we leaving our neighbor pulled up. He had just returned from Baton Rouge to buy a generator. Now I know our power will get restored soon!!