parents she never got along with. It almost broke her, but she was strong and managed to pick up the pieces. She passed in 2019, and I know the stress of Katrina shortened her life. RIP, Kath. I miss you.

People I knew drowned. The suicides. A man who lived next door hanged himself from a tree in front of a house he had just moved into. His partner used a gun instead. People had to leave their pets and couldn’t take it when they were allowed to return.
Tomorrow won’t be the anniversary, so there’s that, but today will always be hard, I suppose.
Love you all -

authorities were forced to reconsider when so many people would refuse to leave their pets and those who did suffered great emotional damage, especially the children

I remember one guy saying, "My dog would never leave me.....why would I leave my dog?"

And again - Yes! I moved to Panama with my dog, and a major reason is Panama does not get hurricanes. Too far south.
Trying to make my Spanish suck less has been challenging, but I’m getting there.

but since Kamala became the Democratic candidate I find I'm no longer thinking so much about leaving the US. (not that i ever realistically could get my children to go with me)

One is single, no kids. She was going to come with me to Canada if tsf won. We both thought the others would come once things became unbearable here.

one just finalized his divorce and has 3 kids of his own. One lives with me and the youngest is married. I honestly don't think I could persuade any of them to go anywhere else. Anyhow I'm pretty old (69) and I know I'm not going by myself. I would miss them all too too much.

but no hurricanes here. Too far south. And I’m just loving the kindness.
And coffee MY GOD!!
Very happy here. And so very lucky that I could swing it. So lucky.
And being in the politics of the United States but not IN the politics. Does that make sense?
In short - blood pressure is better.

It still has appeal, but I'm not driven by the thought of tsf getting back into the White House.

Last edited Thu Aug 29, 2024, 08:22 PM - Edit history (1)

and thinking, Dubya says he can bring peace to the Middle East but he can't get a little girl off a bridge in New Orleans? WTF

I also called the local newspaper to ask WHY the folk fleeing to Texas were being called REFUGEES - WTF, THEY'RE OUR FUCKING NEIGHBORS

Yup. My own ears.

[ ... ]

One of the first things Canada did was to deploy Vancouver Urban Search and Rescue to Louisiana. They arrived on a WestJet Airlines aircraft in Lafayette, Louisiana on the evening of August 31, 2005. Due to security and logistics issues in the disaster area surrounding New Orleans, the team started operations on September 3; they saved 30 people that day. They were the first outside responders to arrive in St. Bernard Parish, beating American response teams.[4] By the time they returned to Vancouver on September 6, they had reportedly saved over 110 people.

[ ... ]

The states that sent help before THE UNITED STATES did. The license plates on I-10. Amazing.

it's traumatic, so bad!

I'm glad you're here though.


i have this clear memory of walking along a harbor in Marina Del Rey CA, digesting the warnings I had heard about the storm, and crying proactively. It was a massive natural disaster made worse (of course) by a feckless president who really didn't give a rat's ass about the people. I expect that to this very day people are suffering because of the failure of the government to respond in an appropriate way.

If you're up to it tell us what happened to you and your loved ones. You've stirred up my memories of Spike Lee's work and Trouble the Water by Kimberly Roberts. It is a sad anniversary today.

So I naturally wound up on a plane chartered by Betty White - because of course, you can look it up - with 19 penguins and two sea otters.

i want pictures. bet you could write a book. Betty White. She was a great advocate for critters and it's very cool that you got to go too. Did you get back home eventually?

You can probably find news items. PBS did Katrina’s Animal Rescue on Nature. Hell - even Dirty Jobs did us. Penguin Keeper may have been the title.

Brought a delegation to see what was needed to help, answer was everything. I will never forget the smell. It will remain with me forever. Must, mold, rotting vegetation, death, still horrific. One of many trips that will stay with me forever.

Was there the following August for two weeks - he helped to restore some of the very old iron work in smaller homes and churches - ie - not the wealthy who had wind damage.

He said the smell of death still permeated the lower ninth.

All of you.

was Bush's fault.

Bush’s first budget proposed more than half a billion dollars worth of cuts to the Army Corps of Engineers for the 2002 fiscal year. Bush proposed half of what his own officials said was necessary for the critical Southeast Louisiana Flood Control Project (SELA)—a project started after a 1995 rainstorm flooded 25,000 homes and caused a half billion dollars in damage.

Bush did this to offset the tax break he gave to the top 1% of rich Americans. The first major economic initiative pursued by the president was a massive tax cut for the rich, enacted in June of 2001. Bush signed his massive $1.3 trillion income tax cut into law-a tax cut that severely depleted the government of revenues it needed to address critical priorities.

February 2002
Bush provided just $5 million for maintaining and upgrading critical hurricane protection levees in New Orleans—one fifth of what government experts and Republican elected officials in Louisiana told the administration was needed. Bush knew SELA needed $80 million to keep working, but the he only proposed providing a quarter of that.

During 2002, contractors working to raise the St. Charles Parish hurricane protection levee north of Airline Hwy had to use their own funds because Congess and the President provided only $2,000,000 for the entire Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity project, which includes all the hurricane protection levees in St. Charles, Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes.

February 2004
The SELA project sought $100 million to repair the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain levees, but Bush offered only $16.5 million. The Army Corps of Engineers asked for $27 million to pay for hurricane protection upgrades around Lake Pontchartrain—but the White House cut that to $3.9 million. Gaps in levees around Lake Pontchartrain & the Industrial Canal, which were supposed to be filled by 2004, were not filled because of budget shortfalls. Repair work on the levees, including the ones that failed, was stopped due to lack of funds.

Cat-5 Hurricane Katrina bears down on New Orleans and the Mississippi gulf. Both states are down nearly 8,000 National Guard troops because they are in Iraq – with most of the rescue gear needed. Bush is on vacation. The day before Katrina makes landfall, Bush rides his bike for two hours. The day Katrina hits, he goes to John McCain's birthday party, and lies to old people about the multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical company welfare boondoggle.
People are dying, the largest port of entry in the United States (and fifth largest in the World) is under attack. Troops and supplies are desperately needed. The levees are cracking and the emergency 1-1/2 ton sandbags are ready, but there aren't enough helicopters or pilots to set them before the levees fail. The mayor of New Orleans begs for Federal coordination, but there is none, and the sandbagging never gets done. Bush goes to San Diego, to play guitar with a country singer and lie to the military about how Iraq is just exactly like WWII. The levees give way, filling New Orleans with water, sewage, oil and chemicals. Ten percent of all US exports, and 50% of all agricultural exports ordinarily go through this port. It is totally destroyed. Bush decides he'll end his vacation a couple of days early – BECAUSE HE HAS TICKETS TO A PADRES GAME.


WHAT BUSH ISSUED…HE LEFT OUT NOLA AND ADJACENTS
Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana:
The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.
The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn. Note that Orleans Parish, (county), that New Orleans is in, was left out.

-can confirm. We cried.

-can confirm. We cried.

Glad you're HERE! I've found that this place is simply PERFECT to connect, find friends, find sympathy and support, get inspired, and my personal favorite - be assured that you're NOT alone.

Our beloved DUer Skittles said it best, awhile back: "Someone's always here." Doesn't matter the time or time zone. If you need to unload or just seek some company, there might as well be a "We Never Close" sign at the top of the homepage. And there's so much wisdom here that it might literally be almost overwhelming. It's become my favorite place on the 'net.

You're NOT alone in your feelings. And frankly, I bet somebody here sees this post of yours and thinks "boy, I thought I was the only one being hit hard by this..."

What a welcome. I’m taken aback by how this makes me feel right now.

So very kind of you.

We were in an apartment in Bay St Louis, building a house in Waveland. My elderly aunt nd uncle and one of my cousins - their daughter - lived in Pass Christian.

My wife’s cousin owned a place north of Laurel. We took aunt, uncle, and cousin, left the coast Sunday, Aug 28, went there.

On Aug 30 went to Donaldsonville LA, stayed couple of weeks with another aunt and uncle.

Went back to Pass and BSL - total loss, nothing to salvage . Elderly uncle died Sep 5. None of us have returned.

We share your feelings because we always pause on Aug 29.

Aug 29 is also our oldest grandson’s birthday. Life is strange like that.

And so horribly painful for you.

There were a couple amazing things, the destruction of the bridge, the destruction of the viet shrimp fleet and a beautiful Catholic Church (our lady of the bay/gulf)town hall with people who had lost everything. Congressman Taylor was fighting for money for his constituents. Also, it should not have surprised me was the Casino was the first thing re-open

A book entitled ‘Zeitoun’ describes the horrors of Katrina and the aftermath for an Arab American contractor. Heroism and prejudice. What a horrible time for New Orleans and America.
Peace ☮️

I read that! Thank you!

In Bay St Louis 19 years ago tonight. Very secure structure. We were lucky. Minor damage to home, State Farm got us a check literally instantly. Power out for two weeks. Cleaned out lots of freezers. That’s a stinky adventure. Hellscape in NOLA. We were very fortunate.

nestled oceanside between Pass Christian (severely damaged) and Waveland (nearly wiped off the map). IIRC, the JPL facility by Diamond Head got hit badly and spilled a lot of rocket fuel. You were very fortunate.

I would listen to NPR because my cd player was tuned to that station. Robert Siegel who always was unflappable was interviewing FEMA head Brown. NPR had reporters on the ground. The reporter on the ground said there was people in a location and needed help. Brown told Siegel it wasn't true. Siegel repeatedly tried to get Brown to understand that there was people there. When I got home immediately called Ted Strickland's office told them about the news story. Then I called Oxfam since I always donate to them. They said they didn't respond to events in the USA. I told them they needed to listen to the Robert Siegel interview with Brown. They responded to the Katrina disaster. Sorry, but I never had any thing like that bother me like that before. Brown's lack of compassion and the need to be right.

Thu Sep 14, 2023: On this day, September 14, 1954, Barry Cowsill was born.

Barry Cowsill

Background information
Birth name: Barry Steven Cowsill
Born: September 14, 1954; Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died: c. September 2, 2005 (aged 50); New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

Barry Steven Cowsill (September 14, 1954 – c. September 2, 2005) was an American musician and member of the musical group the Cowsills.

{snip}

Career


Cowsill in 1967

Cowsill was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the fifth of seven children. As a teenager, he became the drummer (and later the bass guitar player) of the band initially formed by his brothers Bill and Bob Cowsill, playing popular tunes at local dance clubs. By the late 1960s, the band expanded to include younger brother John (on drums), his mother Barbara, older brother Paul, and younger sister Susan. The Cowsills went on to churn out a string of hits ( including the #2's "The Rain the Park and Other Things" and "Hair" ) before officially disbanding by 1972.

After the group broke up, Cowsill moved frequently and worked various jobs including construction and waiting tables. For a time, Cowsill owned a bar in Austin which he admitted he lost because he "drank it dry. I was drinking my face off in those days." Throughout his life, he continued to play music and participated in various post-heyday incarnations of the Cowsills. In 1998, he released his first solo CD, As Is. In 2002, he relocated to his hometown of Newport, Rhode Island. In 2005, Cowsill relocated again to New Orleans. Shortly before his death, he had made plans to enter a Los Angeles rehab facility to seek help for his alcoholism. His flight to Los Angeles had been scheduled for August 28, but those plans were stymied when Hurricane Katrina hit the city on August 29.

Personal life

In 1987, Cowsill married Deborah Scott with whom he had two children (he also had an older daughter). Cowsill and his wife were divorced in 2003.

Death

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the city of New Orleans. Cowsill, who chose not to evacuate, weathered the storm in an abandoned warehouse. Cowsill survived the storm but was in need of help. He called his sister Susan from a pay phone (Susan also lived in New Orleans with her family but chose to evacuate) and left four voice mail messages saying he was surrounded by looters and people shooting. Susan Cowsill did not receive the messages until September 2. Cowsill was never heard from again. After an extensive search, Cowsill's body was found under a wharf on the Mississippi River on December 28, 2005. His body was subsequently identified by comparison to dental records. Cowsill's death was attributed to drowning as a result of the flooding following Hurricane Katrina.

The Cowsill family held two memorials for Barry in Newport and New Orleans.

{snip}

because of how badly it later hit New Orleans. It moved slowly across south Florida and totally flooded Miami and cause so much damage. Katrina was a terrible and historic storm before it ever reached the Gulf.



And then a couple of months later Wilma slammed back across south Florida from the opposite direction as a Cat 3 and knocked out power to millions for weeks. Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere.



Both storms got their names retired, but because of the complete devastation Katrina did in New Orleans, nobody really remembers or talks about Wilma very much.

2005 was a terrible season, there were so many storms that they had to use Greek letters because we ran out of names! So much damage, and so many lost lives.

Didn't know about the sand bags (1 1/2 Tons!) not being put in place!

our city has so many folks that came to us from New Orleans. The Bush family was horrible - they should never be in charge of a crisis. Anyway, the good part was the folks who stayed, opened new restaurants, etc. LSU is a very popular college right now, and I'm convinced that part of that is people sending their kids back to Louisiana.

I remember Rita too. Houston had just watched what happened to New Orleans, so we all tried to evacuate at the same time. We were eventually on 45 N with everyone else, and just ahead of the bus that blew up. We heard about it when we stopped at McDonald's and people came in as we were eating and told the story. Over 100 people died during that "evacuation" for a storm that wasn't as bad.

I'm glad you are in a safer place now - I dream of leaving Houston!

It was devastating. It was devastating.

Haven’t read down this thread yet, so I’ll just say this — how many remember our guy who owned a boat and wanted to do his bit for rescue? But the cost of fuel was exorbitant on the best day, and when he went to the docks see if he could get comped some fuel so he could, you know, save freaking lives, they would not.

CNN, which was still a worthy news organization, sent its reporters to the sports dome where people had fled or were dumped and showed the world what it was like there. It was a scene from Hell. At least one of them cried out words to the effect of, “ How can this be happening in the US? “

Yes, we who were not there still experienced it.

I was working with the Vets for Peace in Santa Barbara CA, at the time, and they were planning a caravan across America to the big March on Washington (I still have the T-shirt) — at least some of that effort was diverted to help for Katrina. Someone affiliated with our chapter was on his way with his RV and planned to stop off with relatives in a town close to New Orleans to set up a kitchen for displaced folks. We emptied our treasury for him, and added more as were able.

I flew to the March — we circled the White House yelling “Liar! Liar! Liar!” while black helicopters circled overhead.

Heckuva job, Brownie.

Bastards. BushCheney were bastards who had no business being in the White House.

Take care of yourself, Tom.