Random Art?

That's the only explanation I can think of. I backed out of the driveway yesterday & this was on the front walk.

I've decided to leave it for a while.

This is Important

This blog is just my personal log of post-Katrina experiences with no political axe to grind. It is intended to keep my friends up-to-date with how we're doing. But I've got to step out of character to call attention to the apparent failure of will shown by the federal government to protect our city from the next storm.

The top two pictures at the right were taken at the breach in the 17th Street Canal levee. Review of the levee shows that the Corps of Engineers did not do their job. The levee was not build according to their own plans, and the plans themselves were flawed. Among other things, where the sheet piles were specified to be 17 ft deep, they were only 10.

The third picture shows the storm surge coming up the Intracoastal waterway and breeching the levee in New Orleans East. The flooding in the 9th Ward of New Orleans and in Chalmette was largely caused by levees failing due to the storm surge accelerating up the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), a pending disaster that people have been trying to close for years.

This disaster should not have happened.

This editorial appeared in the Washington Post last week. It is written by the editor of the Times Picayune. After reading it, please write to your representatives & senators and tell them the country cannot write off New Orleans. And if you'd be kind enough to add a comment to this post, I'd appreciate it. (You don't have to sign in to comment, though there is a system to prevent automated spam.)

GAS!

OK now, we're really getting close. When we got in Sunday night there was still no gas at the house, but they had it 5 houses up the street in one direction, 1 block down the street in the other direction, on the street behind our house, and 1 block over in front of our house.

So close!! Then Monday afternoon an Entergy service truck pulled up across the street with a front-end loader, dug a hole in the pavement, and started pumping water out of the line! By nightfall we had Gas!

Though the workers still had to come back the next morning to finish up, that first night with gas heat was delightful. I promise never to complain about the cost of gas ever again...well, not really. BTW, for those blog visitors from more northern climes, the night before the temperature had plummeted from a daytime high of 71 degrees during the day to 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7 C for our European family) for a brief moment during the night. By the next morning it was back to 60 degrees F. We survived by running small electric heaters & bundling up. (Yeah, I know -- we're wimps.)

Happy Thanksgiving

We're in town for the week, doing some demolition & cleanup, but we took time to share dinner with family this evening.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

A visit to the Lakefront

A couple of weekends ago I took Christopher & Jacob out to the lakefront to see how it had survived. I knew the news would be bad, but even after all the evidence it's hard to believe how much power this storm packed.

Even before you get to the marina, you see the first signs of destruction. I guess it'll be a while before tours are available on this craft again.



As soon as you cross the levee to you see the destruction. The beach volleyball park , just on the north side of the levee, collected much of the debris from the buildings closer to the lake.



Then, walking to the pedestrian bridge that crosses to Bucktown, all that can be seen of Brunning's, Sidmar's, & all the other homes & restaurants along the water is pilings. The force of the water was so strong that it pushed over the steel handrails on the bridge.

But it really gets interesting over by Southern Yacht Club. The cost of the pile of fiberglass in the loop road & the parking lot is incalcuable.













Of course in the midst of this chaos there were some strange sights. For instance, the Tulane class boats, still tied to their dock, had been moved several hundred yards and deposited in the midst of the destroyed behemouths, seemingly undamaged.


And one small cruiser found a new mooring in the decorative pond not much bigger than she, in which she was floating peacefully. Though I imagine her trip there was anything but peaceful.

Through all this, though, it was good to know that our city inspectors were still at work, warning us to avoid dangerous buildings.

Satsumas!!

Plaquemines Parish lies due south of New Orleans and extends all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. It was hit hard by Katrina, and one sure casualty of the storm had to be the citrus crop. Plaquemines satsumas are an annual delight that everyone in New Orleans anticipates, but I sure didn't expect to find any this year.

Imagine my delight, while driving back from a visit to an Plaquemine oil refinery (still trying to get back online after the storm) to see that Becnel's fruit stand was open and had all the satsumas you could want!

I got 6 bags & next time I go down I'll probably get 10.

Another Step Forward

As I was pulling out of the driveway heading out of town today I saw another sign that things are getting back to normal...but a new normal.

They've restarted mail delivery, but it doesn't quite look like it used to....

One More Refrigerator Picture

Those who have frequented Liuzza's by the Track, down the street from the house, know that it is the source of a truly Platonic bowl of gumbo. Platonic in the Underground Gourmet sense of being the best example of it's type.

Liuzza's gumbo type is an unthickened stock, chicken and andouille sausage gumbo with oysters and shrimp added in the last few minutes before serving. The seafood is still tender and maintains its separate flavor in the midst of the spicy broth and firmer meat. My mouth waters just thinking of it.

Every time I come into the city I walk by, hoping against hope that they are back in business. So yesterday I walked by, and once again there is no sign of activity and the refrigerators are still all lined up on the curb, and the smell is, if anything, stronger than the last time I was here.

But someone added something to the refrigerator display: