12 Comments

1. 

   Michelle Ensminger on August 31, 2005 at 9:29 AM

   It is very hard to wrap one’s head around. I haven’t had the tv on much…I try to watch as little as possible so that I’ll do more productive things, so I’m just now hearing a lot of the stories. It’s overwhelming, almost numbing. The tragedy is hard to comprehend. It’s hard to know what to feel. I feel such grief and tears and then I think but why am I crying, what have I lost. Then I remember we are all connected by spirit so it’s only natural to feel the grief and loss too. And if it weren’t for the compassion within us we could so easily look the other way instead of extending a helping hand, even if the only helping hand we can give is a prayer.

2. 

   Kateri on August 31, 2005 at 10:46 AM

   There’s a feeling of great helplessness in the face of such natural disaster. When the city lies below sea level to start with, how do they ever even start to get all that water out of there? And the health issues–danger of disease outbreak, getting food and water to the stranded people, water and food safety–it all just boggles the mind. Here’s hoping the spirit of the city and its unique atmosphere will again emerge from all the destruction.

3. 

   Jen on August 31, 2005 at 1:09 PM

   Thanks for the love. My brother is down there and ended up staying down there through the storm. He’s consistently on my mind. He made it through the storm and he is fine – but seeming it is getting worse down there b/c of the levees breaking – I still am worried.
   I have so many great memories there – I’m sure you do as well.
   I wish that whole area the best!!

4. 

   Meg on August 31, 2005 at 7:21 PM

   Well said Michelle…. I think prayer is important and ties us all together. Sometimes it’s “all” we can do, but when people are praying for me and I’m at what feels like rock bottom, that “all” is alot. It’s what shows me it’s not rock bottom.
   It’s hard. do we engage, or disengage? My boyfriend and I have diffrent coping stratagies so we’ve been going around and around on that one. Is it helpful to know, or is it just voyeristic watching of others suffering? I glue myself to the news and get upset, and he becomes stoic. It’s a weird thing. And what can we do? Giving to the Red Cross and praying hard are good starts I suppose.
   Thanks for talking about the huge thing on all our minds Andrea….

5. 

   doug on August 31, 2005 at 9:04 PM

   I think it sux too how the prime time victim show w/2 news choppers is showing people’s misery gratuitously, replaying the same scenes (got to get the footage of black people looting-thats always a ratings grabber), and it shows how horribly vunerable we are and like what the fuck are we still doing in Iraq…sorry about the rant…and you always get that one asshole who is watching the news and goes “serves’em right for building below sea level.”

6. 

   Jennifer on September 1, 2005 at 5:58 AM

   Living in Central Florida, I didn’t think anything could be worse than last year’s hurricanes, and it’s just heartbreaking to see that I’m wrong. This is definitely our own tsunami. Makes me thankful that all Central Florida is dealing with is a few roofs off…

7. 

   Beastmomma on September 1, 2005 at 6:38 AM

   I feel like my heart is breaking while watching this story unfold. Having lived there myself, I feel compelled to defend the city and explain what a mess it is. I echo the sentiment of frustration with our government. Why did he wait 5 days before responding? The relief efforts should have come sooner and need to be more comprehensive.

8. 

   jenny vorwaller on September 1, 2005 at 8:18 AM

   andrea,
   sigh. it makes me so sad too.
   i made a little piece of artwork posted on my site~all the proceeds will go to the red cross to help out. every little bit helps.

9. 

   james on September 1, 2005 at 10:37 AM

   an article from Germany that raises some questions
   http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,372455,00.html

10. 

    Connie on September 1, 2005 at 4:33 PM

    My real father lives in New Orleans. My parents divorced when I was a baby, so the last time I saw my father was six or seven years ago. I don’t know if he’s alright yet. The phone lines are busy, of course. I’ve been praying that he’s alright, and I have tremendous regrets for not seeing him more often, as I should have. If something happened to him, I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. So let’s all pray for our loved ones

11. 

    Julia on September 1, 2005 at 6:08 PM

    I too feel so very sad and helpless when I see all the destruction and misery in New Orleans. One of my favorite cities will never be the same. My prayers go out to all those whose lives, and homes and loved ones have been harmed. It also makes me feel like the earthquakes we have here in CA, pale in comparison to the days upon days of suffering mother nature has brought to the South. I don’t want to watch it all on the television….but it’s everywhere, and the rawness and pain of it all just draws me in…. I am making a vow to myself to turn off the television, and pick up my checkbook and make a donation to the Red Cross “Katrina disaster relief fund”.

12. 

    Jennifer on September 2, 2005 at 6:21 AM

    There’s an article in my local paper today here in Orlando, and there’s a guy being quoted as saying that for all the complaining about this and that, we had it easy last year with all the hurricanes. We were real inconvenienced, sure, but ultimately, that’s it. I was thinking last night that a lot of us here in Florida had things that we had to fix, but none of us had a total collapse of everything. We might have had to replace a roof or deal without power for 7 days, but we had our jobs, our cars, our homes. We still had some semblence of order…