HumidCity

A Guest Post by John Doheny, visiting professor of music at Tulane University.

Here’s my friend marieoroumania checking in from Socal.

Everybody was happy and smiling and seemed thrilled to death to be sleeping on FEMA cots. Free food, free water, impromptu dance lessons, live bands volunteering, some of whom were evacuees themselves. I cannot believe how much of a party atmosphere there is there. Especially after the grimness of the Astrodome in 2005 and the governmental fuckups. What a difference some organization, some money, and some genuine giving a shit enough to plan for an awful disaster makes. Seriously. I didn’t want to leave. I saw one girl with her face painted, and asked her where she got it done, and she told me “oh, over in the arts and crafts section.” Arts and crafts section! At an evac site!

While I am of coure happy that human suffering seems be being kept to a minimum, I actually felt sick reading this. Because I know that, sure as shit, this situation is going to be used to beat us New Orleanians over the head with how much better republicans, in a rebublican state, with a republican governor, are at managing disasters. And, once again, how the fuckups in Katrina are entirely our fault for electing a democrat mayor and a democrat governor (note the subtle ‘republicanspeak’ of substituting ‘democrat’ for ‘democratic.’ In the south, when you want to insult someone, you ‘call them out of their name’).

The fact that this is apples and oranges will be glossed over. It’s not just that SOCAL has a lot more money and a lot fewer poor people. It’s that it still has large metropolitan areas that are completely unaffected. It’s that the stadium has power, and running water, and the sewers haven’t backed up and flooded the place with shit.

Are the happy Southern Californians being kept inside by armed guards? When they tried to walk away from the fires (well okay, this is socal. drive away from the fires) were shotguns fired over their heads to turn them back? And, last I heard, about 600 homes had actually burned. That’s a tragedy for 600 homeowners, but over 150,000 homes were destroyed in Orleans Parish alone.

I sympathize, I really do. And if you have time later on, check the comment strings on places like Huffington Post. The same ass-trolls clamboring for my town to be abandoned are yammering on about hollyweird liberals too stupid to run from fires. So, you know, welcome to the club.

But in the long run, especially in the MSM, this is going to get spun as a triumph for Bush and the republican governorship of california, and a further indictment of Louisiana. And that makes me almost as sad and angry as the disaster itself.

At this time one year ago we began our evacuation, little knowing what the coming months would bring. I had sent out a link to the newly formed Humid City (then on Blogger) and told friends and family to check it regularly for updates on our situation. Here is a recording done via cellphone from the Bonnet Carre Spilway as we drove through the oncoming storm bands.

Humid City v2.3 - Blog Archive- Run Away: Podcast

Like many of us I find myself gearing up for possible evacuation. Alternating between optimism and dread about the season I still try to be ready for the lack of action should anything ugly go down. I tell myself its only logical to be prepared.

With that in mind I thought I might share some of the things I am doing to get ready for another possible Era of Exile. These are mostly things involving using internet technology and services, but since you are reading this I’m willing to bet you can cope.

• We have too many photos to take with us when evacuating. There are album upon album filling the shelves of a small bookcase. In order to make sure that the images themselves survive. I have been madly scanning them and uploading them to my new Flickr account. $20 a year gets you up to 2 Gigs of upload a month along with all the other niceties it offers (sharing, organization, etc). This means I do not even have to worry about grabbing discs when we leave.
• In order to make sure that no matter what I have contact info for everyone I am using a service called Plaxo. It is an address book that automatically updates. One change to my own info (if displaced) is automatically updated in my friend’s and family’s adress books. A really good way of keeping current, especially if we end up scattered again.
• All our CDs are now relocated to easily carried binders (love CaseLogic!)
• If you do not already have one advise setting up a blog or online journal. You do not have to use it, but does give you a single web address to give everyone before leaving. Computer access is common these days so you should be able to update it periodically, even from the road. This is a good way of keeping friends and family updated if you are on the move. Livejournal is especially useful for this as it is very comunity oriented and was a center of networking during Katrina.
• Whereas we only had one cat carrier befoer the storm (only used it for vet trips) we now have a full complement of five. If you hunt around you can find really nice soft sided ones that are collapsible for about $20 each.
• A new and interesting product we discovered on the run last year are disposable cat boxes. They are thin plastic cat boxes with a small amount of litter in them. You peel off the paper seal, let the wee beasties have some privacy, and throw it out when you’re finished. These were a godsend in a number of vehicles, hotels, etc.
• If there are keepsakes or items of sentimental value that you know you will not be able to take when you leave, photgraph them. Throw the photos up on Flickr (see above) and no matter what at least you will have the image.
• A stand alone, web based email account with a service like yahoo, hotmail, or gmail makes sure you can always communicate if you can get online. I personally prefer gmail, but your milage may vary.

If you have useful or creative ideas for prepping for the season please leave them in the comments. In the meantime I’m off to light some candles and hope it is not needed.

This one is for our New Orleans readership, both here and in exile. I found it on Fofalex’s LJ where he said he had looted it and made it his own, I guess that means I get the pleasure of looting from a looter…

Anyway, if you are a New Orleanian please add your own answers in a comment to this post.

1) What are you drinking right now?
Coffee.

2) Where were you on 28 August, 2005?
Fleeing in a group with too many humans, too many cats, too few cars, and a snake.

3) And then where did you go?
W. Memphis, AR. We stayed in a broken down hotel until a friend of my fiancee’s rescued us (THANKS Chris & Woody!) and brought us to a trailer in the middle of the woods outside Bloomington, IN. After a few weeks there we stayed in Dobbs Ferry, NY in a vacant apartment that was undergoing construction work. (Thanks Sean and Jo! You really pulled our fat out of the fire!)

4) Did you come home?
Yes.

5) If so, when? If not, where do you live now?
Got home to NOLA a week before Halloween, got up the next morning and helped out at the NOLA Bookfair, then the MOMS Ball Halloween Party that night. We now live uptown again.

6) What do you miss most about ‘old’ New Orleans?
Our friends, the ethnic/racial mix, trash pickup, steady power and phone, and the lack of acre upon acre of decimation surrounding us.

7) What notable meals have you had lately?
Homemade macque choux made with shrimp right off the boat from De La Croix! (Yes, I was cooking)

8) In a word, what’s the worst thing that’s happened to you since August?
My grandmother’s death.

9) Now, inspire us with something lovely that’s happened.
Hansen’s snoballs reopened two weeks ago!

10) Who is your favorite bartender?
I don’t know anymore…

11) Where can we find you at 1am on Saturday night?
At home with my cats or out seeing local music at a club.

12) A word on G.W. Bush.
Colassal Incompetent

13) A word on Ray Nagin.
Long on heart, short on brains.

14) What have we learned?
The social contract between people and government is now void.

15) Where do you see yourself in 12 months?
I wish I knew….

In Big Uneasy, Exit Planning Is Obsession - New York Times
It begins as a conversation, perhaps over dinner, at the end of the day: Where are you going this year? Then, on to the specifics. Which relative? Which hotel? How many suitcases?

Dave Baker, bass player of The Paradise Vendors speaks about the current situation and his relocation to NC after Katrina.

Q-What does George. W. Bush think of Roe Vs. Wade?

A- Frankly he doesn’t care how people get out of New Orleans.

Originally posted by Wine, so appropos it needed to be on the front page. Wake up America, your city could be next….

On the road 17 hours yesterday, still no sleep after 40 hours. Finally got checked into a Ramada in Memphis. Cats are much better after several seeming near heatstroke events on the drive up.

In the background the TV man’s voice says the eye wall will pass New Orleans in about an hour. I sit here badly in need of a drink, halfheartedly nibbling on the complimentary continental breakfast. Everything I own, know, or love in that town teeters on the brink of being submerged. The Hundred Year Storm is putting a severe cramp in my style.

I’m going to go survey the news and see if I can get any idea of what returning will portend. Will write more from here in the hotel lobby this evening.

Being the first of a series of podcasts that we will make as we flee the Epic Might of Katrina.

We will post more from the road as we make our strategic retreat. This will be a new experience for mee as I have never run from a storm before in my 39 years here. Wish us luck, we are travelling with a total of 5 humans, 8 felines, and 1 snake. This is going to be interesting…

Normally I feel invulnerable to hurricanes because I’m equipped with unsurpassed survival gear. However, this time prudence dictates that Lovely, Pearlgirl and I head outta state. People who don’t normally freak out and leave are, well, freaking out and leaving. Like Richard says, it feels “different” this time.

Katrina and her Waves scare me.

I’ll also just note that unlike her predecessor, Gov. Blanco decided to take a *gasp* expensive helicopter trip to New Orleans to stand with local officials making a statement on TV. I, for one, appreciated that.

Louisiana is in a state of emergency, and New Orleans has a voluntary evacuation going. Interstates around the city have been configured for “contraflow”, so traffic can only go outbound.

It’s sobering to think that Monday could be the end of something precious here. Below are a couple of “pre-hurricane” pictures looking down my street, during tonight’s sunset:

Click pics to enlarge… and tax that dog behind the tree!

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“The worst-case scenario for New Orleans — a direct strike by a full-strength [hurricane]– could submerge much of this historic city treetop-deep in a stew of sewage, industrial chemicals and fire ants, and the inundation could last for weeks, experts say.”
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Greg understands.
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Cross posted at YRHT.