[aopirose]

I haven’t watched Spike’s documentary and I probably won’t, but my neighbor saw it. She grew up in the Lower 9. Her dad still lived there and had a small business nearby. She was even thinking of sending her son to Holy Cross high school, in the 9th ward, last fall (BK – Before Katrina) but decided to keep him here. (They are white btw.) Neighbor said that although she hasn’t been a fan of Spike’s, she thought that the doc was excellent. She has been going around the city since last September taking pictures and documenting everything. Since she is an avid photographer, she has lots of before and after photos. She has been trying to get me down to the NO Museum of Art for months to see the Katrina exhibit. I just can’t do it. It hurts too much.

Mr. aopirose and a sister’s husband came to check on our houses the day after. They took back roads to avoid the road blocks. They passed a cemetery and the tombs had been blown out. They didn’t see any bodies but there were more than a couple of coffins in the trees. I could not imagine how that could be. That is until we were driving along 90 and I saw refrigerators right there in the trees. I am talking about up at the top just hanging out like big ol’ fruit. Pictures tell a thousand words but seeing things like this in person could fill a book or two. My goodness the MS Gulf Coast too and the destruction from Rita which also had an impact on the New Orleans area. It was hard trying to sleep after that.

I still have occasional panic attacks. They strike at the oddest times. We went to the west coast to visit family and one day we decided to see the beach. I was really looking forward to it but I couldn’t get out of the car. The way the waves were crashing on the shore was so rough. It was like when a storm comes but that was normal for that area. I can’t fully express how scared I was at that moment.

Aside from the emotional trauma that people are going through, there are legal troubles as well. A good friend is a real estate agent. She had a client from NO East two weeks ago. The woman was in her late 30’s with a young daughter. They were rescued from the second floor of their home along with her husband. Hubby was a diabetic on a pump. When the electricity went out, the pump did too and he went into shock. The boats came days later but the husband was put into a different one. They haven’t seen or heard about him since. She knows in her heart that he is dead. She would like to buy another home but she can’t sell the old one. Why? Hubby’s name is on the mortgage and he hasn’t given his consent to sell.

There is so much to tell. You just don’t know. Sorry for the ramble. I hardly talk about it.