I've been glued to the TV most of the morning watching and remembering... the devastation, the sadness and the anger.
This is what I wrote in my blog on August 30, 2005:
I'm watching Nightline, showing all the devastation in New Orleans. It's just awful. I don't know how the city will ever recover. I went there like six or seven years ago with Christina... we had so much fun, even though we were working. The best meal I've ever had was at Emeril Lagasse's NOLA restaurant in the French Quarter, and now there is like three feet of water in the streets because the levees broke and aren't pumping the water back out to the river. The people who didn't evacuate the city are looting. The looooooong bridge over the lake that I can't remember the name of, but that I know we drove over, is washed away in parts. It's so sad.
And then on September 7, 2005:
I couldn't sleep last night. I made the mistake of watching the Oprah repeat at 1 a.m. last night/this morning where she was on location in New Orleans. Watching the news over the last week has been horrifying, heartbreaking and infuriating. But Oprah sent me over the edge. She and her cameras got closer than any news coverage I've seen... or maybe it was just that she let herself feel all their pain, instead of trying to remain objective like some journalists have tried to. People should NEVER have to experience what those hurricane survivors have lived through... the filth, the hunger and thirst, the emotional and physical pain, and the fear for their lives. This is America and there's no excuse for the inhumane conditions those people were forced to stay in because our stupid government couldn't get their act together. Heads should roll, starting with the head guy who had to cut his vacation short to deal with the devastation... poor baby.
I remember five years ago sitting transfixed on the television and thinking "This is America. How is this happening?" The only other time I'd ever felt that was 9/11. But New Orleans was different because we weren't attacked by terrorists. WE hurt New Orleans. OUR government failed miserably both in terms of the civil engineering that caused the levees to break, but more so in response to the disaster and how human beings, the citizens of New Orleans, were neglected and left to suffer in horrible, inhumane ways for days while politicians pontificated and made false promises.
Brian Williams made a point to remind everyone of that this morning, via these two poignant and heartbreaking clips from five years ago:
After Meet The Press, there was an hour-long special about volunteers, mostly church groups, that have been going to New Orleans to help people rebuild their homes. It was inspiring. (Yes I, the one who is against organized religion, just said that.) Things are getting better, but are in no way right. There is a lot that still needs to be done.
- Help Brad Pitt Make It Right
- Help Wendell Pierce's Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation
Then enjoy what makes New Orleans great...if you haven't been to NOLA, GO. I guarantee it will be one of the most fun, entertaining, delicious trips you ever take! Just a few reasons to love it....
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