Thank you FEMA

For giving my husband and I something we were in desperate need of.

And thank you Wachovia Bank for taking away those nasty fees once I told them we were in the hurricane.

Now if I can just get my car insurance company and Sallie Mae on the ball. I just have to remind them I don't live in Virginia anymore, and I might get a needed grace period for paying those bills.

By the way - Survived Rita. Lots of wind and rain, downed limbs, knocked over things, somehow still managed to rain inside the kitchen (but not as much as with Katrina) through the patched up hole (from the Katrina - tree incident), blew more insulation around the house and forced open a door and flooded the sunroom (but it's dry now). Thanks Rita for not bringing down another tree on the house.

My aunts are throwing me a baby shower in Jackson, Mississippi this coming Saturday. I'd be more excited if I actually knew people in Jackson anymore. So, it will be my 3 aunts who live in Jackson, my grandmother, Pete, and my one friend from childhood who still lives there and keeps in touch. Big shower. I am touched though that they're throwing me one. I've been worried that I wouldn't get one at all since all of my friends are placed so randomly throughout the country and world. And of course, what new mom doesn't need baby presents?!?

(I'm registered at target.com and babiesrus.com by the way)

Updates

Tonight's update:

Our church has adopted one family, a man, woman, their 19 yr old daughter who is starting at LSU and a 7 yr old (I think). We put them in an apartment and are trying to furnish it, they only have two beds right now. They do have plenty of clothes, I believe, because now there is definitely not a shortage of clothes in Baton Rouge. I think they also need help getting a car.

I finally got in contact with the pregnant woman who lost her home in St. Bernard Parish. She is due in December as well. She's staying in a hotel here in baton rouge with her husband, and said that there is still 6 feet of water in her home and pretty much everything is ruined. I know that St. Bernard was one of the most ignored and hardest hit areas, the cities in that parish are suburbs of New Orleans, but have their own close-knit communities as well, a lot more than most suburbs do. The parish president met w/a lot of the residents at the capitol building a few days ago to tell them not to expect to live there again until next Summer at the Earliest.

I think this woman is just in too much shock and like the other victims, cannot make decisions for herself. I so want to help her, hold her hand, but she is hesitant. For example, I was recommending my OB and other doctors for her since she was supposed to have an appt Sept 7 for a shot of rogam (something she and her baby desperately need NOT to miss) but she told me she's still trying to get a hold of her doctor and might look for one here soon. This lady needs someone to take her to the doctor to get that rogam, at least for her baby's sake, but she's still in denial I think. She also keeps mentioning moving maybe to Metairie, the northern part of New Orleans (which is also still uninhabitable mostly, at least no power, sewage or water) so her husband can keep his same job in New Orleans. I'm not sure what he does, but I doubt he'll be able to work there for a while now. I feel so bad b/c she had just bought everything for her nursery, she's having a girl, and it's all underwater and ruined now. And she's facing the prospect of having this baby in a hotel room where there isn't much room for a bassinet or anything else especially. I'm trying to get her help, but like I said, she's in denial and shock still.

The people staying with my sister, a family of 4 that sleeps there (thank goodness for the bed DH and I are storing in her guest room!) and up to 16 other relatives of theirs come by during the day to shower and do laundry and just hang out in something more normal than a shelter, might move soon to Texas. They can't decide which city, they have some family in Dallas but the dad doesn't like them too much and wants to go to Houston instead, so my sister might get a reprieve soon. She says that its hard sharing your home like that with so many people. She can hardly pay her electric bill this month much less whatever the next month might be. My mum-in-law sent me some money to put to the best use possible for these victims, and Pete and I decided perhaps give it to my sister for feeding and taking care of these people and to help pay the electricity when that bill comes. I also got her a Walmart gift card from my church to buy some more food for them, but it's only $25. Every little bit helps though.

I think I mentioned before about hearing some stories of FEMA not helping white people. Well in Walmart the other day a black man was yelling at the pharmacist that FEMA wasn't helping him, only the white people. So my guess is, they're just not helping everyone. This man kept saying he was diabetic and just needing whatever it was to be filled, and FEMA wouldn't help pay for it, and after standing in line for hours, the Red Cross gave him a 1-800 number to call, and he just needed the prescription filled (and paid for I guess). Right after the hurricane, these pharmacies were all saying they'd fill and refill any prescriptions of New Orleans people, well apparently they're not b/c that's one of many times I've witnessed someone from New Orleans angry that they wouldn't fill their prescription without them seeing a baton rouge doctor first. Seems unfair to me. They had their old prescription bottles, and obviously their doctor's offices were underwater or destroyed too.

I'm also seeing some local reports of more pets being rescued instead of shot for being strays, so there is some hope after all.

It is just getting scarier now because we don't know what to do with all of these people, and they don't either. I just can't imagine having to start a life over with nothing, and being in the same boat as thousands, even in a town 30 miles north of where you used to live.

Now the update on me and the baby:

I found out why he is measuring big, I have gestational diabetes. It completely sucks to be pregnant, finally craving and liking sweets again after having changed tastebuds not like sweets during the first two trimesters, and not be able to gorge on every craving anymore. Instead, I have to plan my meals, small and within a caloric range, and eat them on a schedule, every 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours. I also have to prick my fingers 4 times a day to check my blood sugars, and probably after my next Doctor's appt on Monday, will most likely have to inject insulin as well.

I am hoping this is just gestational and not that I was in the beginning stages of diabetes before pregnancy, because if it is just gestational it will go away as soon as I have the baby... and then I'm treating myself to a large strawberry sundae. That has been my latest craving, but I just can't really indulge in that right now. Sticking to this diet isn't something I should do just for myself, but it affects an innocent baby boy as well, so I can't even fathom cheating. I don't believe I have ever stuck to a diet this well in my entire life. It's so strange to do so, and exercise on a daily basis (I have to get an hour's worth of daily exercise in as well to help cope w/the diabetes), and be growing like a whale still.

Visa news - we have received confirmation that thanks to my Doctor's note, they are in fact expediting DH's visa, however they changed some of the rules on the forms I had sent in months ago, and we have to resend some information. Sigh. At least they're working on it. It may be time to send DH back to England soon, and I can't bear to be without him. It will be a very hard time. And perhaps to clarify to a few people who have asked - whether he goes to England now or in a months' time, the visa will come on its own time. Him being in England has nothing to do with the active process of the visa, it won't help any, he just needs to be there when they want him to be there for the interview. So sending him now to wait will just mean he'll be there longer, as opposed to sending him later so we won't be apart for as long of a time.

Oh, and I had a birthday. It was a bit uneventful, but I had a delicious shrimp dinner and a sliver of birthday cake, which did make my glucose levels teeter on uh-oh, but they've been pretty normal since. That reminds me, I'm also having cake after giving birth.

The 8th day

Okay, I'll try to be quick in this update b/c I still have tendonitis, I'm exhausted and am feeling so darn overwhelmed, but writing this stuff actually helps so here you go:

The benefit concert turned out pretty well. At first they were expecting a lot of military and we cooked a bunch of gumbo to feed them, as well as for the remaining people in this one temporary shelter. Well the military were gone on a night mission so they couldn't come, and the temporary shelter people were moved that afternoon to a more permanent one in Lake Charles (to the west of us, near Texas), so we were afraid we'd have nobody there and nobody to feed, so I was on standby to take all the gumbo to another shelter.

Then, these boys from Arkansas showed up. One of them is a pastor in Conway, Arkansas (about an hour north of Little Rock unless you're like the normal Arkansasian and drive 80 on that highway then it's 40 minutes or so north). Anyway, he had graduated from LSU down here, and just felt like he needed to do something, so he wrote to area churches and put an ad in the paper and came up with a large group of basically Arkansas rednecks and not so rednecks with chainsaws and they drove the 8 or 9 or however many hours it takes, and immediately began cutting up the trees blocking roadways in St. Tammany parish. That's one of the parishes that was hit very hard with a lot of wind damage, and we've had no communications in and out of the parish b/c of the damage, and the light company trucks and emergency personnel couldn't really get in there. So these 'good ol' boys' spent a 12 hour day cutting through the trees and moving them to the side, clearing the roads. They also met a few families who stayed for the storm, and brought them some water and offered to take them where they could get food, but I don't think any of them really wanted to leave their homes.

So our gumbo was eaten up by these hungry chainsaw bearing rednecks (and not-so-rednecks to be fair), and they all stayed for our concert, gave some testimonials themselves, and helped us raise some money.

They had some journalists and a cameraman there from New York, they were with some Episcopal/Anglican newspaper I think. One was british so of course they tried to get Pete to talk to him, but they were of course very busy so I don't think they really talked. They didn't have a place to stay but it took just a few seconds for someone to offer rooms, and there you go.

The next morning these guys came back and our church cooked them breakfast as well as the remaining evacuees at one of the temporary shelters who haven't been moved yet, and I guess the guys wanted to thank us, because by the time we got to the church a little later to sort donated supplies and haul it off in our truck to a shelter, it was already taken care of. So our church volunteers just found a new place to volunteer and spent the day there. It is mainly sorting donated supplies in an un-airconditioned warehouse so they wouldn't let me go, but Pete is going tomorrow I think. He spent today doing something at the church, and I took the day off... until my mother got me into vacuuming and dusting and cleaning the house.

A few other things - they're rescuing the pets that these evacuees left behind at the Superdome and all over, and bringing them to a few pet shelters here, one of them is very close to us. They're trying to reunite these pets w/the evacuees, and I hope that it happens. I also hope the health of these pets is okay, b/c since they found E Coli bacteria in the water in New Orleans, I'm afraid that's what the pets have been drinking while left behind.

And for the forgotten parishes - the ones the media ignores and that still desperately need rescuing and help - people are starting to make headway into those. Ever since the storm, all communications were lost, and because of downed trees and debris, it has been impossible to get in or out. But there are volunteers and relief workers now, trying to open the parishes up, and we're just now learning of the confirmed devastation in these places. They're talking about when the schools will be reopened, and while some have positive outlooks with October, others are saying at least another year. I know that there are many states who are opening their doors to these kids to be allowed into their school systems - but these families have to get there and find some sort of long-term housing in order to send their kids there. It's just not that easy.

I haven't heard from our Metairie houseguest/friend yet. The past two days he was staying with another family who finally regained power at their baton rouge home. I know that his place of work, the Sheraton in downtown New Orleans, is being used as a triage for patients from the hospital, so it must not be too damaged, so that is kinda good news... I suppose. I just don't know how they're going to get New Orleans up and running as a positive tourist destination again. It was always a dirty, crime-filled city to the rest of us that really know it, but we of course still loved going into downtown and the french quarter on weekends or days off for a good time... but who knows when the city will be drained, cleaned and bacteria free again to do that.

Anyway, in my search to try to do some sort of adopt-a-family thing, I've learned that there is something called the Angel project, which is flying families to wherever they want to go, to get housing. So those of you in the northeast and places too far to really drive that have told me that you'd love to open your home, try www.openyourhome.com or org or whatever it is and fill out a form, b/c I've heard some good happy stories of people being flown out to even Boston to stay with families, or to have churches up there put them up in an apartment. Get together with your work buddies or religious group or whatever and if you'd like to adopt a family and try to move them somewhere or put them up somewhere, or just try to buy them specific items - I'm going to try to go to the Lamar-Dixon Center which is the biggest shelter near us and find some families myself. That seems the best way so far.

I'm going to bed, long day tomorrow that includes doctor's appts now that they've found that I have gestational diabetes and more thyroid problems. Yay me. No wonder I've been feeling like crap lately instead of the great "you'll feel so good" second trimester I keep hearing about. Goodnight!

The truck that just wouldn't die

For a brief break from all of this disaster, I want to share with you a disaster that we thought the Hurricane might have actually helped - my Father's truck.

If you see below a few posts ago, you'll see the red '95 Chevy Blazer that the tree landed upon and think, like the rest of us did, that it would be the end of the story for this old truck. However, this is the truck that just won't die - mostly due to its owner, my stubborn Dad.

This thing reminds me of the Toyota pickup truck that on the show "Top Gear", they tried their best to destroy - dropping it off of a building, letting it swim in the ocean, setting it on fire, and putting it on top of a building that was about to be imploded - and it still runs. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/prog25/toyota.shtml) Trucks like this only run b/c of the men who are too stubborn to let go.

This Blazer came to us from my cousin in Mississippi who bought it brand new and just couldn't keep up with the payments, so we bought it from him. I had tons of fun driving it in high school, as it was one of the first SUVs to really come out as popular, and we put hundreds of thousands of miles on this thing. I even recall naming it, "Petey". The thing is, after a car becomes over ten years old and has hundreds of thousands of miles on it, you would think about replacing it with a better vehicle. Perhaps one that doesn't break down once a month, but not my Dad.

A little history about the Blazer: for the past 2-3 years this truck has been on its last leg. I think it was 2 years ago, or maybe just a year ago, my Dad ran over something in the middle of the road that damaged the under chassis. The insurance company said that the cost to fix it is worth more than the truck and they deemed it "totaled" and "unsalvageble". And now they will no longer insure it. Dad didn't care, he took his own money and fixed it and still drove it around.

This truck seems to be in the shop once a month. Dad is saying that the mechanic isn't fixing it all the way, yet he still takes it to the same guy. The guys at this fix-it shop all know his voice on the phone and know him by name, "Mr. Joe", because he is there so often. Dad says this truck runs just fine and there is no reason to get another car which will just mean more car payments and insurance payments. We've tried to donate it to one of those charities, or haul it into a "push, pull, drag" sale at the car dealership where they'll offer $3,000 for anything you can push pull or drag there... but he just won't let us.

All of the items on the dashboard don't work. No spedometer, fuel gauge, oil levels, etc. You can't drive it at night because no matter what bulbs you put in, it doesn't light up the street enough to see where you're going.

Finally, when I saw that tree on top of the truck during the Hurricane, I thought that we were going to see the end of this money-draining vehicle. But no. He has taken the truck to many places for estimates on how to fix it, and although all of the places say to just total it, they'll manage some way to fix it, for a price. And of course he's going to pay to do that.

This truck just won't die. We were at the point of figuring out how to siphon the gas out of it since we didn't think it would go anywhere and with the cost of fuel so high now... but he's driving it - he even drove it to go play 9 holes of golf, and to the store. Bent roof, broken windows, and all. I don't even think the air-conditioner works anymore.

So that is the story of the truck that just won't die, and the stubborn old man who won't give up on it. We celebrated, thinking the hurricane would end it all for this truck, but not as long as the engine starts (after ten minutes of revving and trying), and the truck runs (with loud bangs and black smoke).

News from Disaster Zone

Since I am seeing an obvious difference in what that National news shows (they show a very edited version of events here in order to form your opinions) and what our local news (www.2theadvocate.com and www.wafb.com) reports, I thought I'd update you on the real things.

First, there is more to Louisiana than New Orleans. There are parishes and communities with much more damage, more fatalities, and some are so leveled by the gulf of mexico that it looks as though the ocean will have taken over that land forever. So much for the prevention of our state eroding away. Here are some things I learned about these areas yesterday:

WBRZ showed some great pieces today, basically all they've been doing is bringing in people/survivors and listening to them, and also people from the LSU Hurricane center and some boaters who went into some of these parishes where the national news just isn't going (i guess b/c there isn't as much drama w/the people there, and it's not new orleans, but the outer suburbs). What I saw today was good and bad. Good, that in Metairie, where one of our house guests is from and where he left his cat, is dry now. Most of it anyway. Looks like they got some wind damage like we did here (Metairie is on the north end of new orleans). They also showed a few cats who looked healthy. Phew. Police were picking them up and taking them to a shelter to be fed and cared for. The news is that these people will be let back in to that area (Jefferson parish which is metairie and kenner where the airport is) 6am monday morning - not to live but to look at their damage. There have been crews working already to try to get power and water back up and to remove trees, and they finally removed trees from the major roads mostly.

The second piece was of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish. I've heardly seen footage of it yet, nobody has really, b/c the nationals aren't touching it yet. And mostly I think that's b/c it has been hit so hard it is difficult to even get in there. But these guys went in with a boat and a camera and they went down every street and showed it on the tv (it's not just a news hour, the abc station is now just news nonstop to show us all this). We have a lot of evacuees here from that area and they need to know what is going on there for peace of mind, so perhaps that is why our local news is so different, they have a different audience - people who lived there and want to know what is really going on.

Anyway, Chalmette was hit hard. First, wind damage, it looks like tornadoes ripped through the place, then water to the rooftops. The water has receded some, you can see water lines where it used to be. But... dead horses and deer on balconies and rooftops, people had written help on their roofs and nobody was in sight so the boaters didn't know if they were dead or alive in their attics... they knocked and yelled but no answer. Cars and trucks were floating on top of each other, an entire house floated off of its foundation and was in the middle of a major road. Chalmette is a small towned suburbish place of New Orleans. There is a close knit community there, so close knit that other New Orleanians call them Chalmatians and joke about inbreeding because the families are so close together, and it sucks that those people are going to have to live in new places and resetablish themselves in new communities. Same w/new orleans of course but this is a new place we're finally getting to see the damage of that it seems that national news has been ignoring. I'm sure it makes those victims feel worthy just as when a certain politician suggests we don't even rebuild one of our greatest cities and ports.

And in other news:

Benefit concert is tonight. Church today was full of new families who had no where else to go. We had one of our vicar's friends who is a priest in NY speak to us, he was there for 9/11, and also is from North Carolina on the coast originally so he had some hurricane experience. Tonight they've invited people from the shelters as well as the visiting and baton rouge police departments, and the military which is mostly texas national guard who are using the baton rouge airport as their base, and we're cooking gumbo for all of them as well. Normally after church on sunday, Pete and I usually go out for lunch w/our priest, the youth minister and children's minister and a few other church staff or people like us who are usually involved in some ministry there, so today we invited the rest of the band and the NY priest, who quietly and discreetly paid for all of us on the side w/the waitress while we weren't paying attention so that we couldn't refuse. What a nice man!

I haven't watched any local news today, just last night, so no updates from that right now, although Pete and I saw about 12 big tour buses drive police escorted going north/west on I-10 from New Orleans, but they looked empty. Perhaps they're going to our downtown civic center which is overflowing with evacuees and maybe transporting them to a more permanent shelter, who knows.

And praise for Mobil/Exxon. While most gas stations in the area have tried their best to keep gas under $3.00, it is still $2.99 in most places except for these stations. They're still at $2.54 and $2.57 and even some places in baton rouge are $2.49. They quickly run out of course as there are queues of cars waiting for hours to get gas, but they don't raise the prices when they get a new tanker full. I think that is their own way of trying to help us out. Our population has tripled and these people need any break they can get. So yay for them. The Chevron is doing the same, but not all of them, just the one near us. As a matter of fact a tanker just started to pull into the one by our house so Pete is gonna go back out ina little bit to fill up. We've tried not to get gas yet but with our truck it is inevitable. With all this driving to and from shelters and our church which is located in baton rouge, we can't avoid it. At least we're not taking a lot of containers and filling them up as well like most people. They're only making the situation worse.

I have a story my mom told me about three of the evacuees who stayed the storm at a New Orleans hospital b/c their babies were in the NICU there. When they came to evacuate the babies, they only took the babies to make sure they got all of them and left the staff and mothers and other people there, so they had to find their own ways out. So these three mothers, a doctor and a nurse waded through the knee deep waters trying to get to West New Orleans where one of them had a sister who was a doctor at another hospital there (West Bank fared much better and wasn't as flooded, most of the damage was only done by looters who looted and set fires to places afterwards which of course could only burn to the ground since fire trucks couldn't get in). One of the mothers had a family-owned home in the garden district (very near the french quarter) on St. Charles Avenue so they tried to get there first. Of course they didn't want to be followed or attacked so whenever someone asked where they were going, all they'd say was "we're trying to catch a ride to Baton Rouge".

Some men, possibly police or military, picked them up in an air boat and took them to St. Charles, however it was still 11 blocks away from this house and night had begun to fall. Of course you've heard of the violence that happens there at night, especially now when there is no protection around, so they tried to be as quiet as possible and tried their best not to use their flashlights. The water has all sorts of chemicals in it, and they said it just burned and itched at their skin. Finally, they made it to the house and as quietly as possible broke in and spend the night there so that they could walk the rest of the way to the west bank in daylight at least. I think there may have been some food and bottled water there as well, I'm not sure. They had a generator but were too scared to use it b/c the noise might attract looters.

The next day they walked, I don't know how many miles, through the water towards the west bank. Finally two ladies and some children drove by in a Suburban, it looked like they had stolen it but these folks didn't care. They stopped to talk them b/c they needed a cell phone but the hospital group had just dropped the one cell phone they had in the nasty water and couldn't find it. They offered them a ride to the west bank, but once they got on the bridge, the police/military wouldn't let them drive over it. They had to abandon the vehicle and walk. Somehow they made it to the mall on that end, which had been looted and set on fire, and got in contact w/the sister/doctor at the other hospital there. She came by, gave them her car and said she had to return to the hospital, so just take the car to baton rouge. They had no idea how to get to baton rouge from there so they found a police officer and asked him, who gave them directions and repeated over and over "do NOT stop for ANYONE". They did as he said and made it into baton rouge where they went to Woman's hospital where my mom works and where the three babies were. This was the first time one of the ladies had even seen her husband and other daughter since before the storm hit when they evacuated and she stayed behind at the hospital. The hospital let them shower and gave them scrubs to wear and fed them, and now they're fine.

My mom comes home from the hospital with all sorts of stories like this. One of the women in that group had just had a C section 10 days earlier. Can you imagine all that walking in that horrible water after that? She said a lot of people are winding up at the hospital after going through some sort of similar escape and just need a shower and clothes after being in that water. They're filthy, stinky, and sickly.

If you would like to help

Other than the items that the news channels are telling you, like clothing, baby supplies, medical supplies and food, you also need to think of the displaced prisoners. They are people too. This came from an email from one of our local churches where DH and I once took part in a ministry. This is a very ministry oriented church that spends their weekends tending to a large garden where they grow vegetables and fruits to give to homeless shelters.

"Chaplain Toney ofAngola has requested the following for 1700 - 2500 male and female inmateswho have been evacuated from New Orleans and surrounding parish prisons:
shampoo,
soap,
deodorant with NO ALCOHOL listed in the product ingredients
tampons
new bras (practical kind)
new underwear for men and women (practical kind)
shoes (practical kind)
pillows
towels
Chaplain Toney has called this a 'desperate need'. Charlie deGravelleshas offered his home as a distribution point for the supplies. If at all possible please donate what ever you can and deliver to Charlie byWednesday of next week. "

If you want to donate to this, email me and I'll help you by either letting you use me as a vehicle or I can give you this church's address to send money.

Time to stop flippin' out and start helpin' out

I heard a radio broadcaster use that expression on the radio and I can't agree more. The news is so devastating that I've mostly stopped watching it, or at least will take a break and watch a little of Little Britain or even a cartoon to decompress. These evacuees have expressed that they don't want to be referred to as refugees, but that is exactly what they are. Although their argument is that they are Americans and cannot be called refugees, I feel like the government has turned their back on them because they are the poorest of the nation and our governor isn't the brother of the President, so in a way they are in fact just refugees.

There are many ways that you can help. A lot of people down here have expressed frustration at the Red Cross because they have asked to volunteer or donate something and nobody will return their calls or give them specific information. So most of the help is being done by area churches and organizations, and benevolent residents with a heart. If you want to donate something whether it be money or items, email me and I can give you my address or the address or phone number of an area church that is simply taking donations, going to the store, buying the items themselves and taking them to the shelters, or I can do that myself. DH and I's church is cooking breakfasts and collecting clothing and items and taking them to specific shelters in the area. We're cooking breakfast at 5am tomorrow morning for one of the shelters and buying gallons of milk and orange juice to take with us.

A few shelters have asked specifically for paperback books for these people to read, bibles, coloring books and decks of cards. If you have anything like that and want to mail it, I can give you my address or their addresses, just email me.

And if you happen to live in this area, I have the number of someone to call who is organizing housing for these relief workers. They need places to sleep in between shifts of going out to work here. Right now a lot are camping out at the mall parking lot, with tents and port-a-potties. As soon as the people staying with us regain power at their baton rouge home, we'll have a few beds open here. If you're one of my friends or family, you're welcome to come stay here and help out yourselves. Especially if you're medical personnel. They need everybody. Even people to take care of the pets housed at the LSU agriculture center (and pet supplies).

And I hate to do it b/c of all the devastation that you already hear about, but I have one more sad story to share. My mom met this evacuee in the elevator at the hospital where she works, and one of the other nurses asked him about his family. He said that they are all right, they all escaped from the rooftop of his home - but his friends nearby did not fare as well. Four of their family members could not fit through the hole to the attic so they had to let them go and drown while the smaller younger members went to the roof to be rescued. Can you imagine?

What country do I live in again?

I live in a warzone... or is it a refugee camp? I can't tell, perhaps a refugee camp on the outskirts of a warzone might suffice. I feel as though I survived the London Blitz and am with the other clueless survivors as to what to do now.

The national news certainly isn't reporting everything that they should be. I wish y'all could hear our local radio and see our local broadcasts. Members of the New Orleans Police Department are here in Baton Rouge saying that they're ready to turn in their badges and never to return to New Orleans again. They're upset that they weren't prepared for something like this, and the little preparation given to them was a warning to go inside when the weather was too bad, and they received unarmed National Guardsmen to accompany them. No wonder I saw two New Orleans police officers looting themselves at the Wal-Mart on West Bank.

Our population here south of Baton Rouge has tripled, as well as in Baton Rouge itself. We live near the first civilized exit off of the interstate coming from New Orleans, so a lot of evacuees are here, camping out by the gas stations, and scarily, walking our neighborhoods making us feel as though they're eyeing what to loot here. I'd like to think the best of people, and quite honestly, the ones who did evacuate New Orleans are the nicer, law-abiding citizens who left the city with the hooligans and vastly impoverished who have no hope of rebuilding themselves once everything drains. I don't understand the violence down there, I try to justify it the best I can, but I don't think any of us can quite fathom the desperation down there. They don't have access to radio or news, they don't know what has gone on in Mississippi, or other parts of their area. They don't know that the government keeps talking about a rescue effort and they have hardly seen any part of it themselves. Not that some of them are helping by shooting the newly acquired guns from looted pawn shops either though.

My mom works here in the NICU at Woman's hospital in Baton Rouge. She is working night and day, sometimes spending the night at the hospital to make sure there is always staff for the 102 preemie and sick babies in their unit. She comes home with horrible stories told to her by the nurses who accompany the helicopters and ambulances that are evacuating babies from the New Orleans hospitals. One nurse mentioned having to be escorted by National Guardsmen with AK-47s because the flood victims down there are attacking the ambulances and shooting at the helicopters. They have had to put ID bracelets on the hospital personnel in case something happens, so that they can identify their bodies later. They have been able to evacuate most babies, but there are sad stories as well. The helicopter once fit all but one baby, who couldn't really travel anyway because he was attached to a heart/lung machine that wasn't very portable. As soon as the helicopter left, the hospital ran out of oxygen, and the baby died. They also cannot get in touch with most parents of these babies to let them know where their children are. The parents have had to evacuate before the storm and leave their baby in the hospital. Who knows when these families will be reunited.

The scene here in the 'refugee camp' area is of nothing but desperation, and these people here are faring loads better than those in New Orleans. These people not only have no home to return to, but no lives either. No job, no church family, neighbors to bbq with, local stores and familiar surroundings. And most have no money as well. What the national news is not reporting, is that New Orleans has a majority of very impoverished people, especially where most of the flooding has occured. These people don't have insurance, and right now are struggling in receiving their first of the month welfare checks since they obviously can't go out to their mailboxes and get them. The shelters here are all full, and although most have begun to get air-conditioning again, there aren't enough food, supplies or bedding. Not many have places to shower, hardly any have more than one change of clothes. Simple things like being able to brush your teeth or put on deoderant - these people aren't able to do. I see them and want to take them all home with me, but not only is this not my house, but we're already hosting three displaced people as it is. Two have homes, but without electricity, and it is way too hot to live without even a fan. The other doesn't know if he has a home or job to return to. He lives in Metairie and works at a hotel on Canal Street in New Orleans. He left his cat at his house thinking he would return the next day. No idea if his cat is surviving.

I'm struggling to be content with our government right now. As the President went and played golf today, people were being raped and beaten and shot as they waited for buses at the Convention Center, a place of higher ground where Superdome evacuees are waiting to be transported out of the city. I've seen a much faster and better response in Florida, even Iraq... so why is it taking so long to help our countrymen down here? Is it b/c they are a majority of poor people who live on the federal dollar as it is and are the reason New Orleans had two police officers to every one person? Or do the floodwaters really keep them from helping? Why would it take a week or more to send more help? A lot of us, including our state government, are finding this hard to understand. No wonder the victims are acting out in desperate measures, they don't see their government helping them one bit.

I should wrap this up, but I just wanted to find a way to express just how much I feel like I am living in a war zone right now. This isn't a war on terror, but a war on survival. I can't tell you just how much I feel fortunate for not living just 40 miles to the south.