Talk to me local gulf region folks. What’s it like down there?

With the current political climate, everyone wants to be the hero, so I can only hope and pray that if Gustav hits hard my country will have done ALL it can do and will take an IMMEDIATE call to action in the aftermath.

check one of my favorite sources (fellow blog supporter) for more…  NEW ORLEANS LADDER

Man!  I’m going to run late to work as I dress and am glued to CNN.  McCain is speaking now.  What a great opportunity for him to showcase himself.  He is doing the right thing.  I only hope that we also get to hear from Obama today as well.

What I’m most worried about is the mental health of so many victims from just 3 years ago, almost to the very day.  Just imagine what that triggers for the young children, even ones who are in other parts of the country and the world who witnessed it on television and may not have completely sorted out what Mother Nature’s fury can and has done not only in the US, but all over the world.

Remember all the reports with images like the one below? (source: People mag from 2005)

and all of the faces we watched with hope and despair…

I’m not trying to exploit these photos nor sensationalize, but I want you to reflect and think about the impact.  Sometimes for us, it takes that “in your face” imagery to get us to really register what’s going on.

Hopefully, Gustav comes in and leaves like a lamb as it approaches the gulf region.

p.s. I’m sooooo glad that everyone is able to take their pets with them as they evacuate.  I can’t imagine what I would do if I were ever forced to leave my doggie behind presented with an urgent situation.  He’s my baby, a part of my family, and I know all animal lovers completely recognize what a wonderful comfort they are during good and bad times.

If there’s a story that I have become obsessed about, it is Hurricane Katrina. I remember it like it was yesterday. My husband and I were visiting some good pals in South Carolina and recall looking at the giant mass on CNN of Hurricane Katrina heading for the Gulf region. I, like so much of the country, stood by stunned and helpless as we watched the news flash of Hurricane Katrina’s fury.

And then the levees broke…

Honestly, I’m traumatized by the events and I was not even there. In NO WAY do I want to take away from anyone who had to live through the experience firsthand, but I just want you to know that it broke my heart. It literally broke my heart to see a moment in the US of A, one of the richest and ablest countries in the entire world, my country that is busy defending me from evil in Iraq absolutely fail to organize an immediate call to action. I remember it was when I first discovered Craig’s list as I was frantically googling how I could get to the Gulf region and do something after seeing Mayor Ray Nagin meltdown on CNN. Craigslist had all kinds listings from people organizing rides to New Orleans or people looking to ride with others. I was millimeters away from just doing it, but my obligations to grad school and some sense talking from my hubby and mother kept me at bay. Those are those moments that if I only had myself to be responsible to and for, I would’ve just jumped in my car. Instead, I immediately signed up with the local Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, but to this day I have not been down there to do my part.

It just amazes me, as a girl from the ‘burbs, how quickly housing communities arise even in a depressed housing market, but we are still pecking away at rebuilding New Orleans and so many nearby areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. How is it possible to still have someone living in a trailer 3 YEARS LATER?!? This was a defining moment and Bush absolutely dropped the ball.

I have been to New Orleans for a short weekend trip about a year before Katrina hit. I honestly can’t get myself to go back there even to support the economy because I can’t get the images out of my head. People died in the Superdome! To me, that’s now sacred land. There’s no way I could sit and watch a game or a concert in a place today for the sake of folly when so many evacuees went there as a last resort.

The following youtoube video from the Real News Network is extremely powerful. Please watch it and tell me what you think.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlkTMQLAE8A&hl=en]

I guess I’m just starting this post to generate some current dialog on the subject. I want to hear from people who were directly affected by Hurricane Katrina and also the added nightmare of the broken levees. I also want to hear from any of you who, like myself, maybe had little to no direct impact and what you have to say when you think about it today. I want to hear from any of you who have gone down for relief efforts. Send me pictures, blog links, articles, books, documentaries and films, more youtube footage, etc…

Let’s keep the dialog going until our fellow citizens in the Gulf region (many former citizens now, I guess) have put the pieces of their lives back together again.

One more thing…

I’m a documentary fanatic and have watched several on this subject. Most recently, I watched “Desert Bayou“, by the masterful Master P, that talks about New Orleans evacuees (black evacuees) that were dropped in Utah to resume life. It’s a good one, if you’re interested. I think I saw something about it on the side pane of Field Negro’s blog and added it to my Netflix list.

More posts to come…