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September 2nd, 2005
12:43 am
Major Update from Uptown/Garden District
I just spoke with my roommate who has been at our apartment uptown near the small Rue coffee shop since the storm hit. He was comfortable and had running water (to take showers and boil drinking water) until today – by morning the tensions on the streets were so intense he no longer felt safe or like he could get out if he waited longer.
His car had been stored in the Saulet parking garage, which is severely damaged. The five story wall on the edge of the structure has cracked and toppled over. The National Guard told him a route out of the city (taking 90 to a I10 West – he was able to drive to Baton Rogue and eventually get a flight out from the BR airport). There were many relief vehicles entering the city but no one was leaving, indicating that possibly those who have the means to leave are gone.
Unfortunately he had to leave my cats but he left them the remainder of his drinking water, a heaping bowl of dry food and a 3 lb turkey he cooked (gas stove). The water stopped running but he left the bathtub dial open to a trickle in case it comes back on. They have a large bowl of boiled water and the water left in the toilet boil. I think that should do them for a week and hopefully by then the rescuers will be there to save them. He left a secret window cracked, so with a ladder they can access the apartment. I’ll call them with revised instructions for finding them first thing in the morning.
Last night he started noticing a major increase in bugs, lizards, etc. I suppose they are fleeing the water as well. My cats have access to go out to a deck, so hopefully if they run out of water they can catch bugs till help arrives.
During the Storm
The whole house shook… swaying 3-4 feet left and right for eight hours. The chandeliers were swinging, ceiling fans swaying. A tree in the front yard banged against the home next door, causing major damage. After the eye passed he noticed the winds change direction and the tree beat against our home. But it held tight and there was no damage to our house whatsoever.
Flood report
There is no flooding (it’s dry) around Constance and Race Streets (the area around the Small Rue) for at least a 5-6 block radius. Outside of that range the farther away from the river you go the deeper the water gets, becoming impassible around Tulane Ave.
In the CBD (near the area you see so much violence on television) the survivors had zombie-like appearances. They walked out of chest deep water… they are dazed, glossy eyes. Some carry bags over their heads but they all have one thing in common. They looked totally lost and stunned. There was no one to help or guide them. Cops pass and don’t say a word. They emerge from the water and just sit there, lost.
Looting in the Garden District
There was been no apparent looting of Magazine shop stores.
Robert’s is totally empty inside from looters. Wal Mart is taking longer to clear out but there is a constant flow of looters. (I find it poetic justice that after such resistance to Wal Mart b/c it would put local stores in danger, it’s turning out that Wal Mart has helped delay looting of those local stores... hopefully enforcement will gain control of the situation and spare some of these businesses).
Violence and Destruction
The CBD looks like it has been bombed. Complete devastation with shards of glass and debris everywhere.
Until last night my roommate never felt unsafe. But as flood waters rise the madness on Canal Street is trickling to our neighborhood where it’s dry. Last night there was a knife fight on the street corner in front of my house and he heard screaming like he’s never heard before.
Staying sane, Death Toll and the Avenue Pub
He started a diary to pass the time and plans to document the experience on HIS BLOG. He also said having two other heartbeats from the cats kept him sane. The cats seemed very upset during the storm, but since then they have been relaxed and don’t seem to realize anything is wrong.
From what he’s heard he predicts 1000+ are dead in Orleans parish alone.
He was drinking warm draft one night post-storm at the Avenue Pub and ran into one guy plucked off a roof in Lakeview. They lifted him from his roof and dropped him on a dry patch then moved on. While waiting to be rescued he heard people banging on their roofs from the inside. They have no axes to get out.
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12:42 pm
Musicians Missing in New Orleans: Fats Domino (reported to be staying in his home which has totally flooded), Irma Thomas ("Queen of Soul") and Antoinette K Doe (widow of Ernie KDoe, pictured below). All of them were reportedly in New Orleans when the storm hit.
Ive known Antoinette for years... my very first film screening was in her club, the Mother in Law. I consider her a friend and have been concerned about her.
She's also the last person I interviewed on camera. I followed her and the K Doe statue around last Tuesday as they celebrated the opening of a children's reading center and food bank in the location of a former gunshot-ridden neighborhood. She is always doing good, always spreading the good name of her late husband, Ernie. None of us had any idea a storm was coming that day. Less than a week later and everything is changed.
I knew she'd stay with his statue. And his memorabelia. Hopefully she's OK and just MIA because of the communication lines.
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10:31 pm
I have lived in New Orleans for over five years and am a producer at one of the local TV stations (which is off the air right now). A regional paper has asked me to write a series of columns that will help explain the disaster with a local's insight.
I am writing these pieces with the intention continuing to motivate readers to offer help and to stay loyal to my beloved New Orleans' by ensuring the right messages and opinions are getting out in the media.
Please offer your thoughts, particularly to these questions:
1. Why do you think the looting and violence is happening to this extent?
2. What issues and subject matters would you like to see addressed in a recurring column seen by Southern readers?
If you are interested in reading the columns subscribe to my journal as I will be posting them as they are written. I would like your comments along the way since I want this column to be as representative of other locals' opinions as it is of mine.
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