Storms and More Storms

I know I was supposed to be writing an essay about something else, but all day I have been glued to radar images and computer models and forecast tracks. August and the height of hurricane season has arrived, and like everyone else south of I-10, I am obsessed and petrified with the storms starting to swarm. As of last check, Erin doesn't look to be much of a threat, but Dean seems to be on a track taking it straight into the Gulf. Where the surface water temperature is 90°. Lovely.

We dodged the bullet last year, and we all breathed a sigh of relief at a quiet hurricane season following The Storm. It seems that in 2007 we won't be so lucky. Can you imagine the horror and fear of the people here? Can you imagine staring down another Katrina? (and let me tell you, they all look that way at this point)

Federal money should be pouring into New Orleans (AN AMERICAN CITY) right now to help more people and rebuild our defenses. Instead, Washington seems to have forgotten us as surely as have the National Media. There aren't anymore grisly pictures of people dying in the streets, so move on to the next casualty. We're in this business to get viewers, after all. Construction and renewal are boring.

The NOLA Times-Picayune has posted an sad and eerie Google Mash-up of murders so far this year in New Orleans. Ray Nagin calls it a double-edged sword. Man, that's great. Just great, Ray. You are truly a genius. Those people had MOTHERS. They have families who grieve for them. You need to stop running your mouth. Seriously.

My beloved state, and my beloved city. We hold our breath, and, as always, we wait...

15 August 2007