Comments | miss_adventure: When the Levee Breaks

miss_adventure

When the Levee Breaks

Aug 31, 2005 00:46

I'm a NOLA ex-pat. Ran screaming from the place, though I still feel fondly towards that hot, swampy, vile-smelling town that just oozes history and attitude: NOLA is like an ex-significant other with whom I remained on good terms with after the break-up. Maybe we're not a couple anymore and I think it's deeply flawed, but I'd never wish pain on ( Read more... )

nola, hurricane, floodland

Comments 35

rhiannasilel August 31 2005, 07:01:54 UTC

I never lived in NO, but at one point I applied to go to UNO (even got a scholarship) but circumstances beyond my control kept me in Baltimore. I've always had a love for that city and there's something remarkable about the way that you can almost breathe the magick in the air as soon as you step out of the car.

I only hope that at least some of it remains after the town is rebuilt and a part of me is seeing this as the last of the magick leaving the United States. I don't know why, but it's been floating through my head since I first read about Katrina being the long talked about hurricane that would finally sink the city.

miss_adventure August 31 2005, 13:32:46 UTC

San Francisco and Seattle are still standing (and San Francisco keeps burning down or getting knocked down and getting built back up), so the magic is safe.

We all knew that NOLA would someday float out to sea; I just never thought it would be so soon. Time will tell.

rhiannasilel September 1 2005, 01:33:44 UTC

*nods* True enough, no one ever thought it would really happen and I think that somehow we all thought that the city would continue to avoid the big one, but I guess you can only roll the dice so many times before you get snake eyes.

miss_adventure September 1 2005, 07:04:40 UTC

Living in some areas is like hanging around underneath the sword of Damocles. Everyone knew this would happen someday, but that doesn't make it any easier.

pirate184 August 31 2005, 12:28:09 UTC

Ah, the wonderful Clover Grill, which brags that its wonderful burgers are all cooked under "real American hubcaps". God, you are making me hungry just mentioning the place.

I love N.O., probably because I've never lived there. Don't worry, she'll be back, probably a little bit better than before.

miss_adventure September 1 2005, 07:03:20 UTC

Don't forget the pecan waffles, or the grilled cheese.

San Francisco rose again after the 1906 earthquake. I hope NOLA can do a similar (if much soggier) phoenix act.

jaenanda September 7 2005, 05:35:03 UTC

"The Soggy Phoenix" sounds like a good name for a NOLA-based band, doesn't it?

miss_adventure September 8 2005, 05:27:13 UTC

Or a cafe!

Thread 5

gothangelnikki August 31 2005, 13:27:19 UTC

This has been the storm i knew would come someday and the sad thing is there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Living here in Houston most of my life i know how bad these storms can be yet we have been really lucky because the last hurricane to hit us was in 1983 and it also worries me that people here would not leave if something like this was about to hit us ... i know i would get out no mattter what. It just breaks my heart everytime i see this one man talk about how he was trying to hold on to his wife but could not .... my thoughts and prayers are with everyone there of has had their life touched by this hurricane.

miss_adventure September 1 2005, 07:01:33 UTC

Yep. I left NOLA very soon after Hurricane Georges, which was very much a non-event by Gulf Coast standards. Katrina, OTOH, was Damocles' sword dropping. We all knew it would happen someday, but that doesn't make it easier to wrap our heads around, or for those directly effected to pick up the pieces.

gothangelnikki September 1 2005, 13:36:19 UTC

Oh i know there are lots of people here in Houston now from NOLA and i am trying to do my best and help its hearing the stories and seeing the sadness in the peoples eyes as i am tyring to help but at the same time it just does not seem to be enough.

tex_arcana August 31 2005, 21:52:45 UTC

Well said.

If only the people ransacking and looting the city right now had half your appreciation for it. The last time I checked, OfficeMax did not carry food or anything that remotely qualifies as a flotation device.

miss_adventure September 1 2005, 06:56:05 UTC

Looting food and water is understandable given the circumstance. Necessary, even, without a good disaster relief infrasturcture in place. I can even understand the looting of clothing to some degree, as people have lost everything and are soaking wet with gas and sewage-contaminated water, but to quote a coworker, "WTF are they going to do with flat-screen TVs in a city without any electricity?"

tex_arcana September 1 2005, 17:43:09 UTC

Bingo. Hell, I can even see why they'd want guns--I don't agree with it, and it's exacerbating LE's job, but you can KIND OF follow the logic.

the_heathen September 1 2005, 02:24:46 UTC

This is a great entry!

I've always wanted to go to New Orleans. My mom loves it, and I love all the stories about it and the voooodoooooo!

Life just keeps getting "better" and "better." Hmm.

miss_adventure September 1 2005, 06:59:41 UTC

Thanks. Earlier today, the radio played "Refugee" followed by "It's the End of the World As We Know It" followed by "Rain." Either the oracle has spoken or the DJ thought he was being cute.

I used to bitch about the Big Sleazy, but now that it's destroyed, I really miss it in all its scuzzy glory.

I'm really glad to see you around. If you need anything, don't be shy.