Saturday, September 1 4:00 PM
It's been a hot and sweaty, messy few days here. We lost power at the beginning of the storm on Tuesday evening and as of today it's still out. Some friends in different parts of the city have had it turned back on, but so far nothing for us. The most popular meme on the radio right now is, “What is Entergy DOING?” Of course everyone thinks THEIR particular problems are paramount to their fellow New Orleanians, so they should have power. Self interest trumps everything else? Right. It's almost comical to still here people call in with an inflated sense of indignation about not having power. You can almost hear the djs and hosts sneering under their breath... “welcome to the club bozo”
The refrigerator is now basically warm. The good luck of the first two days was of course going to wear off, now things are almost room temperature. Luckily there is nothing except beer and iced tea remaining.
We've been going out to the car to recharge our cell phones, which although isn't completely efficient, does allow us each some time away, in the air conditioning, to make calls or txt to our hearts content. It's funny to also see many neighbors doing the same thing as we walk around the streets. First major purchase after the storm: laptop charger for the car. The other morning I thought I had about 2.5 hours of life in this thing, but apparently it didn't go to sleep properly on Tuesday night, and when I tried to open things up on Wednesday it was completely dead. Oh well.
Out at one of our regular bars on Wednesday night there was a guy sitting next to me was saying, “I'm unimpressed.... I was expecting something more dramatic.” I raised my eyebrows and asked, “First storm?” It was. I let him know this was mine too, but rather than be disappointed that 90% of the city WASN'T flooded, or that there weren't people stuck in places like the dome, the convention center or on freeway overpasses without food or water, I was enjoying the fact that everything seemed to work well, for a change. (With a few minor exceptions like Plaquemines Parish and La Place). Yes, this was only a category 1 storm, but every storm has its own personality. Isaac was a welter-weight with a lot of pluck and energy, rather than a monstrous heavy-weight. We got a lot of rain, and the winds, (although not 125mph) hammered the city and outlying areas longer than anyone expected. The airport reported sustained winds of 60mph or higher for 51 straight hours. That's kind of insane.
I haven't been on Facebook, or connected at all since Tuesday night, so I don't know what kinds of things people are talking about, but I'm fully prepared for the barrage of (well-meaning, I'm sure) questions/declarations of “Why do you want to live in someplace like that?” Most of the time those statements come from people who have never been here, don't plan on coming here, or in the larger sense are just complacent enough in their boring suburban strip mall existences that they can't image ANYONE else wanting something different from what they themselves have. I remember watching the coverage of Katrina back in 2005, then listening to people for months afterward saying things like, “That's what you GET when you live in a city below sea level!” (which isn't completely true for Nola) or “This type of thing happens and they just expect the rest of the country to bail them out!” (don't get me started on the political thinking behind that mind-frame...it's caused me to stop speaking to “friends” and acquaintances in the past, and I'm sure Jesus wouldn't approve, but will halt friendships in the future.
I heard a great peace on the radio yesterday... an editorial of sorts addressing just that 'question'. What it boils down to is this: Living here is a choice. A choice to experience life and face the inevitable. Face all those things that come at you completely out of your control. Face your own ability to pick yourself up and start over again... and keep going. I think that's one of the reasons we chose to move here. What's great about the atmosphere here though is the way it's done... you just get through. You have to. There is no other choice. And while you are 'getting through' you have your friends, neighbors, and family right by your side... most often with a drink in their hand and a funny story on their lips. We look out for each other, we text and call and check to make sure so-and-so is ok, or has power, or needs a ride to get OUT. We pull together when things get bad. So much of this fucking country could learn a lesson about that right about now. Too bad the people who need to learn the most are the ones who are the most likely to say, “That's what they get!” or “More of my taxes going to help out those needy fuckers!” To them I would say this: "I hope you never have to rely on your fellow human beings, because you don't even deserve it."
My sister-in-law asked me on Wednesday morning over text, “I hate to ask this, but have you reconsidered your decision to move there?” I thought at that very moment, “That's an unfair question to ask someone while they are stuck in the middle of a hurricane.” It is a fair today though, with the sun shining and the puffy clouds drifting over head. The simple answer... “No”
