I've got New Orleans, New Orleans on ma mind...
LL is right, in fact, we all felt the same way...
Coming back from New Orleans is basically coming back from a foreign country.
I feel like I just flew to Chile and back, but a lot more tired and "out of it".
Different doesn't begin to describe New Orleans from here.
It's still quite sad down there, minus the French Quarter, they were up and running asap of course for all the tourists.
The house we worked on (I learned how to cut & install sheet rock aka dry wall and got okay at it!) belonged to an older man who was a pastor and was still living in his shitty fema trailer in front of his gutted house. On the last day his wife and son and grand daughter came to see us off and something that struck me real hard, sort of like knocking the wind out of you, was what his wife said "We only took belongings for 2 days...we thought we could come back in 2 days." Can you imagine? Packing for an evacuation with the clothes on your back, and 2 days extra, and whatever else you needed, but coming back to your house completely ruined inside and out with all your belongings and sentimental treasures water damaged and muddy and again, basically ruined. This is one story out of I dunno, hundreds? thousands?
New Orleans is fucking HUGE, seriously. And driving around it compared to the last time I went almost 2 years ago was somewhat reassuring because there were actually some more and larger stores and gas stations functioning, but still not nearly as hopping as it was before I'm sure.
Again, "downtown" and closer by to it seems untouched but drive not 10 minutes out of it and you'll see how much need there still is.
Fuck you for saying they shouldn't come back and live where they grew up because of what happened and what could happen again, it's their home regardless of where it is, you'd want to go back to your home wouldn't you? It was hard enough for them to leave it in the first place. Also there is SO many scams going on down there, paying random construction crews to help you out and having them bolt, literally just not show up, that's why volunteers are so important, and even more so if you have the skills for rebuilding. My dad displayed a little interest in going down there and I couldn't express how awesome that would be with all his skills and workers, I mean even to rebuild one house means the world to the family of that one house, as if you'd rebuilt dozens.
Anyway, there is tragedy and destruction everywhere I know, even a little attention to it would be cool, not saying I personally give much at all, because I really don't and could be doing a lot lot more so don't look at this as "Pamela's high horse, I'm better than you rant" cuz it's not that nor could ever be that because I'm not like that, it's just a heads up of some sort.
OH, and one last thing that makes me want to throw up from disgust...they actually have fucking bus-like tours of the destruction down there, seriously. I hope every single one of those people taking the tour gets off at some point to lend a hand, I mean c'mon, really? really a tour?
I guess pictures can help, but at the same time it feels exploiting so I'm not sure if I will put some up somewhere...
Coming back from New Orleans is basically coming back from a foreign country.
I feel like I just flew to Chile and back, but a lot more tired and "out of it".
Different doesn't begin to describe New Orleans from here.
It's still quite sad down there, minus the French Quarter, they were up and running asap of course for all the tourists.
The house we worked on (I learned how to cut & install sheet rock aka dry wall and got okay at it!) belonged to an older man who was a pastor and was still living in his shitty fema trailer in front of his gutted house. On the last day his wife and son and grand daughter came to see us off and something that struck me real hard, sort of like knocking the wind out of you, was what his wife said "We only took belongings for 2 days...we thought we could come back in 2 days." Can you imagine? Packing for an evacuation with the clothes on your back, and 2 days extra, and whatever else you needed, but coming back to your house completely ruined inside and out with all your belongings and sentimental treasures water damaged and muddy and again, basically ruined. This is one story out of I dunno, hundreds? thousands?
New Orleans is fucking HUGE, seriously. And driving around it compared to the last time I went almost 2 years ago was somewhat reassuring because there were actually some more and larger stores and gas stations functioning, but still not nearly as hopping as it was before I'm sure.
Again, "downtown" and closer by to it seems untouched but drive not 10 minutes out of it and you'll see how much need there still is.
Fuck you for saying they shouldn't come back and live where they grew up because of what happened and what could happen again, it's their home regardless of where it is, you'd want to go back to your home wouldn't you? It was hard enough for them to leave it in the first place. Also there is SO many scams going on down there, paying random construction crews to help you out and having them bolt, literally just not show up, that's why volunteers are so important, and even more so if you have the skills for rebuilding. My dad displayed a little interest in going down there and I couldn't express how awesome that would be with all his skills and workers, I mean even to rebuild one house means the world to the family of that one house, as if you'd rebuilt dozens.
Anyway, there is tragedy and destruction everywhere I know, even a little attention to it would be cool, not saying I personally give much at all, because I really don't and could be doing a lot lot more so don't look at this as "Pamela's high horse, I'm better than you rant" cuz it's not that nor could ever be that because I'm not like that, it's just a heads up of some sort.
OH, and one last thing that makes me want to throw up from disgust...they actually have fucking bus-like tours of the destruction down there, seriously. I hope every single one of those people taking the tour gets off at some point to lend a hand, I mean c'mon, really? really a tour?
I guess pictures can help, but at the same time it feels exploiting so I'm not sure if I will put some up somewhere...