Katrina Update
Since Hurricane Katrina came through I’ve been working here at the office, regular hours plus overtime, helping with the purchase, assembly and distribution of supplies for my “guys” who are in New Orleans participating in the search and rescue part of the recovery operation. Yes they have been shot at and everything you’ve seen or heard on the television news is true with one exception . . . it’s a million times worse. My Major has been down there since day one and I FINALLY got to talk to him this morning. I was told he’d been seen by several of the cadets who are also pitching in to help and I’d been told he’d been heard on the radio but until I finally talked to him myself this morning I just couldn’t believe it. In his words, the city will never bounce back and even if it is rebuilt it will never be the same. It was heartbreaking to hear that my usually stoic Major had been reduced to such a level by the things he’d seen and done while in New Orleans. I know there’s no human on earth who could be there for 10 days and NOT come away unaffected but just listening to the weary pain in his voice as he spoke made me realize that even he has deeper feelings than I would have ever thought possible. I saw Captain C yesterday as well. He lived in New Orleans (he and his family lost everything they had) and it was painful for me to have to look into his haunted eyes. He said he will never, EVER take even the tiniest fragment of anything in life for granted again.
I know this is going to sound cold and insensitive in light of all the human suffering and loss that’s going on down there but a couple days after all this happened I had only two thoughts: what about the animals in the Audubon Zoo and did the Civil War Museum on Lee Circle sustain damage? How crazy is that? I guess everyone has their own special memories of New Orleans and those two, along with the Aquarium of the Americas of course, are my favorites. I have since learned that the Zoo lost two animals, river otters of all things, to the storm and have one alligator unaccounted for. They’d planned for years for just such an occurrence and had made sure their reinforced concrete walls and other things in the Zoo were in the best possible condition to withstand such an assault. The Zoo keepers weathered out the storm in the reptile house, of all places, but if memory serves it’s made out of stones in a rather large chimney shape that was probably the best place to be. They also had generator driven freezers in which to house enough meat to feed the carnivores for two weeks so they’re in pretty good shape. So, too, is the Civil War Museum on Lee Drive. When I talked to Major D this a.m. he said he didn’t think it had sustained any water damage at all. Small favors, eh?
I know this is going to sound cold and insensitive in light of all the human suffering and loss that’s going on down there but a couple days after all this happened I had only two thoughts: what about the animals in the Audubon Zoo and did the Civil War Museum on Lee Circle sustain damage? How crazy is that? I guess everyone has their own special memories of New Orleans and those two, along with the Aquarium of the Americas of course, are my favorites. I have since learned that the Zoo lost two animals, river otters of all things, to the storm and have one alligator unaccounted for. They’d planned for years for just such an occurrence and had made sure their reinforced concrete walls and other things in the Zoo were in the best possible condition to withstand such an assault. The Zoo keepers weathered out the storm in the reptile house, of all places, but if memory serves it’s made out of stones in a rather large chimney shape that was probably the best place to be. They also had generator driven freezers in which to house enough meat to feed the carnivores for two weeks so they’re in pretty good shape. So, too, is the Civil War Museum on Lee Drive. When I talked to Major D this a.m. he said he didn’t think it had sustained any water damage at all. Small favors, eh?