August 31, 2005
"Dead people and live ones mix with bugs and rats in the green, fetid water and the August heat."
The great American city we have loved, New Orleans "is gone: buried beneath the sea, fouled by the waters its levees, canals, and pumps held back over the centuries."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
7 comments:
The disease spread by the rats and decay may end up killing more people than the flooding itself. I read that the latest concern is that, as swamps and marshes in the area have overflowed, poisonous snakes and alligators and perhaps even sharks from the Gulf of Mexico may be swimming around in the flood waters. Reconstructing New Orleans is going to be a nightmare for engineers, public health experts and urban planners the likes of which they've likely never encountered before.
I wonder also about the New Orleans Saints, New Orleans' team in the NFL. It sounds trite, but when natural disasters of this sort strike, that is the kind of thing that can help bring a community back together again. I know a lot of New Yorkers, especially women, who didn't care about the Yankees until 9/11, then they watched the 2001 World Series against Arizona with almost religious devotion. Does anyone know what the Saints are doing?
Brendan,
The fate of the schools and colleges is unknown. There's no way to communicate. All the universities have notes up on update websites saying "check in later." I did get paid this morning, by automatic deposit, but that would have been in the works last week, before the storm.
I want to say God Bless Texas, and thanks to Gov. Perry, because he's opened up the Astrodome through December, promised additional housing to refugees, and most impressively, said that Texas schools will enroll the evacuees children, to provide them stability and continuity. I'm in tears over this kindness.
I want to believe that I'll be back in my office at UNO for the Spring semester. I want to be there much earlier, cleaning up and putting it back together.
Brendan, Elizabeth --
The University of Colorado today took some Tulane students. This is apparently being handled on an individual basis (I don't think there's a Tulane offical presence left to set it up). Note that the drop-add date is today, so it would be worth acting quickly, or passing this on to any students you know who lack a university now. Elizabeth, your phone is ringing. I don't think space is a prime consideration, as enrollments have been down thanks to tuition increases, football scandals, and Ward Churchill.
See
http://www.colorado.edu/prospective/index.html
and 303 492 6301
(I also sent this message to Reynolds in the hope he can promulgate it.)
LSU in Baton Rouge is taking Tulane, Loyola and UNO students for the semester. That's good news for all. I think they're waiving tuition for those who've paid their fees elsewhere.
Simon, excuse my denseness. It's been a hard week. What do you mean by "Elizabeth, your phone is ringing"?
Ann: I was wondering if I could get your help on something, since you've got a pretty decent readership.
In my financial maturity blog, I wrote a post about how 1 million disaster victims are going to have bad credit, or go bankrupt because of this disaster.
I would like to generate some awareness that creditors mechanically report to credit bureaus such as Equifax and TransUnion and Experian.
I am wondering how the creditors and credit bureaus are going to treat these catastrophe victims who have been displaced from their jobs and homes.
Could you talk about this in a post? I will understand if you don't think it's appropriate for your blog theme.
These credit problems are going to be another huge mess to clean up.
One million people bankrupt or bad credit?
Thanks for the consideration
Elizabeth -
"Your phone is ringing." Slang, meaning you're more likely to know students and parents who could benefit from this information than most of the rest of us. If I knew any, I'd call them myself.
Post a Comment