The new normal

You know, I'd really love to say something cliche like 'Gee - I can't believe it's been almost five years since Hurricane Katrina destroyed our section of the world' - but I can't. The fact is, I have been pretty aware of every moment that has passed. Time drags. Still waiting. Forgot what we were waiting for now.

We had decided for sanity's sake to stop pushing to complete repairs on the house that we couldn't afford... Well, actually, we didn't need to stop pushing to complete those repairs because not being able to afford them did the stopping for us: What we were trying to do is stop worrying about the repairs we couldn't complete and just live. The worrying thing is much harder to stop.

At the end of March of this year we received a letter from MetLife informing us that they were not going to be renewing our wind coverage. (They call it 'wind coverage' now. Pre-Katrina they had the gall to call this coverage our 'Hurricane Policy'. It's good of them to clear up the terminology -- albeit a little late...) Dave spent the entire 30 day transition searching for replacement coverage. Very few companies were willing to offer 'wind' coverage for our address - not a lot of competition going on out there on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Eventually Dave was able to secure some specialty coverage. I'm not even sure of the exact figures because any time the exact figures are given to me I block them out like the trauma victim I have become. All I know is that our premium is somewhere around $6000 per year now. Six thousand dollars per year so that they can find some way to avoid paying us (again) in the event of an actual loss.

Wait - no - that's wrong. Our premium was somewhere around $6000 per year a couple of weeks ago. Since that time - our new insurance carrier sent out an independent inspector... I was pretty nervous about the unfinished repairs as we're in no position (see above $6000 per year...) to finish up a clump of repairs at once to satisfy the insurance company. Luckily for us - they didn't ask us to make a single repair! Nope. Instead they declared the replacement value of our home to be upwards of $451,000 - putting us on the hook for $407,000 worth of coverage (it was previously $290,000) and an additional $1700 in premiums annually. Oh yay for us!

There's not a lot of incentive here to repair or maintain the house at this point.... If we're stuck with $407,000 in coverage as is -- what happens when it's complete??

Let's follow up that happy bit of news with the discovery that we have now been placed in a high risk flood area on the FIRM map and our flood insurance premium is expected to triple at some unexpected but surely inconvenient time in the future. (Yes that's right.. the seven or eight thousand dollars above doesn't include the NFIP premium.)

Hey - did anybody see the news about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? *twitch*

In the meantime - we're going to fix our porch columns. It's an exercise in insanity. We were briefly happy to find that the only rot going on with the columns involved the trim pieces at the top of the foot of the columns -- untreated wood had been used there previously.

All we'll really have to deal with is lots of sanding and scraping and painting and a few mitered cuts. Easily done with a few minutes here and there over a few weekends. And when we're done our porches will look pretty good again... And we'll probably add $100,000 to the replacement value of our home.... And our insurance premium will go up another $1000.

Maybe we should just leave them as they are. :)

Four years, three hours, and forty-six minutes ago.

Our thoughts and prayers are with our fellow Hurricane Katrina survivors today on this anniversary. For all those whom we have lost along the way - requiescant in pace.

Four years later: NYT Still doesn't know where Katrina hit

The famous headline-accompanying Katrina photo: Taken here in Pascagoula, MS

The City Submerged - Josh Neufeld Tells Katrina Stories in a Graphic Novel - NYTimes.com: "Thousands upon thousands were affected by Hurricane Katrina, which struck Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005. The magnitude of the catastrophe is depicted on a personal level in the new graphic novel “A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge,” written and illustrated by Josh Neufeld and published by Pantheon."

As another anniversary approaches - Katrina memories are whirling around in my head with greater frequency and intensity... Almost like a - yeah - hurricane. I wonder how much of that is due to the lingering post-traumatic stress disorder related to the event itself.... rather than PTSD related to the really lousy, disingenuous, politically-motivated, and infuriating news coverage which followed.

I've mentioned many times before that the most devastating feeling post-Katrina was that of total isolation. I don't blame the hurricane for that feeling. I blame the national news media. For solid months they reported from, on, about, in, within, above, and in spite of New Orleans, Louisiana. Every now and then they would mention the state of Louisiana in general. In the meantime, we listened from our rotting homes in Mississippi... Saved only by those volunteers who couldn't get into New Orleans right away and ended up on our shores completely by accident. (It was rather common for volunteers to be quite surprised when we told them they were not, in fact, in Louisiana... Often they seemed a bit worried - as if they realized they were supposed to be in Louisiana and there must have been some mistake.)

From the article linked above:

"The winding road leading to the New Orleans novel began when Mr. Neufeld signed up to work with the Red Cross after the hurricane hit, serving as a disaster response worker in Biloxi, Miss., for almost a month. He said the catalyst for volunteering was 9/11. “Having been in New York when the towers fell, I remember that overwhelming feeling of helplessness and displaced anger,” he said. “When Katrina hit, I saw what was happening, and I realized that I, as a single person, could somehow help.” Mr. Neufeld blogged about his experience and self-published a collection of his dispatches called “Katrina Came Calling.”" (my emphasis)

It's got to be downright confusing to people fed a steady diet of MSM coverage for the last few years when the NYT throws in Biloxi, MS in an article which refers to the disaster exclusively in relation to New Orleans, LA.

OH but this almost clears it up:

"Together Mr. Neufeld and Mr. Smith decided to focus on New Orleans rather than on the whole Gulf Coast and to look for a broad range of people with different experiences."

Hey - wouldn't it be easier to 'look for a broad range of people with different experiences' on the whole Gulf Coast? These guys just made it harder on themselves, eh?

Let's see what else the news has for us as we approach the fourth anniversary.

From the Washington Post this week - we have this nice weather chap who tells the story of coming down to see Katrina make landfall... moving east toward Pascagoula out of concern for safety.. and having to evacuate through flooded roads as the surge came in.

Other than that, well, just see for yourself - I can't read anymore.

UPDATE: My link stopped working for the 'see for yourself' section and I'm feeling a bit under the weather.. My apologies. If you're interested... I am quite sure that any internet news search for keywords: Hurricane Katrina will produce the same results.

On the pegboard

I forgot to include a picture of the pegboard side of the garage with my previous update - so before I begin with our updated to-do list - here's a taste:

Before

After

Now on to the tentative to-do list for 2009 -- sure, we're getting a late start but... well - we just don't care anymore! *cackle*

Lingering Hurricane Katrina repairs in blue.

1. Replace main circuit breakers on outside of house (DONE.)
2. Brace kitchen sink in some manner other than that which was used by the 'professionals' to brace it. (DONE.)
3. Install threshold/transition between William's closet and his bedroom.
4. Replace light fixtures throughout upstairs.
5. Install ceiling light fixtures in game room/library.
6. Have skylights tinted to prevent upstairs hallway from melting.
7. Build a rabbit hutch.
8. Install dimmer switches on various light fixtures throughout the house (because we despise overhead lighting otherwise).
9. Replace rusted french doors on back porch.
10. Replace rusted ceiling fans on back porch.
11. Install ceiling fans on front porch.
12. Repair rotten column trim.
13. Repaint living room.
14. Reinstall a door for the guest bathroom.
15. Install a/c registers upstairs where the last crew not only failed to do so but also lost at least one register in question and all of the screws. Ugh.
16. Replace windows. All of them.
17. Paint the ceilings. All of them. House-wide. Ugh.
18. Make the roughed-in horrible storage room into the bathroom it was intended to be.
19. Remove broken grout and replace with caulk in all of those areas where some bonehead grouted up to dissimilar surfaces.
    
20. Touch up kitchen grout with stain (No - we never actually finished the kitchen floor. The kitchen floor made us insane. I don't want to touch up the kitchen grout with stain. Ever. But I'm putting it on this list because it just seems like I should.)
21. Replace disintegrated chandelier in foyer.
22. Paint stair rails and banisters.

Of course there's more to add to this list when everything is checked off. There's always something to add to the list when everything is checked off.... This is the nature - the very essence - of homeownership, is it not? It has certainly defined our homeownership experience thus far.... And if we're doing it wrong - it's too late to tell us now.

More to come.

We received a comment the other night on the blog that really touched us. I would hate for it to end up buried at the end of a miscellaneous post here -- and think it deserves a post of its own. It follows below with my emphases and comments.

I too lost a home in Katrina. Our house was built in the 1860's (yes eighteen sixties)and we truly loved living there in Bay St. Louis Ms. [The first two sentences took my breath away and then all the old Katrina-emotions flooded in. We were lucky - though it doesn't always feel like it - to have been left with a good chunk of our original home when the water receded. We grieve right along with you for the loss of a precious piece of our history. Well over 100 years -- gone in a few hours.]

We also took refuge on the second floor however when the water got chest deep on the second floor we took refuge in a pine tree. My wife and I were in the tree for three hours and later when we measured there was nearly thirty (30) feet of water below us. [I've often written here that our survival story was not very dramatic. This is what I'm talking about.]

We managed to get back on the roof as the water began to go down but the storm raged on. At dusk we walked a block to the beach across neighbors property that had been wiped clean of homes. We looked back to see the pile of rubble that was once our stately home, but we had our lives and we had each other. [Yes!]

I commend you for writing this to tell the world that the "Hurricane" did not end the night of August 29th, it is still going on.

We were driving on the beach (Hwy 90) today and commenting that some of the scars are beginning to fade. The beautiful homes are gone but our spirit remains. We will start over with our heads held high. [Amen!!]

Before I end this rant I would like to thank all the people that volunteered and continue to volunteer to help us rebuild. Without them where would we be? Families like yours dug out, ripped out and gutted, endured the heat and the mess, and can now hold your head high and be proud of what you have accomplished. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share your recovery effort.

Rich C

On the real meaning of "during Katrina"

There's been a lot of hype around the internet about a certain public official making a widely-televised speech which included an anecdotal Hurricane Katrina story. Said official referred to an incident which took place a few days after Katrina made landfall as having occurred "during Katrina". This, they say, is tantamount to telling a lie: He couldn't mean 'during Katrina' when he was talking about days after the storm, could he?

Now I can't speak for this man.... But I can (and often do) speak for myself on such matters.

In my world -- there's Hurricane Katrina.. and then there's just 'Katrina'.

Hurricane Katrina lasted for about 10 hours once it made its way to our shores.

Plain ol' Katrina went on for months... years... Heck - in some ways it's still happening.

I guess our public official should have laid it all out more clearly for his national viewers: "And when I say 'during Katrina' I'm referring to the ongoing event which left people in the awkward position of still needing to be rescued from rooftops days after the actual hurricane of the same name."

You mean you haven't missed us?!

Just in case anyone out there was wondering what happened to us ...

We survived Christmas. Not only that - it was fantastic.

But then - then - we decided we would do something ridiculous and started taking the garage completely apart in preparation for remodeling it. (We haven't touched the garage since Katrina other than to have some sheetrock hung where walls were removed. However, Dave's Christmas present to me was a major motivating factor in having a finished garage.) We bought U-Haul boxes and removed everything from the wire shelves on the east wall. We then packed all that stuff into said U-Haul boxes and stacked them against the west wall. The plan was to move everything to one side of the garage -- fix walls, install cabinets, and paint -- then move it all back to the other side -- repeat. That was the plan.

We got as far as removing the old wire shelves. We even managed to use those old shelves to install some much-needed shelving at Mom's house.

Since about that time we have been sick as proverbial dogs.

This morning - after days of sleep and rest and never feeling any better... after days of wondering where on earth we contracted this mystery illness - I finally realized what a truly STUPID thing we had done. Did you catch it?

"We haven't touched the garage since Katrina other than to have some sheetrock hung where walls were removed."

You don't think we were smart enough to wear masks while we were disturbing all that three- and-a-half-year-old Katrina dust do you? Ugh. We never learn.

We'll be back when our bodies stop draining green goo and we're able to stand up for at least 10 minutes at a time.

Happy home-improving in the meantime... Oh - and wear your dust masks, people.

Not yet federally banned.....

A palm tree near a previously bulldozed restaurant in Biloxi, MS: 2006

When the unthinkable happens - catastrophe strikes - it is apparently instinctual to slip into what they call 'survival mode'. All of the regular thought processes of the day come to a grinding halt and all you can manage is the brainpower to find clean water, a food source, and shelter from the elements. We are intimately familiar with 'survival mode'.

There were various dangers and hazards in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that either never crossed our minds at all or which were instinctually dismissed as secondary given our relative mental states. It was only well after it was too late before we considered the chemicals washed in from refineries and chemical plants (and our own garages & storage rooms) that swirled through our homes. Likewise, it took almost a year for us to start to consider the danger of unfortunately inevitable (for us) asbestos exposure.

Our own home was built in 1998 and the risk of exposure from older materials was low - however, consider the hundreds and thousands of older homes and businesses demolished in the aftermath of Katrina. There were days in those first months following Katrina when large particle pollution was so thick in our air that it reduced visibility like a winter's night fog. Debris trucks rumbled through neighborhoods and city streets packed with insulation - leaving mysterious moldy residue on our cars and windows.

The following is an article from the Mesothelioma Cancer Center (www.asbestos.com) published here in the hopes that it will be a starting point for many to make themselves aware now of the circumstances and dangers of asbestos exposure.

With a force only nature could create, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the morning of August 29th and railed through Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and destroyed everything in its path on the Mississippi Gulf Coast area. Although most media coverage surrounded Louisiana, the devastation was widespread through various states.

Responsible for $81.2 billion in damage, Hurricane Katrina is by far the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States.



Due to the extreme nature of the storm, one of the major contaminants of concern was asbestos. The threat of asbestos exposure was everywhere, and became a serious problem for those who did not evacuate and those assisting in the cleanup. The storm destroyed buildings in two, allowing many asbestos-containing substances flow freely into air and water. These buildings had to be demolished in the cleanup process (many have yet to be demolished still) which makes the risk for asbestos exposure much greater.



Regarded as the “silent killer,” exposure to asbestos fibers can be a real problem for home and business owners. Homes built prior to 1980 maintain a strong potential of harboring asbestos products. It is important to make sure the location has been tested for asbestos levels. Citizens need to be aware that inhalation of asbestos levels can pose severe health risks.



A fatal lung ailment known as mesothelioma is obtained through asbestos exposure and takes the lives of thousands each year. Asbestos manufacturers were aware of the corrosive effects of the substance, but continued manufacturing it anyways. Due to the amount of victims being plagued by the debilitating illness, it has lead to a variety of mesothelioma attorneys advocating for individual rights.

Although not yet federally banned, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has placed strict regulations in regards to the use and handling of asbestos. The removal of asbestos in public facilities and homes must be completed by a professional asbestos abatement contractor. Once the removal is complete, green alternatives should be considered, such as: cotton fiber, Lcynene and Cellulose.

The United States Environmental Program states that the use of recycled building materials such as cotton fiber insulation can reduce energy use by 25 to 35 percent. The numbers continue to improve as more eco-friendly options become available. These asbestos alternatives will not only reduce energy costs, but allow for a clean, healthy home, free of health damaging materials.

This post is dedicated in memory of Father Patrick Hayes - the priest who performed my baptism in 1971 - taken from us by mesothelioma in the summer of 2007. Requiscat in pace.

The view from upstairs, August 29, 2005.

And what better way to remember the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina then to spend the day preparing for yet another storm....

We survived Hurricane Katrina. I've been a bit reluctant to actually state that publicly lest someone would suggest I change the name of this blog... But it's true. Today as we scurry around stowing the hatches full of whatever can't be tied down and tying down whatever can't be stowed in the hatches I realize we have everything under control that we can control.

We've done this a million times before... Checking emergency food and water supplies, stocking up on fresh batteries for flashlights and radios, trimming dead tree limbs, taking home inventories and pictures of possessions for insurance purposes, declaring the freezers off-limits until further notice, checking in with the neighbors, planning for last-ditch evacuation, putting an axe in the attic....

But this time feels a little different. I'd be lying if I said we're not on edge. We're wondering if the unimaginable can really happen again in our lifetime...

Practically, things are different too. Three years later only a handful of houses in Pascagoula between here and the water in any given direction have been rebuilt (contrary to reports of the area having 'almost fully recovered') and of course lost trees haven't had the lifetime they need to be replaced.... What this means is that neighborhoods such as this one will become the new frontline when it comes to storm surge. We no longer have a yardstick. We're in new territory here.

Those of us in homes which took a beating during Katrina also have no idea how much more the structure can take. How close did we come to losing the entire thing three years ago? How much has rotted, shifted, corroded, or otherwise weakened quietly and unseen while we made our cosmetic repairs?

We have a lot riding on this one.

Stay safe, people.

Breathe out....

The most annoying tropical system of the year award goes to Tropical Rainstorm Fay. Through no fault of her own, Fay irritated tens of thousands of folks coast-wide this past weekend. Despite the fact that Fay was only a tropical storm when she would begin her journey over several hundred miles of land to reach us... Despite their own admissions that Fay would be downgraded to a weakening tropical depression when and if she reached us... Our local news stations issued constant urgent warnings to the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast about rainfall and winds gusting to 25 mph. The governor's office used their nifty new automated warning system to send out telephone messages from the governor himself telling people to be prepared and make plans to evacuate if necessary. (We didn't get one of these phone calls... Apparently the governor's office lost our number.) Nothing happened. Which is, ironically, exactly what all those warning messages predicted....

And so this weekend - the weekend of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina... The games begin anew with the threat of what is predicted to become Hurricane Gustav.

I talked to a lady last night on the telephone who made it through Hurricane Katrina without major damage to her home only to have the place burn down 14 days later in an electrical fire.
She's been living in various trailers with rotating combinations of family members as they all try to get their own homes finished while waiting to get started on hers. She's not feeling all that happy about predictions of hurricane force Gustav winds reaching us by August 29th. It's just not funny.

I do. not. want. to. evacuate.

But we would need to start calling for hotel reservations yesterday. If we manage to get a reservation for the weekend somewhere within 200 miles of here - we will not know whether we need it or not in time to cancel reservations without having to pay for the unused rooms.

"Canceling your reservation before 6:00 PM (local hotel time) on Wednesday, 27 August, 2008 will result in no charge. Canceling your reservation after 6:00 PM (local hotel time) on 27 August, 2008, or failing to show, will result in a charge equal to the first night's stay per room to your credit card."

So I would have until 6pm tonight to decide whether or not I really need the room for a hurricane that isn't a hurricane yet that may make landfall between Sunday and Tuesday of next week if at all somewhere between the Yucatan and southern Florida.

I'm off to search for rooms.... If I can't find any I suppose I'll just throw a few hundred dollars into the Gulf of Mexico and say I did.

Back with more....

Stair Update#2: Done already

The carpet part, anyway. Having brand new carpet on the stairs reminds me that we still need to touch up and refinish parts of the staircase that either got totally neglected or merely swiped at by Dean & Crew last year.

The carpet guys graciously pose for a picture with their handiwork.

Why is it that we're always seeming to get stuff done in areas of the house that are SO hard to photograph? The pictures from downstairs looking up are as bright as I can get them without letting the flash go off and totally distorting the actual colors. As usual - I ask you to use just a little imagination. And now for the recap...

BEFORE: More specifically, before being removed but after Katrina.

ALSO BEFORE: That is, before being replaced but after being removed after Katrina.

AFTER: As in today... A true after picture.

A LITTLE MORE AFTER: After the guys left and I could go upstairs
to take a picture in the light to show the actual color and texture of the carpet on the stairs.

Stairs update #1

A few of the kids watch the carpet guys at work.

Yes. It's red. I chose red. That's why I'm pacing.
And yes. We need to edge the lawn.

Action shot! Not very thrilling as far as carpet news goes... But you can see very clearly on that stairwell wall facing forward what happens when you touch up a non-Signature base paint with a Signature base paint. :) Repainting our downstairs main living area is on the to-do list.

<< Insert a clever title involving plush carpet and stair treads here >>

I hope that my blogging absence of-late can be forgiven without much explanation because it's necessary that I just jump right into documenting our next Katrina home improvement project this morning..... And this one is strictly Katrina-related, too.

The flooring installation guy -- we'll call him Keith -- just called to ask if it would be possible for them to come out to install the carpet on the stairs this afternoon. Hmm... After three years of bare plywood treads I think I can forgive him for giving me less than two hours notice, don't you?

Let's get the before pictures rolling:


If you've read this blog before then you know the drill: I shall now pace and drink several cups of coffee while worrying that the carpet I chose for the stairs a couple weeks ago is terribly wrong. I will then spend a caffeine-fueled hour coming up with plausible reasons to justify my awful decorating choice. Then I will call Dave at work and cry. Wish me luck.

Last night I cried for New Orleans

We recently, as a family, had the privilege of viewing the new feature-length documentary Katrina's Children from the relative comfort of our mostly-renovated living room.
The film focuses on nineteen children from various New Orleans area neighborhoods. The narrative is presented entirely through the words and artwork of the children. Through the magic of animation, their paintings are brought to life as they tell their stories -- stories of survival... of death... of loss... of destruction and fear... and of faith and hope.

I admit that I approached the film apprehensively. On the one hand, I expected the skewed editing and political bias that we've gotten from Katrina documentaries to date. On the other, I assumed that even if this film managed to achieve some sense of honesty that it couldn't possibly tell us anything we didn't already know given our personal Katrina experience. I was genuinely surprised on both counts.

The issues are all there - poverty, crime, racial inequality, the Corps of Engineers, the failed response, the effects of class disparity, the hellishly slow rebuilding effort, the depression and apathy of the (still ongoing) aftermath.... Oh, our children are so much wiser than we give them credit for! One little boy's artistic vision will stay with me for a long time: Hurricane Katrina spinning toward the symbol of Yin-Yang... Will the hurricane destroy it? We don't know. He explained "The black has a little bit of white in it.. and the white has a little bit of black in it...." In his vision the storm was ultimately defeated by not one - but two powerful dragons using their diametrically opposed powers of fire and frost together to stop it. (Some of my old philosophy professors would love to see this kid in their classes someday.... ) And another little boy's words will remain forever burned into my heart and mind: "I don't hate white people. I want to be a white person."

Do you remember the horror stories that came out of Katrina? The dead bodies? The dying babies? The shootings and stabbings? The suicides? Do you remember when all of those stories were slowly and systematically reduced to myth and urban legend? Well there are quite a few of these children who were apparently never told that the horrors they witnessed never actually happened.... And no one ever will.

After the film it was our son, George, who remarked first: "I'm just so shocked at what these kids went through - the stuff they had to see." This, coming from the boy who was only 8 years old himself when he survived Katrina... So confused as to what was actually going on that it wasn't until the water had started to recede and we adults were crying with joy that he finally shouted: "I don't want to die!" He remembers the terrible heat, the foul-smelling house, the lack of food, the threat of disease, the wild dogs growling through the neighborhood at night, and sobbing hysterically when we explained that we all had to use a plastic coffee can as a toilet. Yet he said in true sincerity: "Nothing really happened to us.... those poor kids."

Dave and I were simultaneously struck dumb by the state of New Orleans. Here we are - three years out from that terrible day - and nearly done (yes... really) with our Katrina repairs. Nothing is the same, mind you... Our neighborhood is a little older... a little more depressed... a little shabbier than it was pre-Katrina... But it's a neighborhood again. We couldn't understand how things could stand still: Neighborhoods that look like war zones (complete with guard patrols). Gutted houses. Ungutted houses. FEMA trailers. It's like Dorothy stepping out of the Kansas house into the wrong side of that rainbow. Late last night I cried for New Orleans.... and early this morning I slept fitfully while I dreamed of broken houses and mud-caked mementos.

But when I woke up not long ago I was drawn to look out our front door... And I realized something very, very important. Out through our front door.. over our thick, green lawn and past the poorly patched street.... Behind the brick house across the street and the few broken oaks that have recovered enough to block the view.... There is a neighborhood like that. Other than a few empty slabs scattered throughout and a handful of algae-covered FEMA trailers - street after street yields abandoned homes - left as they were the day after the storm. The broken windows and poison ivy growing over the rooftops can barely hide the piles of rotting possessions inside. Lives. Row after row of lives still interrupted (if not halted altogether) - and merely 600 feet away from my front door. Yet, we forget that it's there. The mice and rats had run out of food there several months ago and invaded this neighborhood.... Without much thought we understood that our new mouse problem was a result of it. But how how how do we forget? How do we ignore it day after day?

It was in this way that Katrina's Children was truly eye-opening for us. Right here - in the aftermath... In the middle of the destruction.... We have been surviving and recovering. We have built ourselves a bubble and we have chosen to live in it for our own sanity. We barely leave the emotional safety net of our own home as we work desperately to remove any reminders of the horrors of Katrina that remain within. We walk through the realm of anti-Oz every day and consciously choose not to see what is around us for fear that it will finally break us.

And if we can manage such selective vision - is it any wonder that the rest of the world, so far removed, has been able to forget and move on?

A couple of the children in the film mentioned that their parents didn't understand. Their parents told them it was over. It's over. Forget about it. I suppose those parents have constructed a bubble of their own. Thank God for the children to remind us that it's not over...

Our future is in these kids' hands. For a while there - that thought concerned me. What would become of a region whose children had suffered so much loss and tragedy -- all at once? The answer lies with these nineteen kids.... and with all of the kids like them along the Katrina-ravaged coast. From Bayou la Batre, Alabama through every city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to the mosquito coast of Louisiana and northward into tragic New Orleans - we are promised a future generation of people made courageous through loss and wise through tragedy. It's up to us now to teach the final lesson - to ensure that theirs is not a generation of bitterness and disillusionment.

We are very grateful for the opportunity to view this beautiful film. We hope that many more people will have the chance to look into the eyes of these children and listen to their words of innocent wisdom. This is what we need - not just those of us here in Katrina Oz -- but all of us.

The cure for writer's block discovered: Write something.

Would you believe I had no idea that I haven't blogged anything since Monday? That it has already been very close to a week since I've been at the computer long enough to even check the date - let alone write anything or post a picture?

I had planned on starting out this post by excusing myself from absence here at DWSHKON by pointing out that I had actually posted something during the week over at our homeschool blog for the first time in almost a year.... That plan was thwarted, however, when I went to check out that blog entry a few minutes ago and discovered that it was also made this past Monday. *wince*

Okay so there's no shortage of things to do or see or write about around here. (And therein lies the problem....) At the beginning of the week I received an email from someone at CBS news alerting me to a news story that would be running during CBS Evening News with Katie Couric on Tuesday at 6:30 pm EST concerning toxic FEMA trailers - and asking for my reaction as a Katrina blogger. I did watch the news clip - and I do have an opinion ( I always have an opinion...) but I haven't had my wits about me enough to actually sit down and put it into words.
I have every intention of actually devoting a post to the story sometime in the oh-so-nebulous future... In the interim I'll just say this: We knew the trailers were toxic a long time ago. No one listened. Amazing how it suddenly becomes a story of interest when a) FEMA announces that other people in some other possibly valuable part of the country will be blessed with the same trailers in a future disaster and b) when people removed enough from the Gulf Coast actually start to experience symptoms. Moreover - so a whole lot of people agree that these trailers are health hazards... Now what? Food for thought: As of June 27, there were 4,593 FEMA trailers and mobile homes in use in South Mississippi. (Source: GCN)

What about the forever unfolding story of impending levee breaches that no one (except, oh say, the folks who get submerged when it happens) seems to care about over at New Orleans News Ladder? The same folks who didn't care before Katrina still don't care. Score one for consistency.

Then there's the startling discovery that FEMA (there's that acronym again) apparently gave away somewhere around $85 million in supplies intended for Katrina victims to... well.. not Katrina victims. "Upon review of our assets and our need to continue to store them, we determined that they were excess to FEMA's needs; therefore, they are being excessed from FEMA's inventory," McIntyre wrote in an e-mail. (Source: CNN) FEMA's needs? Well of course FEMA didn't need them... Duh. All I can think of is back when Mom and I were volunteering for Operation Vanessa way back when and just how many people we encountered every day that really, really could have used this stuff. I'm sure the two coffee pots and four crock pots we gave away to actual Katrina victims pale in comparison to the number that were distributed to state prisons nationwide.

Oh.. and I suppose I could mention the impending third anniversary of the looming mental health crisis called Katrina.

But more on all that later....

I could spend a little while ruminating about good ol' Hurricane Bertha gyrating around in the Atlantic Ocean this week. I could get Dave to blog a follow up to the Valspar/Lowe's paint-mixing story - but it wouldn't be a very good one since we still haven't actually gotten back to Lowe's to try and have the paint mixed again. I could send a bona fide shout-out to Todd over at Home Construction Improvement for honoring us yet again with a fine blog award if I had actually had the time to sit down and choose our ten nominees... Which of course - I haven't. (In the meantime, thank you so much Todd -- you've been really good to us. I'll get a proper post together soon.)

What I will do tonight... Is update our William's room project status for all the world to see.

We finally painted, installed, caulked, and touched up the baseboard for the room. **I'm sure Dave is thrilled that I'm always including him in these home improvement pictures. It almost appears that he's doing all the work and I'm just taking pictures. I'm glad he loves me.** Severe camera flash makes the wall color look rather icky - but it was so dark in there at the time I had to resort to flash. Everyone give Dave a standing ovation for painting baseboards without the benefit of sight.

Voila! Crown painted, walls done, baseboards finished and in place.

All we have left now is changing out the rusty light fixtures and laying the carpet tile. That and uh... returning furniture to the room.. window treatments.. decorating.. and cleaning all of our supplies out of William's closet so he has somewhere to (not really) hang his clothes.

Destruction.. ergo Construction

Mom posted a new montage on her blog yesterday that I must share. It's an excellent view of the state of things here in Pascagoula 1033 days post-Katrina... And an interesting look at the various house styles under construction here in the aftermath. (There's even a picture of this house thrown in there somewhere if you watch carefully... That is, more carefully than me... I missed it the first time.)

From I Will Make Everything New: "Yes We are still rebuilding!"

Check out the montage ---->here<----

Thank you Mr. Bartos

I just wanted to post a quick follow up to my earlier post on my paint buying experience (or lack of) at Lowe's. A kind Valspar employee did in fact read the blog and posted a comment. In summary, he said that it is intended that Signature base go with Signature colors and Ultra Premium with Ultra Premium, but Lowe's should color match the paint I had requested. That's what they've done for us in the past. I will attempt to get the paint I need again this weekend armed with new knowledge from Valspar and report later.

Anita checked our receipts and found that we've purchased approximately 120 gallons of Valspar paint since Hurricane Katrina and that does not include the paint we insisted New Life use to paint the upstairs rooms. We've found that the paint blends well and can be touched up long after drying.

So, I'd like to thank Mr. Bartos of Valspar for taking the time to write and to be concerned with customer satisfaction. I find that is a rare thing these days.

If snails could roof...

Wednesday's weather meant absolutely nothing done on the roof... But with Thursday came the completion of the smallish front right side. Today brought a sudden shower early in the morning while the guys were working on the front side of the garage roof... But they at least got that portion finished before they left for the weekend.

This leaves us with three more smallish portions... and then the very large back portion of the roof which I'm assuming will have to be completed in a marathon roofing session if we want to avoid having rain showers upstairs.

However, rain is in the forecast every day for the next 10 days again. Fine time for us to finally get our old summer weather pattern (i.e. sudden brief thunderstorm at least once per day) back.

And this is why FEMA believes ice isn't needed after a hurricane....

I posted earlier about FEMA's announcement that it would no longer provide ice after a hurricane because it was not a 'necessity item'... You can read all about that here.

FEMA is under the impression that we didn't actually need ice down here ... And that probably has something to do with the fact that they didn't actually get a whole lot of ice down here to those of us who needed it. In some convoluted way - I suppose this is proof that we can survive without it.

Click on the screenshot below to view the article from way back in 2005:

SunHerald.com : FEMA: No ice after a storm

SunHerald.com : FEMA: No ice after a storm:

"It's official. FEMA has decided not to deliver ice to the public after the next hurricane."

I suppose this shouldn't affect me at all considering that not a single one of the five bags of ice that kept us alive during the aftermath of Katrina actually came from FEMA. As a matter of fact, it's probably good of them to just drop the pretenses and tell us in advance that they won't be delivering any ice after the next hurricane. This must be one of those 'lessons learned from Katrina' that we've heard so much about over the last nearly three years: "If they don't expect us to do anything then we can't go wrong."

As for the suggestion that ice following a major catastrophe in the extreme South in the middle of hurricane season can be considered merely a 'comfort item' -- I feel that this assumption has not been thoroughly researched. I suggest that we take a few dozen FEMA (MEMA too - let's not leave them out) officials and place them in a recently flooded home somewhere in Biloxi... shut off the electricity and the running water... and let them swelter in place for a few days while racing against the clock to get the sewage out of the house before they die from some undocumented parasitic infestation.

For those of you who don't quite understand -- we didn't use our few pieces of not-acquired-through-FEMA ice to keep our beer cold during the aftermath. . Our most precious commodity was ice water since the ice itself melted in about 20 seconds in the heat. We used rags soaked in that ice water to cool ourselves down (especially our baby) when heatstroke started to overtake us. There was NO other relief from the heat.

From the E-How article on how to treat Heat Stroke:

Step6

Place ice packs on the patient's head, back of the neck, armpits, palms of the hands, soles of the feet and groin.

Mighty hard to tackle Step 6 without the main ingredient.

UPDATE - Various reactions from the Sound Off column of the Sun Herald printed this week concerning FEMA's ice-capades:

No freezer to keep ice

• I'm calling in about the article about "No Ice." What about the people who have no freezer or fridge to store ice? That's going to be hard to do. A lot of people have to use the refrigerator to store food. Most poor people don't own a freezer. What about all those people?

Ice is a necessity

• Regarding "FEMA: No Ice," ice is a comfort? More like a necessity. Put water jugs in the freezer before a storm. What a joke. We have to keep things cold so we will not get sick. So we can have something cold to drink to keep hydrated. We did not have power for a month and a half after Katrina. And I am also a diabetic, which makes it worse because I have meds that have to be kept cool.

What happens on the third day?

• Ice is not a comfort item. I was shocked when I read FEMA stated it would not provide ice after the next hurricane. They stated ice was a comfort item. I do not know about most, but we did not find comfort in lying in a pool of ice. It was a necessary item to survive the week to two weeks or even longer after the storm without electricity. They said everyone should freeze jugs, which should keep for up to two days. What happens after those two days? Contact your senators and representative today.

What next, FEMA?

• No ice after a storm, FEMA! First, you tried to kill us with formaldehyde and now you take the ice away. Ice kept me alive after Katrina by keeping my body temperature down in a 110 heat index. This is the Deep South, not D.C. Whoever made this decision should be mandated to come here after a storm, grab a chainsaw, pluck some roots in the hot sun all day, lock their doors and windows in a house without a fan, no shower, can't flush a toilet. Someone needs to change this immediately.

We need ice

• I read FEMA is not going to fund ice after the hurricane. Well, I've got news for you, that is the only way we could have survived after Katrina. We had to live out of an ice chest through the middle of December and I think they better reorganize themselves and find out where they are spending the money. Because people without electricity, we need ice.

More ice

• I would like to be the first to challenge FEMA to freeze a gallon of water and see how long it lasts in 80 temperature. They got to understand this is water, frozen water, not oil.

Will Iraq give us ice?

• It was reported FEMA does not have the funds to give ice to victims after future storms. This is from one of the richest nations on Earth that can afford to give billions a month to rebuild Iraq, which we've been doing for five years.

Left with nothing

• Even if you have a freezer, if the electricity goes off when the storm first comes in and is off for a long time, the ice will melt and the water will get hot, so the people are left with nothing, thanks to FEMA.

Another urban legend

• In reference to people urged to freeze water jugs, the Sun Herald or someone needs to check into this. I have read many articles and even seen on TV, if you do freeze water in these plastic containers, including bottled water you buy at the store, there is a toxin that is released after it thaws out that is not good for human consumption. Please check it out.

(Note: The final Sound Off refers most likely to a popular hoax email that finds its way around the internet throughout the hurricane season. Frankly, the 'toxin' that is released from that plastic jug when it thaws out is no different than the toxin that's released from the same jug that was never frozen in the first place (i.e. plastic isn't all that great for us in the long run). Personally, I'd choose my daily dose of carcinogens over immediate dehydration any day. )

June 11, 2008: The ice debate continues

According to an article published in the Sun Herald this morning, FEMA has responded to the recent criticism over its decision not to supply ice to the general public following a hurricane by reiterating its position. FEMA states that it stored tons of ice following Hurricane Katrina until it finally went bad and had to be destroyed -- a truly stupid move costing millions.

I can't describe how this revelation makes me feel personally -- but I'm going to try. I'm in total and utter shock that there was ice left over to go bad. Do you know why? Because for days after Hurricane Katrina we could NOT find ice. Each of our attempts to procure ice at the designated distribution center at the Jackson County fairgrounds was a bust -- trucks never showed up... or the truckloads that were sent were no where near enough to distribute to the unbelievable number of people waiting in the heat for it... I will state again: We NEVER received ice from a FEMA distribution site after Katrina... The only ice we received came from family or neighbors with cars capable of taking them outside of the area to buy ice... or from our two hour round trip to Mobile, AL where we bought ice at a gas station... or in the weeks that followed - purchased from Walmart.

I can't believe they had tons of ice left over to ruin.

Those lucky enough to get ice from the distribution centers told us that there was a limit of two bags per car.... because there wasn't enough ice for everyone.... Then how.. tell me how... was there tons of ice left over? Could it have something to do with the trucks that were diverted from the cost and parked at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, MS? We were told at one point that we could go to Camp Shelby to pick up ice if we needed it.... 70 miles is a really long walk for folks who just lost both vehicles in a natural disaster.

If I got to put my two cents in as to how such 'waste' could have been avoided following a natural disaster it would include just a few items: Do not set up distribution centers in areas that actual victims of the disaster cannot reach. Allow each household to take enough ice for said ice to actually remain frozen for more than 10 or 15 minutes -- a chest, cooler, or broken freezer will not keep ice frozen for long unless the chest, cooler, or broken freezer is packed fairly full of said ice... (We all know even a working empty freezer is not as efficient as a tightly-packed one.) So even the scanty distribution of ice is a factor of waste. Plan on actually distributing ice as local officials once did and most likely would have done had their own resources not been destroyed -- as in... send in vehicles to 'zones' or 'neighborhoods' near the actual victims.

The most disturbing trend in the recent debate in my mind is that of commentators opining that hurricane victims are once again asking for a 'free handout' by whining that we want our FREE ice from FEMA. Listen people.. I don't care if it's free. Free is not the issue here. There was no ice free or otherwise. If FEMA would like to sell ice - that's fine with me... Just sell it somewhere near where people who actually flooded or lost their homes could get to it.

Actually... Further, the issue to me here isn't even whether or not FEMA will be in charge of ice distribution in the future... The issue is the abject ignorance displayed by the folks who are supposed to be in charge of EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT for all future catastrophes - mine and yours. From the Sun Herald's Editorial this morning:

How can FEMA draw a line between comfort and survival when it comes to ice?

We get the following quote from director R. David Paulison: "I don't know how FEMA got into the ice business, but it's not a life-saving commodity. People say they need it because they want it. They don't need it. It's not one of FEMA's key jobs."

Such ignorance is appalling - and frightening. Tell us that you wasted money.. you can't afford it.. you don't want to deal with it.... Tell us you're incompetent... Tell us you don't care.. But don't tell us it isn't needed and that we're delusional to think it is.