The Tyrany of Nature

[heidi]

Dear New Orleans,

I'm supposed to visit you in February, for the first time, on Valentine's Day. Please, be there.

I'm waiting to see what the needs are in terms of blood donation, as well as donations of things like clothing and supplies, but I do plan to donate to the Red Cross tomorrow. They're already waiting outside the worst danger area and ready to come in and help. That's what they're for.

When Andrew hit Miami, I was about to start law school in DC, and I couldn't reach my parents. I learned at around 9pm that they were en route to Orlando and they managed to spend a few days away from the horror of Miami-Dade. But I have friends whose houses fell away around them, who were away at college and woke the next day with no house to go home to.

And so it will be for Louisiana, and Mississippi and Alabama and maybe my own state's panhandle.

Good luck. God bless. Stay safe. I'm praying for you, New Orleans. I want to see you soon.

Comments

[bear.livejournal.com]

Randomly, but hey, you might now -- do you have any idea which organization(s) would be coordinating legal volunteers for Katrina? I'm inclined to try to go down since don't have a job and I figure even an unlicensed JD could be *some* help (either with the aid disbursement process or just manual labor), but neither FEMA nor the Red Cross nor the ABA websites have any information.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but you could try calling the Red Cross's offices in DC and seeing if they know but haven't put it on the web yet. You could also try the American Bar Association & see if they have any thoughts.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I need to donate blood again soon. Katrina is pushing me into doing it. I know the Red Cross loves my blood because it's cytomegalovirus-negative.

[photosinensis.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, so is my mother's.

[photosinensis.livejournal.com]

I knew there was a reason it'd been so long since I'd given blood.

But seriously? My roommate is in New Orleans. That's his home. I'm not expecting him back for a while yet.

[cedarlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Worse than the feeling of impending doom, I think, is the feeling of helplessness. Yes, I can donate money, clothes, etc., but it's terrible to be sitting here a thousand miles away and thinking, "There is nothing I can do to stop this."

As my mind is wont to wander, I thought earlier this afternoon, "ALA Annual is scheduled for New Orleans in June, 2006." Part of me says things should be more or less back to normal before then but the other part isn't so sure.

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

I won't give you crap about

... "Hurricane" Katrina is only a hurricane on a technicality
.... Will likely not still be a hurricane when it hits land
... Is not worth putting up storm shutters for
... Will not damage your house
... Will not damage the roof

...if you won't give me crap if Dumbledore's actually dead.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Hey, that was all related just to Miami, and was actually accurate as far as Miami-Dade was concerned. Now, if they'd said "...won't make your power go out for 36 hours..." I'd have some crow to eat.