Thoughts on Rebuilding

One thing I find incredible is the belief that there can be such a thing as completely safe place to build. When you hear people talking about the "wisdom" of abandoning civilization along the gulf coast and moving all those stupid risk takers somewhere safe for their own good.

Hello! Mc Fly! There is no completely safe place anywhere in the known universe. if you want to think of how unsafe things can be remember this. Nature hs a way of doing things every now and again that ruins more than your day. Life is a gamble at best. It is the irrational optimism of humanity that keeps us plugging away. We keep striving even when with the best odds nobody gets out of the casino alive. It is what makes spirit stronger than mere sterile intellect.

Using the criteria many of the no-build people have trotted out would have ruled out rebuilding many great cities. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and the list goes on ad nauseum. You Learn from the failure and build better. Life goes on somehow.

Cities do not just magically spring up somewhere without a reason. They are formed because the location is critical for a civilization's needs. A unique combination of geography, resources, transportation, inspiration and innovation comes together at points on the globe and they get settled.

The Gulf is a strategic, economic, cultural asset which could not be met elsewhere. I agree the supposed safety net failed on the Gulf Coast. Locals always look to neighbors first with good reason. When local leadership fails they have to take the hit too. But keep one thing in mind. This was not a normal storm event. It Was an extraordinary storm that showed how hard it is to sanely plan for insane times.

It is going to be a hard and painful lesson for us all. The painful ones always stick with us longest. Hopefully we get wiser with each lesson.

Whatever: Noted Without Comment

Whatever: Noted Without Comment

It's like not having the coin to give to Charron to cross the River Styx.

More Memories

Dreams have been the place of refuge where I can rest. Remembering happier days. praying for those in danger. May we all be a beacon to those lost in night.

Bourbon Street

slow dancing down on Bourbon Street, 
the hot night filled with sweet music
heating the blood stirring your dreams
a night that was made just for two lovers

arms round a lovely honey sweet belle
her slender body pressed close to mine
nuzzling tight, our bodies locked together
we were a perfect fit like a two piece puzzle

those eyes blue grey filled with her laughter
she whispered to me her voice was lilting
so soft and rich, pure Mississippi beauty
melting my heart, till I was putty in her hands

we danced to the music that poured like water
from open doorways that called to the crowd
like streams that flow into a turbulent human river
swept along as we danced by the neon lit tide

How You Can Help

Here is a good short list for chariable organizations involved with the disaster recovery operation on the Gulf Coast. Please take time to get involved in any way you can. What harms one of us, harms us all. We can make a difference in the shape of the future. For a longer list see CNN katrina Help Center.

• American Red Cross

  (800) HELP-NOW

• The Salvation Army

  (800) SAL-ARMY (725-2769)

• Feed the Children

  (800) 525-7575

• America's Second Harvest

  (877) 817-2307

• Habitat for Humanity

  (866) 292-7892

• MercyCorps

  (800) 852-2100

• National Next of Kin Registry

  (800) 944-4084

• International Medical Corps

  (800) 481-4462

• Army National Guard

  (800) 833-6622 For Service Members and Families

• ASPCA

  (866) 275-3923

Natural Disaster/National Disgrace

People are beginning to wake up and see that things have not been handled very deftly in Katrina's wake. A lack of a coherent plan, foot dragging helped the state of chaos to grow. Desperate people pushed over the edge by a horror most of us will never know. The images coming from there are like scenes from the bowels of hell.

Government officials have been sleepwalking their way through the crisis. It has not been FEMA's most shining hour. We are watching a city being killed by neglect. When you see people who followed orders to evacuate to a shelter and find that they are in a death trap with no food or water for 4 days. This will not do!

After 9-11 and the creation of the Homeland Security post FEMA became part of the package meant to handle threats fo our country and way of life. They do not seem to be up to the job during this crisis. Granted the scope of this Disaster is beyond anything we have had to face before.

Please call the American Red Cross at 1-800-HELPNOW today. Or make a contribution online at American Red Cross - Credit Card Contribution

To all those who find their lives storm tossed tonight know you are in our prayers. Be well, be safe, and be happy. I'll see you all again soon.

Survival of New Orleans blog

News from the heart of the crisis in New Orleans. The more information that can get in and out of the disaster area the faster we can recover from this disaster. Words can only hint at what is happening.They have preserved many powerful images from New Orleans

dedicated picture server:Images From New Orleans

Riding the Storm Out: Katrina's Aftermath

Memories of Mississippi

I have been watching news coverage of the aftermath of Katrina. Television cameras have made into the part of Mississippi I had called home. So much destruction so near to where people I have loved makes it hard to watch.

I watch images of heros and villians thrown together in an environment that is deadly. The drama unfolding shows people at their best and unfortunately in a growing number of cases at their worst.

Sleep has been hard to come by for me. But in my dreams I go back to happier days. Times of peace and joy surrounded by the beauty of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Dragonfly Dance

waves of heat shimmer above the front yard
warmed by the golden autumn Mississippi sun
the southern pines dance slowly in the breeze
we set content in the shade on the porch step
marveling at the clouds of mating dragonflies

they darted and then hovered, weaving patterns
blue green jeweled bodies, around us they whirl
lulled by the soft humming of their wings in our ears
I was lost in the moment, so fleeting and precious
heart pierced by the beauty of the dragonfly dance

Please call the American Red Cross at 1-800-HELPNOW today. Or make a contribution online at American Red Cross - Credit Card Contribution

To all those who find their lives storm tossed tonight know you are in our prayers. Be well, be safe, and be happy. I'll see you all again soon.

soul food: *sigh* $50 ain't enough!

I was happy to see an old friend's blog today. soul food: *sigh* $50 ain't enough! Everyone needs to get involved when disaster strikes. Charity and compassion in times of advervity is a large part of what defines humanity. The strength to give aid to those less fortunate without thought of compensation.

The images coming out of the Gulf are staggering, but we must not freeze in our tracks. Action is needed by everyone who can help. Get the word out ot others, contribute whatever you can. The need is immediate and critical.

American Red Cross - Make a Credit Card Contribution

The Red Cross is responding to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Please help in any way you can. We can all make a difference in the future one life at a time.

Katrina

Struck Dumb by Katrina 's Fury

The past several days I have watched many places I have known and loved, swept away by the brunt of Katrina's tidal surge and deadly winds. Familiar places twisted out of all recognition. A place I have called paradise turned into a wrecked and littered vista of misery. The size of the disaster is so big that it's hard to get your head around it.

Worse than that is wondering if those you hold dear are safe and healthy. Many areas are still inaccessable, downed trees and electrical lines must be cleared to get in and find out the magnitude of the loss. For the moment all I can do is wait, hope and pray for those who have been through so much danger and privation.

I need to sleep. Rest has been hard to find the past few days. To all those who find their lives storm tossed tonight know you are in our prayers. Be well, be safe, be happy. I'll see you again soon.

American Red Cross - Credit Card Contribution

The Red Cross is responding to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Please help in any way you can.

Wash Me Clean

Wash me clean with your love
tame the wild beast deep inside

Wash me clean with tender kisses
till I throw away My foolish pride

Wash me clean in tears of joy
until all my demons have died

Wash me clean with sweet salvation
hearts joined together, open wide

 November 17, 2004

The Last Summer of Freedom

On the Road Through the Smokey Mountains

It was the summer of 1955. I was 5 years old, blonde, willful monkeyboy facing a major defining moment in my life. It was the moment I realized that I would no longer be a free man.That was when I saw the future of at least 13 years of school looming on the horizon. Time for one last fling.

Intro: We Need a Vacation!

My paternal grandparents had not had a vacation in many years. They decided it was time to remedy that problem with a leisurly two week trip through the Smokey Mountains to Charleston South Carolina to visit one of my cousins who was stationed there while in the Navy.

My grandparents could see I needed a break so they invited my sister and me to go along with them. Somehow my babysitter and first crush was invited too, Ahhhhh Life is good! Due to sleeping space being short I would have to sleep cuddled up with the babysitter. I could tell that this was going to be a trip to remember.

This was the trip that introduced me to many of life's finer things. Things like mountain vistas, motels, with air conditioning that would hum you to sleep while you lay with your head resting on a shapely breast her fingers stroking your hair, breakfasts at a diner next door to the motel. Simple things like the sound and vibration of tires on asphalt, of the wind in your face as you eat up the miles. The sense of gypsy wanderlust, a hunger to see new people and places that would get me out on the road working my way around the world.

Waking in the Bowels of Hell

On our third day of our trip through the mountains, I had to get into mischief. The road side attractions promised by some of the weatherbeaten signs were closed that day and I had become bored. I could not get the babysitter to play a new game I had thought up... German U-Boat Commander and the captive female spy. I was not happy, I even had the black pigskin gloves for the interogation session. She blushed and chuckled and told me not today. Women.... I was frustrated and let it out by misbehaving.

My grandparents were less than pleased. Eventually My grandfather pulled the gray Studibaker onto the gravel on the side of the road and rolled to a stop. I knew it was close to being in some really hot water. I attempted to apologize my way out of this mess, my grandmother was not buying it. My grandmother told me that if I kept acting like a heathen I might go to hell someday. How did I know that it would be tonight?

We stopped for dinner of fried chicken, hushpuppies, and catfish. Then we pushed on into the night. I fell asleep curled up next to the window. I felt the car roll to a halt. Shaking off sleep I sat up and looked out the window and my blood froze.

There in the dark were huge glowing red letters was a sign marking where we had stopped. HELL was written large against the black pitch. I was in shock! The first words out of my mouth were: "Oh Shit! I've really Focked up this time!" I tried to hide on the floorboard of the backseat while my grandparents began to laugh.

"What's wrong with you boy?" My grandfather said. "We just needed gas so I pulled into this Shell station." He pointed to the sign and now that I was awake I could see the burned out S. They laughed till tears ran down their cheeks, And I laughed along because I got a bonus, they found my reaction to be too funny to give me an ass-whoopin'.

The Zen of Gardening

This cold keeps hanging on and I am groggy from a dose of nyquil. I have spent the involuntary downtime here working on the templates on my new home away from home. I have been more visual the past few days. I have not written much of anything lately. The verbal side of me has been slumbering while I work on how I want the content to be displayed on my existing blogs.

I want to do some gardening this year. I have enough room for a good square foot vegetable and herb garden setup. and I have plans for some rose bushes that have been neglected by it's previous owner. I lived on a farm long enough when young to not want to go back, but I do have a passion for gardening. It is a link to the earth, a way to ground yourself in nature.

There is a simple wonder in making the earth around you more fertile than it was before the time you arrived there. A calming resonance inside you as your fingers run through the lush rich soil and you plant new life where none was before. Hands covered with the rich loam, laboring peacefully in a warm shady garden, time forgotten.

There is a moment that slips up on us and we fall under it's spell. We dream while our fingers move with a purpose of their own. Body wisdom takes over and we are in that quiet place where words mean nothing. A perfect moment of grace and clarity.