The Emerald Rose

     Well old Hurricane/Tropical Storm Gustav appears to be tracking for New Orleans. At least that’s preliminary tracking at this time. And I reckon those folks got to be shitting green bricks over it.

     Now not that I wish anyone ill, but regardless of the “history”, and the “cultural heritage” and everything else,…well I don’t think they learned a damn thing from Katrina. Friends who have been over tell me the Bourbon Street and Tourist areas are up and running, but after all business WILL go on, regardless. But in terms of the rest of the city, places like the Ninth Ward and such, I’m told they still look like war zones and ghost towns.

        I don’t know the answer, but I do know I have absolutely no more patience for another Katrina situation. Folks, look at the Weather Channel, read the paper, and get your sorry asses ready to go somewhere! Don’t wait, don’t cry about how you can’t afford to leave, and NO we don’t owe you Jack! We will help you, we will see that the travesties of Katrina do not occur again, but we aren’t, I repeat aren’t doing it while you sit on your fat asses grousing about some type of entitlements you are due.

      I’m terribly sorry if I sound harsh, but you got at least five days to get out of Dodge before, and then only if as it appears now, hits you’re fair area. I’ve driven all over Florida, I’ve personally ridden out every Tropical event and Hurricane since 1996, I’ve seen Yachts in the middle of the Highway, Roofs lying in the Park, entire buildings just gone, down to the tiled concrete slab that was the living room floor, but guess what, it don’t look that way now. Folks stopped cryin’ and either rebuilt, flattened everything(and cleaned the area up), or pulled up stakes and left for higher ground and better opportunity without hurricane potential.

       Have you folks solved your levee problems, NO, have you adequately pre-planned evacuations of Hospitals, Senior Centers, Assisted living centers, and just plain “poor folk”? I guess we’ll know next week.

       And let’s look long range shall we? I honestly don’t know whether New Orleans is worth saving,…it’s below Sea Level people! This is just going to keep happening, and you will be expecting all of us to bail you out again and again. If you touch the stove and you burn your hand you should learn, DON’T TOUCH IT AGAIN! If you keep going back and touching it,..well I have no sympathy for you, or your pain. It’s your City in danger, and my question is what are YOU doing about it? Not FEMA, Not the Army Corps of Engineers, NOT the National Guard, not the Federal Government, but YOU it’s citizens.

      If you can’t rebuild it, bull doze it and start over on solid ground and build NEW Orleans from scratch, the right way.

      I sincerely hope you are spared this time, and I know it will be at the expense of folks somewhere else,…but get your act together. And God help you if there are any more uncivilized travesties as we saw in Katrina. Like the line at the top of my blog says “You are not responsible for luck, but you are responsible for your life.”

     Another blog to follow in a few hours, I just had to get this off my chest.

-30-