George,

I'm glad to see you posting. How did you fare in the aftermath of the storm?
Thought of you the whole time.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

No problems, came ashore 200 miles east of us. Bright sunshine, no rain,
very little winds here. Look at a map of Louisiana and Texas, there's a
small city, Sulphur, LA, that's where we live, about 30 miles from the
Texas border on I10. We were surrounded by refugees from the storm but
had no problems ourself. If Katrina had swung a little more to the west
we were prepared to head north or west to outrun her but didn't need to.
I'm very glad I'm no longer in the emergency and rescue business though.
I think the death toll in Louisiana and Mississippi is going to be
pretty high.

George

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> George,
>
> I'm glad to see you posting. How did you fare in the aftermath of the storm?
> Thought of you the whole time.
>

I'm so glad, George! I didn't know exactly what area you lived in, but
thought you were closer to New Orleans. I have family in NE Mississippi,
Tupelo to be exact, and haven't heard anything, but I know that area was
not hit severely. I cannot begin to imagine the scope of recovering from
this.

Wayne

On Tue 30 Aug 2005 02:22:14p, George Shirley wrote in rec.food.preserving:

> No problems, came ashore 200 miles east of us. Bright sunshine, no rain,
> very little winds here. Look at a map of Louisiana and Texas, there's a
> small city, Sulphur, LA, that's where we live, about 30 miles from the
> Texas border on I10. We were surrounded by refugees from the storm but
> had no problems ourself. If Katrina had swung a little more to the west
> we were prepared to head north or west to outrun her but didn't need to.
> I'm very glad I'm no longer in the emergency and rescue business though.
> I think the death toll in Louisiana and Mississippi is going to be
> pretty high.
>
> George
>
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> George,
>>
>> I'm glad to see you posting. How did you fare in the aftermath of the
>> storm? Thought of you the whole time.
>>
>
>



--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Wayne Boatwright > wrote:

> I'm so glad, George! I didn't know exactly what area you lived in, but
> thought you were closer to New Orleans.

Me too. All the footage we've seen in the UK is of New Orleans and
Biloxi, both of which have clearly been badly hit. I assume small
settlements between them and nearby are as bad or worse. I'm glad you're
alright -- but I feel so sorry for those who aren't.

regards
sarah

--
Think of it as evolution in action.

On Tue 30 Aug 2005 10:05:06p, sarah wrote in rec.food.preserving:

> Wayne Boatwright > wrote:
>
>> I'm so glad, George! I didn't know exactly what area you lived in, but
>> thought you were closer to New Orleans.
>
> Me too. All the footage we've seen in the UK is of New Orleans and
> Biloxi, both of which have clearly been badly hit. I assume small
> settlements between them and nearby are as bad or worse. I'm glad you're
> alright -- but I feel so sorry for those who aren't.
>
> regards
> sarah
>

Sarah, from what I understand, some of the small coastal communities have
disappeared completely. My family is from the South, although none
currently live in the areas hit by this storm. I know the entire area
well, and I find it unbelievable that this has happened.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four,
unless there are three other people.

Wayne Boatwright > wrote:

> On Tue 30 Aug 2005 10:05:06p, sarah wrote in rec.food.preserving:
>
> > Wayne Boatwright > wrote:
> >
> >> I'm so glad, George! I didn't know exactly what area you lived in, but
> >> thought you were closer to New Orleans.
> >
> > Me too. All the footage we've seen in the UK is of New Orleans and
> > Biloxi, both of which have clearly been badly hit. I assume small
> > settlements between them and nearby are as bad or worse. I'm glad you're
> > alright -- but I feel so sorry for those who aren't.
>
> Sarah, from what I understand, some of the small coastal communities have
> disappeared completely. My family is from the South, although none
> currently live in the areas hit by this storm. I know the entire area
> well, and I find it unbelievable that this has happened.

I heard a BBC R4 interview about an hour ago with a university lecturer
who got out of town in time, and whose wife and children had travelled
up north earlier in the week to take the eldest to college. He said that
last Thursday was just another day, Friday the serious warnings started
and now... he said he was lucky, he knew he was lucky, his family was ok
even if his house was likely to go under in the near future. He said
that it wasn't losing the stuff that hurt, it was losing *the city* and
all that it meant: New Orleans/that part of the South has given a lot to
the rest of the world, even if it had taken a lot, too. He asked people
who'd ever enjoyed New Orleans, or something that came from the city to
pray for the city and those who live there. Or lived there. I was
driving at the time, and had to pull off the road because I was crying.
I listen to Clifton Chenier and Sonny Landreth and a host of other
musicians from that area, or influenced by Cajun sounds. James Lee
Burke's works are among the very, very few novels that sit on my
shelves, rather than the library's. I don't pray, but I'd like to help.
If anyone knows of a practical way a Brit could lend assistance, let me
know.

I don't even know the name of the interviewee.

my very best wishes to everyone, everywhere.
sarah


--
Think of it as evolution in action.

sarah wrote:
> Wayne Boatwright > wrote:
>
>
>>I'm so glad, George! I didn't know exactly what area you lived in, but
>>thought you were closer to New Orleans.
>
>
> Me too. All the footage we've seen in the UK is of New Orleans and
> Biloxi, both of which have clearly been badly hit. I assume small
> settlements between them and nearby are as bad or worse. I'm glad you're
> alright -- but I feel so sorry for those who aren't.
>
> regards
> sarah
>
Thank you Sarah. We're certainly glad we don't live down there either.
Local news stations are carrying reports of looting, people in NO
shooting at rescue helicopters, ets. Then our state attorney general
said they're not going to arrest people for looting "because they're
just taking food." National TV is showing people stealing clothing,
television sets, etc and I hope those are all made of chocolate. Mostly
only the poorest of the poor staying in the city to ride out the
hurricane along with the elderly who had no means of transportation and
bunch of young male tourist who continue to drink and party. I'm
certainly glad I no longer have to respond with rifle in hand to
"protect" people and property as I would be inclined to want to shoot
the worse ones on the street.

Friend of mine's youngest son works for a power company and is being
sent to New Orleans this week. I hope the young man has a strong stomach
as there are reports of dead bodies floating in the streets and the
water is still rising. We're praying they find the living trapped in
attics before either the rising water or the summer heat gets them.

George

George Shirley wrote:

> Local news stations are carrying reports of looting, people in NO
> shooting at rescue helicopters, ets. Then our state attorney general
> said they're not going to arrest people for looting "because they're
> just taking food." National TV is showing people stealing clothing,
> television sets, etc and I hope those are all made of chocolate.

And where on earth do they think they will put the looted stuff?
There don't seem to be any homes left standing in the area.

>
> Friend of mine's youngest son works for a power company and is being
> sent to New Orleans this week. I hope the young man has a strong stomach
> as there are reports of dead bodies floating in the streets and the
> water is still rising. We're praying they find the living trapped in
> attics before either the rising water or the summer heat gets them.
>

I have lived through many, many hurricanes where there was destruction
and loss along the coast, where my family lost vacation houses, but
the extent of the damage, flooding, and loss far exceeds anything I
could have imagined. How do you begin cleaning up such a scene, much
less rebuild? It's completely overwhelming.

George, I was so happy to hear that you and the Mrs. are safe.
It's hard to hear of all the anonymous deaths and damage, but it is so
much worse when it's a friend, even one we've never met in person.

Stat well!

gloria p

On Wed, 31 Aug 2005 08:50:06 -0500, George Shirley
> wrote:

>Thank you Sarah. We're certainly glad we don't live down there either.
>Local news stations are carrying reports of looting, people in NO
>shooting at rescue helicopters, ets. Then our state attorney general
>said they're not going to arrest people for looting "because they're
>just taking food." National TV is showing people stealing clothing,
>television sets, etc and I hope those are all made of chocolate. Mostly
>only the poorest of the poor staying in the city to ride out the
>hurricane along with the elderly who had no means of transportation and
>bunch of young male tourist who continue to drink and party. I'm
>certainly glad I no longer have to respond with rifle in hand to
>"protect" people and property as I would be inclined to want to shoot
>the worse ones on the street.

We have had power outages here. They say they will continue, but we
have not had one tonight. Last night the power was out, no one knew
when it would be on again and we had gangs roaming the streets,
looting. We were not hit by the hurricane at all - mostly rain and
wind but no damage at all.

I sat with a loaded shotgun and my dogs all night.

>Friend of mine's youngest son works for a power company and is being
>sent to New Orleans this week. I hope the young man has a strong stomach
>as there are reports of dead bodies floating in the streets and the
>water is still rising. We're praying they find the living trapped in
>attics before either the rising water or the summer heat gets them.

Yeah and no one is talking about the 'gators...

Loki