Are you one of the "worried well"? http://www.bestofneworleans.com/... I know I am one of the "worried well". I am fortunate enough to be able to get help and spend much time, money and energy researching medical and legal matters or in consultation with the mental health professionals and attorneys. But, even with my resources questions remain: "What will the next day bring? What about unexpected catastrophe? Will all the energy invested in rebuilding be pulled out from under us? What about the next disaster?"
Hurricane season is just 6 weeks away and the Army Corp of Engineers has found a "small wet spot" near the Lakeview breach site. http://www.nola.com/...
What about things that have not been fixed? It just seems I worry all the time. Our laissez-faire way of life comes in spurts. We have these momentary joyful occasions and then bang, it is back to more shock. It was just such a shock to loose Ashley Morris, but these losses are becoming all too common on the Gulf Coast. A lot of people can’t take it anymore and the worry is taking a mental and physical toll on our bodies. Two friends in their early 50’s were just diagnosed with cancer this week. Did they worry all the time?
http://blog.nola.com/...
French Quarter Festival was a wonderful healing experience. Pete Fountain kicked off the event and it seemed as if "everything from the past is not gone". http://www.nola.com/...
The weather was fabulous, the food delicious and the music soothed all those worries. It was a total over stimulation of all senses. But, we continue to loose the special Gulf Coast characters and personalities. Will they ever be replaced? We continue to loose architecturally significant buildings and some restaurants. So we worry again until it is time for Jazz Festival and we get another break from reality. But, then it is time for hurricane season and the questions remain. Are we safe? Will history repeat itself? Has the Army Corp of Engineers repeated their negligent ways? http://www.levees.org/
Weekend before last I was in Hammond at the state Science Olympiad. I was reading and quoting the column by Mark Schleifstein in the TP.
http://www.nola.com/...
The article stated that the Corp would have to "study" the amount of silt the river dumps even though in the 1800's Mark Twain included this info in a book. Twain obtained the info from the old States Item. It is very hard to believe in this day and age of computers, that the Corp knows less then they did in the 1800's. Anyway, a gentleman was "listening" to the conversation between my husband and I and decided to defend the Corp. Needless, to say he should not have intruded on a private conversation. He tried to blame everything on Congress and that we need to contact our representatives and senators - just one excuse after another, never an acknowledgement of the worlds biggest engineering failure. I suggested that we needed another "levee gathering" and then take it on the road to DC. What gives with these lying, crooked, crony bullies? Are they the cause of the "worried well" syndrome and is this just more of the "Shock Doctrine"?
Thursday morning I had one of those "I got the news today" moments when I opened the Times Picayune. Just another little shock "brought on by the next day"!
http://blog.nola.com/...
It seems the Army Corp of Engineers has again been "blindsided". The geosynthetic material currently in place is "20 feet too short to prevent a rotational failure". What a waste of tax dollars to have to rebuild what you already fixed after breaking it in the first place! The photograph in the article shows the water side of the levee completely bare because in its infinite wisdom the Corp cut down the trees and man growth that protected that side of the levee. Why oh why does the Corp do this kind of stuff? Forget the high tech stuff and talk to the old timers, they lived and worked the swamps and know what can and cannot be done to protect us from Mother Nature by using Mother Nature. To quote the article each option will, "alter the face of the lakefront, effect the environment and neighborhoods and cause drastic changes in East Jefferson". We need an 829 Commission immediately, sign the petition http://www.levees.org/... The Corp is also running a "test" today on the gates and pumps. Could this be a diversion from the substandard levees or is there a problem because opening the spillway to take the pressure off the MS River levees allowed Lake Pontchartrain levels to rise which could have affected the drainage canal levels that may have resulted in "wet spots"? We need a total water management system and the Army Corp of Engineers is not qualified to design and build such a structure.
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Every time I completed this diary, more happens. Friday morning brings this news:
- The MS River is bringing an "estimated 900,000 tons of sediment – enough to fill 45,000 dump trucks lined from NOLA to Houston". This fact has been known since Mark Twain days, but the Corp wanted to stall and create another study to protect the oil and gas industry.
http://blog.nola.com/...
- The ASCE, after much cover up cronyism has finally put the heat on the Corp to "make clear the life-threatening risk to the public of flooding from hurricanes".
http://www.nola.com/...
- Bush has appointed a Marine as the new recovery director. The appointment of Doug O’Dell "does not require Senate confirmation". What exactly are they preparing for? It cannot possibly be the rebuilding of what the military Army Corp of Engineers destroyed in domestic infrastructure. http://www.nola.com/...
The Army Corp of Engineers is responsible for the destruction of a major American city, they should not be "selected" to fix what they broke. Put the water management system out to international bid immediately. By helping us accomplish this, you may help fix the infrastructure in your city or town. Step up, contact your congress people and the presidential candidate to help us fight this injustice, we cannot do it alone and we are very, very tired.
Bush will be here next Monday and Tuesday to meet with the Canadian Prime Minister and the president of Mexico on the "Security and Prosperity Partnership". NOLA is marketing itself as a protest destination where you can vacation to volunteer, spend money and protest. You all come on down and enjoy yourself!
http://www.nola.com/...
The Gulf Coast is Extensive Experimental Laboratory. Could the "worried well" syndrome be spreading across the country? Please support Gilda Reed!!
http://www.gildareed.com/...