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September 5th – 11:30 pm - Technical Difficulty
I apologize
your emails are backing up. I
will have updates more timely tomorrow. All last week I was staying with a friend of mine who
had great internet access.
Yesterday I moved into to an apartment in Baton Rouge without any
service and I’m basically leeching off one other very weak wireless
connection here in the complex.
This is not working out so well. I should be up and running at full speed by mid-day
tomorrow since there is a CC’s right next to me that has WiFi I can use
until I get service in my circa-1985 apartment complex here in the Big Red
Stick.
September 5th – Too Funny Not To
Post
Since I began
this blog I’ve gotten all sorts of email including messages of sorrow,
hope, despair, concern and, yes, humor. I’m now getting emails from people offering vignettes of
their “lives in exile.” Throughout
all of this all you can do sometimes is laugh. Here is one such email that made me laugh out loud. The names have been deleted to
protect the innocent, but to my great friend who sent this – I miss your
sense of humor. Here it
goes: Sorry
for being out of touch...my family insisted that they had email at (deleted
location of vacation home). We went and they did not have email or long
distance it was awful, all we had was tv. Oh shit and my sister in law(who
I currently hate more than any other human), get this, she complained
multiple times about some house guest she had. The house guest had three
children who ran wild and smeared butter on her couch and knocked a vase
over (she pronounces it the way that makes you shudder, a vasz like
something is stuck up her asz) And she informed us is a voice of disbelief
"it was like totally dented!" ok, sure that sucks. but we are evacuees and we heard
this story thrice or more during the weekend. I just about lost it on her
the last time she complained about her stupid f------ butter stained couch.
Another thing she does is she uses intonation all wrong and she talks like
a man. She intonates way up in the first word "SSoooooo" they
continuing in high intonation whe wiill say something stupid like
"maybe now YOU should MOVE To (city deleted)." I say that's a
swell idea, give me 6-8 months to think before ever mentioning the
possibility again. Her reply
being "wwwellll, let me just plant the seed now," then she will go
on about how great her life is in her city and how well it has worked for
her.
This is what I have to show for my weekend. Finally
the last night (name deleted) and I excused ourselves and went to a movie
alone, well kinda alone. We have a support system in (city deleted) that is
still conected to some of our more
basic needs. So we used an herbal enhancer the size of
my pinky finger to help us find the artistic quality of Brothers Grimm. We
exited the movie to find that I left my car unlocked in the parking lot
with the lights on.
This is the first time I have ever done anything like
this, nor do I endorse such behavior.
September 5, 2005 – 10:30pm - HRI/Cotton Mill Condos and a
Visit to the dry Warehouse District
HRI, landlord
at the American Can Company and several other buildings in the CBD now have
a website with info about their properties. There is a recap of a visit to the city by the president
of HRI. It’s a good read. CLICK HERE TO READ IT.
September 5th – Mark and Kristin
Casemore have a tip
Mark and
Kristin who are regulars at the shop (and yes, Kristin, I did recognize the
name) and are Baton Rouge natives have this article to offer for any
displaced Mid-City/NOLA refugees in Baton Rouge looking for good
restaurants. HERE
IS THE LINK.
September 5th – 10:30 – Dave
Largarde from Taft Street adds some info from a live TV shot.
Well finally got a live sighting of Wayne's and my
neighborhood, unfortunately because of the helicopter crash in front of the
Post Office near Bayou St. John.
We are underwater, but it certainly isn't as deep as it is in other
affected parts of the city. I seriously doubt if it ever made it higher
than my first floor. So I thank God again for a large favor. City Park is totally underwater. I
could see signs that the water on Moss appeared to either be receding or
not as high as in most places because I could see portions of the street. A
good sign, no?
September 5th 10:30 – A Conrad
Abadie Update
A lot of you
have emailed me about Conrad Abadie.
This was posted by Rocky Seydel today on the Faubourg St. John Yahoo
Message Board: Hey everyone, this is Rocky. I have been in
contact with Conrad, who weathered the
storm at his house. He is still there, and
is usually unable to communicate except by text message. Some cell phone calls are getting through. His
cell phone number is (504)-931-8114, if you want to attempt to contact him
directly. He has told me that the area
that he has seen, from his house to the bayou, Ursulines Ave, Esplanade, and Desoto are not flooded
into any homes. There are plenty of
trees down and some water in the street. Property damage appears to be minimal to average, but we
clearly fared very well. There have been
reports of looting in stores on Esplanade, but very few residential breakins. The water in our
neighborhood is receding, and the worst is
hopefully behind us. Make sure you have a chainsaw when you return to the city. I am happy to speak with anyone individually.
I am in North Carolina, and my phone
number here is (828)-743-2425. Good luck,
and God bless.
September 5th –10:30 pm – Checking
for Ovid Hughes
John Hughes is searching for his brother, Ovid Eugene
Hughes of New Orleans, and his sister, Barbara Wadkins, of Baton
Rouge. John is in Richmond, California at 510-830-7454 or can be
contacted at our email address. Thank you Mary Marshall Fowler, mmf1@comcast.net
September 5th – 10:30 – Karen Dufor
Checks In
Hi, I found this site and glad to read some of our
neighbors (hi Louis and Naomi!) are doing well. We are in Austin, TX
indefinitely and would love to eventually get in touch with all of our
neighbors on Hagan Ave. My email is karendufour@hotmail.com.
September – A Canal Street Wasabi Question
My name is David Whitmore, and I own Mimi's Restaurant
in River Ridge, however, I live behind Wasabi on Canal Blvd. I noticed your pictures of the
cemetary area (Allstate Insurance and Beachcorner) and was wondering if you
had any info about the area near Canal Blvd behind Wasabi. Any information would be helpful. (dwhit34@cox.net) (Jon adds: I have heard
the area from the tracks behind Wasabi to the I-610 is under 4-6 feet. This comes from a post further down
the page.)
September 5th – 10:30 – South
Olympia Street
Xavier Viteri
is wondering how high the water is on the 200 block of South Olympia
Street. He has family that
lives at 206 S. Olympia. He
can be reached at xviteri@rochester.rr.com
September 5, 2005 – 10:50 – Stark Mid-City
Photos
These
pictures of Mid City Speak for themselves. Credit photos to NOLA.COM
Picture ONE
Picture TWO
Picture THREE
Picture FOUR
Picture FIVE
September 5th – American Can Update
– 10:30 AM
WWL is
reporting from a Doctor that was trapped in the Can until Thursday that:
o
Over
200 people have been evacuted from the American Can Company.
o
There
was over 8 feet of water on Carrollton Avenue – up to the sign at Angelo
Brocato’s.
o
There
is a helicopter crash on the bank of the Bayou directly acros from the Post
Office on Jeff Davis. No one
was injured. When they panned
back there was still a lot of water.
Some areas on the North side of the Bayou looked like it was drying
out, the area immedately surrounding Parkway Bakery looked very bad.
September 5th – Daycare in Baton
Rouge
Lori and I
were incredibly fortunate back in NOLA to find a wonderful woman named
Barbara Easley to watch our son.
It was a home environment and we were comfortable with it. We have a friend here in Baton
Rouge who is (was) a teacher at Hynes Elementary in Lakeview who is open to
watching 3-4 young children.
We are JUMPING at the chance to have her watch our boy and if we can
get 2-3 other families involved that could solve some potential problems
for people looking for daycare.
Email me at jon@corknola.com
for more info.
Barbara lived
and watched children out of her house on Pasteur off Fillmore. Her daughter’s name is Marne (we
don’t know her married last name) and her son in law is a chef at the
Macaroni Grill in Covington.
That area is flooded to rooftops. We would like to know if anyone has information about
Marne or Barbara.
September 5, 2005 – Wine people check in
o
My good
friend Adam McDermott that you all know from so many Thursday Farmer’s Market tastings
writes: We (he and wife, Michelle) arrived in Windsor,
Ontario. Yesterday afternoon. Detroit jazz fest is this weekend so,
we drove in listening to Dr. John, Irma Thomas and Tab Benoit.
Creepy. I really miss WWOZ. We will be staying here
for at least a week I figure. And then to NYC. Michele is
anxious to see her folks. Got a wonderful message from Kevin Pike
today and a number of other wine people yesterday. It is encouraging
to get so much support....lets hope it lasts until we have rebuilt.
We need to make NO the city that care rebuit...not forgot. Take
care. Stay well. We will see you soon.
o
My Burgundy Buddy Ric Hopper, owner of Hopper’s
Wines and Spirits is fine and in Lafayette. He wrote me an email pointing out a very significant
point for the rebuilding of New Orleans: My thinking has gone through a
number of ideas and thoughts.
Currently, I am thinking that the government will have to decide if
they want to protect businesses like ours from leaving NO and never
returning. (Jon Adds: To all small business owners, call FEMA, as I
have done and they will send you an SBA information packet on how to begin
the steps towards business recovery.)
September 5th – 8:30 am – S. Cortez
and Banks
Cheyrl and Jaks (auntclo@yahoo.com)
live on S. Cortez street in Mid city between Canal Street (Mandina's) and Banks.
We wanted to know if you had any specific information about the rescue
status of Mid-City in this area or on S. Hennessey street between Banks and
Canal. We got word that a friend of ours is on his roof with his dogs and
we want to make sure he is okay b/c he is not getting text messages any
longer. His name is Stan Walker and his dog's name is Luna. People in Mid
City know Stan b/c he used to work at City Perk and also recently has
worked at that new coffee shop on Jeff Davis near the Bayou. His father is Dr. Walker (ear, nose
and throat i think) and Stan went to high school at McMain. Please let us
know if you have any information. To help people know who we are, we are
the people who walk around Mid City with the two basset hounds. (Jon adds –
Cheryl, a few days ago I added some pictures of that area. Here they are:
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
September 5th – 8:15 Am – Stewart
Court Question
Patrice Fisher (ecoslatinos@juno.com)
wants to know if any one has any news about houses on Stewart Ct,
(just off dumaine and north carrollton ave.)?
September 4 – 10:00 PM – A Great Article
Ian McNulty,
a freelance writer living in Mid City, sent me a link to an article he
wrote about a month ago for NewOrleans.Com. To balance the horror of what we are seeing on TV give THIS LINK
a click for a good read.
Thanks Ian!
September 4th – Fleur de Lis Pizza
Fleur de Lis
Pizza is this old pizza joint on Government Street in Baton Rouge. They don’t take Credit Cards,
there’s a jukebox and a bar (and an operating phone booth). It’s a real dive and the pizza is
great. Kind of Tower of Pizza
with a scruffy beard, if you will.
Last night I had dinner with my wife and three fellow refugees at
Fleur de Lis Pizza. We laughed
and joked and carried on. A
few tables away were about 10 or so other refugees I knew (mostly
Mid-Citizens®) who were also laughing and having a good time. We were getting up and exchanging
seats at tables with each other, pizza was offered to everybody and even
the server couldn’t keep track of which table to bring which beers to. It could have been any Saturday
night at Liuzza’s or Katie’s or Mandina’s or any other New Orleans
neighborhood joint. Despite
our revelry, however, it wasn’t entirely a party. When we joked, the laughs did seem to stop just a bit
short and there was an undeniable tension behind those laughs. There were some hugs and sighs and
even evidence of puffy, teary eyes. We did, though, reflect on our
fortunate situation being in a restaurant with a bed to go home to, albeit
a temporary bed in someone else’s house. Most important was the fact that the one
sentiment that did get expressed was that we ARE going back, we ARE rebuilding this thing, NOTHING can drive us from our home! We were all facing fear and
uncertainty last night and we coped with it the best way a good New
Orleanian knows how, we laughed and joked, raised our glasses of Abita
Amber and filled the room with joie-de-vivre. At a placed called Fleur de Lis, no less.
September 4 – An Allard Street Update
Jeb Schrenk reports that his parent’s Kathy and Edmund
are fine and are renting a place in Denham Springs. He reports the house on Allard did
not flood, so hopefully it won't
burn down.
September 4 – An Uptown/Carrollton Update
My friend
John was able to hitch a ride with the National Guard today and was able to
see the effects of the storm around his house on Jeanette and Short, a
block off Carrolton. He reports
the Oak St/Willow/Carrollton area is high and dry. Lots of trees down and lots of
business looting (but no homes apparantley). Other than the eerie silence
of no one being out and about he says that little part of Uptown is fine.
September 4, 2005 – A note from Jim Taylor of
MCNO
Jim Taylor
forwarded me a country song written by Mid City’s own Jim McCormick. Jim M. splits his time between New
Orleans and Nashville where he works as a songwriter. Here is a song he wrote that Jim T.
sent me. To listen to it and
down load CLICK
HERE. Its about 5 megs so
if you aren’t on a high speed connection you might not want to.
September 4th – A New Orleans
Newbie Reflects
I received this
email from Doreen Piano, a neighbor of mine: Jon, I just discovered your website this
a.m. after some futile google searches about finding info on my
neighborhood. I moved to Mid City in early August to start my new job at
UNO as a professor in the English Dept. I actually live a few doors down
from you and your family on Dumaine. My friends Robin and Kent on St Philip
found the duplex for me this past summer and I can't tell you how ecstatic
I was being part of the St John's Bayou community. BTW, they and their
loved ones are fine and living in Baton Rouge right now. Even though
I just moved to NO, I plan to return and make it my home city again.
I think it's great that your website provides not only info, but
humor, tears, reflection, and sympathy for the many who are not safely
exiled and whose material circumstances are much more dire than
ours. I am so lucky and grateful to have an amazing group of friends and
family that have given me so much already In any case, I am so glad
that you are keeping this blog for Mid City folks and galvanizing that
communal spirit virtually that I witnessed on the streets in St John's
Bayou. I cannot wait to get back and help rebuild our city.
September 4, 2005 – An Update from Tryge Reid
Just wanted to drop you a line, to say hi and I'm glad
you guy's got out. In case you haven't heard, Paul and Pamela
Arceneaux got out. I've been in NY for the last month, so I missed
the storm alltogether. (Jon Adds: You may know Paul Arceneaux as the
man who sells soups and Pesto at the Thursday Crescent City Farmer’s
Market. His Red Leaf Basil
Pesto with Romano Cheese is pure crack.)
September 4, 2005 – An update from Ben Kaufman
My mother, Peggy Kaufmann evacuated from the American
Can to Covington. She is concerned about the guards, the leasing
office staff, and her friends at the American Can. She would like to
let everyone know that she is ok and is heading to DC to stay with
me. Peggy can be reached at 504-343-2159 as soon as the towers are
working. She would like to know
who was airlifted from the roof of American Can.
September 4 – 3:15 - A note from Melanie
Goodman
Melanie Goodman is very glad to see Perry Gettleman
and Ian McNaulty are high and dry.
Looks like S Scott street got wet! I'm in lake of the Ozarks, Missouri with Xena, Wren,
Barry my brother, Miriam, Scott, Kids, Denise, Bret, and others for the
time being, probably heading to Lafayette, LA soon. Hope Dana Logsdon-Carpenter, the
kiddies and kitties, Dawn, Lucy, and Mary are safe. Carol, where are you? Call Melanie at 537-286-6744
September 4, 2005 – A Louie and Naomi from N.
Haganand St. Ann St. Update
We're o.k. We making our way to Placerville for a
wedding we'd planned on attending before all this. Yesterday we were in the
Big Bend area of Texas, which was beautiful because they've had record rain
here, but we had no phone service, nor radio, nor TV, so this afternoon
we've stopped at a hotel that has all. I can heartily recommend any Hampton
Inn; everyone at each one has been so understanding and helpful, and they
have all ways to find info, when there is any info to find. Tomorrow we're
heading to Albuquerque to visit briefly with a friend who made it to her
mom's house there. I will say, the peacefulness of the buttes and the
subdued colors yesterday and
today were soothing; every time I see a paper I have
to hold back. We'll stay in touch but if we take up too much time let me
know. We have such a great neighborhood. I really want to find everybody, I
hope we do.
September 4 – 3:15 -
Dana Chris Della Boo and Viola from the 800 block of
Hagan are safe and temporarily
relocated in Atl/Greenville area. Alan Parks from St. Phillip also
safe. Does anyone know
the whereabouts of Charlie Franklin from St. Phillip between Moss and
Hagan? Also, is the area being
patrolled at all? I miss
my mid city scene.....love to all. DLHASSELLE@aol.com
September 4, 11:00 – Temp teaching jobs in
Houston
Hosam Aboul-Ela, a friend who teaches in the English
dept at U of Houston has this to report about possible work and a place to
stay for anyone in exile from Katrina who is in Houston, particularly
academic adjuncts at UNO, Tulane, and Loyola, who could need $$$. I know
that UNO has dismissed their part time faculty for the semester; I'm not
sure what Tulane and Loyola have done. The english dept chair Wyman said at a planning
committee meeting yesterday that the bureaucracy at UH had already arranged
to admit students from NO and explorations were going on to possibly add
extra sections for them or set things up for refugee faculty to do research
or even work as adjuncts. Lynn Voskuil mentioned that she and j. were
looking for someone to put up in their garage apt. There was also an email from MLA
today about helping affected faculty and omething on TV this morning about
UNO possibly having online classes up by November. Anyway, it seems like
there's some momentum up. If you have colleagues who are interested in
teaching or office space, have them contact Wyman at WHH@uh.edu and they can use my name. If
they are looking for housing in Houston have them contact Lynn at Lvoskuil@uh.edu and they can use either of
our names.
-------------
Doreen Piano. Assistant Professor
English Department
University of New Orleans
September 4 – 3:15 pm – Lynneanne Cirius
checks in
This is Lynanne. I enjoyed my last bottle of Pannaroz last night in my new
temporary home (my sisters) in Kenosha, WI. I am planning on building a web
site/blog page under the name www.midcityrefugee.com . I purchased the name today and
should have something up later this week. I was wondering if I could add the link to your
website. I think it would be
good to have a place for us to find out what's going on in the hood as we
try to come home.
By the way does anyone know about specific water
levels on Orleans?
September 4 – 3:00 pm Lynn McLean checks in
and has questions
Please let me fellow MCNO friends & committee
member (especially the beautification crew) that I am safe.
I rode out the storm with my family in Mobile, helped
clean up their property and am now with friends in Atlanta.
However, I am very concerned about my neighbors who
decided to stay and ride out the storm. I could not convince them to leave
after begging them to. They are senior citizens, Frank Caricio & Art (not sure of the last name) who live in the
300 block of North Murat. Also worried about my little elderly lady
friend Ms. Ruby who lived in the 300
block of North Olympia. If anyone knows of their whereabouts please let
me know by email a lbmclean@aol.com
September 4th – 3:00 pm – Delgado
St. Resident Search
Laura Kamenitz is looking for her tenants John Parry and Bob Ambrose. They lived in the basement
apartment of her house on the corner of Wilson and Delgado Drive. They stayed in the house during the
hurricane and came through that ok, but she hasn't talked to them since the
flood began.
Please let Laura know if anyone has any information
on their whereabouts. I can be reached at snapshot44@bellsouth.net. Her cell is 504-235-3956. I'm in
Zwolle, La.
September 4th 2:55 pm – Naomi finds someone!
Naomi Duffey
on St. Philip and North Hagan has been looking for several neighbors
including Stacy Arton whom she has found. Naomi writes: We got an email from Stacey
tonight. She and Maggie are in Dallas where Stacey's corporation has work
for her. They did have to put down their dog Diamond, so they've had a
double pain. But they're making it, and eventually all of us, everybody,
will find each other and come back and just hug and cry 'til we laugh. Thanks.
September 4th
– Web Question
Katrina Bennett (Bennettfam58@aol.com)
writes: Is there a place on the web where I can post pictures of my missing
family members? (Note from Jon: I haven’t seen any yet)
September 3 1:45 – Danny Brennan from Orleans
Ave
Danny emails
to say he is in Austin, Tx and he’s not sure what his next step is, but the
important thing is he and his family is ok.
September 3, 11:00 – Escape from New Orleans
While I was
in this line I spoke to a gentleman (I apologize but I have forgotten his
name) who stayed in town for the storm. He lives in Treme but stayed with a friend at a high
rise on Gravier during the storm.
He told a horror story, comparing the tone of the city to the movies
“Mad Max” and “Escape from New York”.
He tells stories of filthy rising water and having only minutes to
gather what he could and try to get back out. He tells about how a friend from La Spiga Bakery helped
him to find food and told him to use his van for a ride out, but the doors
at La Spiga were locked and he wasn’t breaking in to get the keys to the
van. The attitude in the city
was worsening by the hour, people getting more desperate, more brazen and
ruthless in their actions. At
one point he told us, his only thought was of his own survival – not from
the waist deep flood waters on his Treme street, but of the horrors that
were unleased by the floods.
He told us of his friend’s nearly heroic efforts to come back for
him to help him get out of town.
While they were fleeing over the Crescent City Connection he and
those in his full car saw droves of people walking across the bridge and
begging for rides to the point where he felt his life was in danger if he
slowed down. When he was
finished telling us the story he asked me if I was going back to New
Orleans. I looked at him point
blank and told him “Of course I am, its my home” He just looked back and shook his head as if to say
“Yeah, ya right.”
September 3, 11:00 – Insurance Tip
This morning
at 6:30 I lined up with several hundred other people in a Home Depot
parking lot to visit the Allstate Insurance Emergency Response Unit so I
could have questions answered by a live person and get some financial
relief from my Homeowner’s Policy.
If you have a homeowner’s policy and you have not yet done so
contact a local office for your insurance agency to get some immediate
relief.
September 3, 2005 – 10:50 am – Hagan St
Question
Sandy Thornburg at mstcountryday@yahoo.com would
like any information on 900 block of N. Hagan? How much flooding? Trees
down? Has there been any
looting in the area? How did Parkway Bakery make out?
September 3rd – 10:00 – Some needed
humor right now
My friend Kevin
Theard who has evacuated with his family to Mississippi then to Baton Rouge
asked me to check on his house on Marshall Foch. It pained me to send him a picture showing his two story
house virtually half way under water.
Kevin’s response was priceless:
Jon - This is incredible. Thank you. It may not
look good to you, but Anne thinks maybe her shoes may be safe on the second
floor. I also counted 12 shingles missing. Thanks. If any of your friends
go sailing down Marshal Foch ask them to take a picture. Thanks again.
September 2, 2005 Bad News for Cork &
Bottle
I just saw a
picture that doesn’t bode well for the American Can Company, its businesses
and the houses along Orleans Avenue.
Here is a satellite photo taken Wednesday afternoon that clearly
shows the water almost entirely overtaking the first floor. It’s a satellite picture but you
can zoom in on the pic pretty good.
Click Here for the Picture.
September 2nd – Looking for people
Kelly Lyons at
jlyons3463@bellsouth.net
writes: My father, brother and nephew lived at the AMERICAN CAN
COMPANY. They were the last people to be evacuated this morning at 6
a.m. via Coast Guard Helicopter. They were taken to Causeway and I-10
to await a bus ride. Also, I'm looking for my mom, RUTH BIERY,
who lived at 926 N. Carrollton and her neighbor Dale Bailey of 924 N.
Carrollton. Does anyone know if they've been rescued? If so,
where were they taken? MY MOM HAS ALZHEIMER'S and will be very
confused once she is taken from her home. Any info is greatly
appreciated.
September 2nd – 5:00 PM Sugar Ray
Stands Strong.
“get off your
asses and do something!” I
honestly believe these words will be the turning point in the Hurricane
Recovery. Thank you Ray Nagin
for your leadership in our time of tragedy. Click
here to listen to Ray Nagin’s WWL Interview
September 2nd – A view from Chicago
Marc Pagani
is a freelace photograher from Chicago who over the past two years has made
our city his home. Last year
after his year his Mid-City home burned to the ground he didn’t pack up and
head back to Chicago, he just found a place in the Garden District and kept
on going. This morning he
emailed me some of his thoughts from Chicago. Thank you Marc.
….. I am safe and sound, driving a donated car
indefinitely for free, sleeping in a friend's basement, getting tons
of support. I am sooo lucky in the face of being so unlucky. Thousands upon thousands more are
not so lucky.
As I sat on the El train yesterday, I saw a woman
slowly reading the headlines and seeing the images of a torn and battered
South. As tears welled in her eyes, she reached a hand up and wiped
them away self-consciously glancing to her right and then left to see if
anyone had noticed her emotional response. 1 hour later, I went into
a pizza place to get a slice for lunch. When I got it I took a photo
of the lonely slice sitting next to the newspaper whose cover read
"Sorrow". The owner came over and asked why I was taking a
photo of his pizza - was I a food critic? "No", I said
"I'm from New Orleans and I'm just documenting everything I can about
this experience - helps me cope", the stranger put his hand on my
shoulder and said in a thick Italian accent, "You come here every day
for next week - you
get free slice. I take care of you"
I went to XS Salon to get a much needed haircut and
my longtime stylist Scott would not take my money. Even
corporations, America's traditionally indifferent,bottom line interested
conglomerates are getting into the spirit of giving. Working Assets
Long Distance is forgiving overage charges on cell phones owned by those
living in New Orleans who have gone over their allotted minutes in an
effort to stay connected to friends and family. The place where I
advertise my photography services is giving me free advertising in New
Orleans until we can go back and giving me 20% off advertising in
Chicago. Fellow photographers around the midwest are offering me a
place to stay and any extra portrait jobs they get. Major credit card
companies are offering to waive payments for at least 90 days. This
really is our time to unite - not in anger like so many did after the
events of 9/11, but in compassion and love for your fellow human - no
matter what yourpolitics, do what our president had trouble feeling
motivated to do - take action now.
September 2nd – Esplanade and
Claiborne Update
Pat O’ Brien wrote me to tell me: “the Mother of a
tenant of mine who lived right off of Esplanade said that her daughter on
Tuesday reported knee deep water in front of her house - that would be
almost at Esplanade and Claiborne. We can't find the daughter but have
posted her name on the 211 list.”
September
2nd – Jim Taylor gives an update
Hey
Jon, Jim Taylor here checking in with info on some Mid-City people. First
of all let me say this, if you are safe STAY WHERE YOU ARE.... Dottie and I
made it to Gulf Shores and will be here through the Labor Day weekend. As soon as we can we will relocate
to Baton Rouge. Anders'
wife Sara and kids followed Jim McCormick to Nashville. Anders
flew in from California and is in Nashville with the family. Wendy Laker is in
Marksville. Natalie Lafont
and Treschelle Ries were going to Cut Off on Tuesday. Shon and Bonnie Sims are in
Orange Texas. Rocky Meg and Chloe Seydel are in North Carolina. I heard Conrad Abadie was
staying for the storm. Does
anyone know where he is now?
September
2nd – 4:45 pm – City Perk Question
Does anyone know how bad the flooding is
near St. Peter & Carrollton. I've seen Tad Gormley but don't know
how bad that must make my home near City Perk. Any ideas, please write
back to bonsims@aol.com.
September
2nd – Escape from Mercy Hospital
Dear
john, I'm Sharon Morrow, My house is 851 Wilson dr. I'm
an ICU nurse, I was evacuated. from Liindy Boggs hosp on Weds.
The worst experience I've had. I'm safe. thanks for the access to
your website for info. stay safe.
September
2nd – 4:25 pm Ian Mcnulty and Meg Lousteu
Ian McNulty checks into say he is fine and in
Baton Rouge. He is saying, in
his words, that he is staying with Meg Lousteau, her mother and a pack of
dogs.” He asks if
anyone has heard from Peter Bodenheimer.
September
2 – 4:15 – Art Community Member Update
Libby
McInnis (my neighbor) who is the daughter of Sherry and William
(watercolorist) McInnis. She
writes that she has heard from her parents and they successfully evacuated
the city before the storm. They are safe with relatives in Jackson,
Mississippi (with my sister Amy her daughters and grandmother). Her would be happy to hear that
more of you from the arts and neighborhood are okay. Any one who knows my
parents can contact them through me at libbymcinnis@hotmail.com
September
2, 2005 – The Wineries are helping.
I’ll tell you one thing. WHEN I make it through this thing and
WHEN the shop reopens I’m erecting a shrine to Doug Beckett, owner of
Peachy Canyon Winery. If you
are in another city right now and you need a bottle of wine buy a bottle of
Peachy Canyon!!!!
Doug Beckett sent me the following email today:
Paso Robles Wine Industry
Raising Money for Hurricane Relief
Goal
of $100,000 is Set
PASO
ROBLES, CA September 1,
2005 – Paso Robles wineries and wine growers are responding with
fundraising efforts to begin this Labor Day weekend to the massive need of
their friends and business associates in New Orleans,
and all along the Gulf Coast,
whose lives have been dramatically altered by Hurricane Katrina.
The
goal is to raise $100,000 dollars, or more, for relief efforts in the
devastated region. The Paso Robles wine community invites
their visitors, neighbors and customers to be a part of the many
fundraising efforts beginning this holiday weekend.
As
the scope of the disaster became evident, wineries and wine growers
responded enthusiastically to the call for help. Beginning this weekend
many wineries are contributing tasting fees, percentages of their sales
and, in some cases, every dollar they make on days they have designated.
Others industry members are opting for direct contributions.
The
industry fundraising continues throughout the harvest season. The Paso
Robles Wine Country Quality Alliance encourages its producers to contribute
$2 per every one-thousand dollar of their revenues to the effort, as well.
This is the exact match of the formula used for the statewide Pierce’s
Disease assessment, recently renewed.
The
public and press will be able to quickly identify participating wineries by
visiting www.pasowine.com.
A complete list is expected by Friday afternoon. Those wishing to take part
should contact individual wineries to find out what they are
offering.
The
Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance made New Orleans its first stop, March 9th,
on its “National Grand Tasting Tour” and the PRWCA members, more than 500
in all, have strong ties to the area. They, like so many in people across
the country, are worried about friends and business associates, many of
whom they’ve been unable to reach.
The
wine community is also working in conjunction with the Paso Robles Chamber
of Commerce to solicit donations community wide. All contributions will be
deposited into a special hurricane relief account and earmarked
specifically by the PRWCA Board to make sure the money goes to an
appropriate and cost effective organization.
September
2nd 7:30 am – Useful Web Info
My good friend Jeff Roland who I am here with in
Baton Rouge sent me this information.
Jeff does GIS Mapping for a living and he has not been away from his
laptop since this whole thing began.
This information might help you out.
Jeff writes: I have helped
some friends in Lakefront prove to their insurance company that they are
indeed flooded with several feet of water. I have access to elevation and
map data that should provide assisance some people that are making
flood claims. If your insurance company is not cooperating or doesn't yet
believe that you are flooded then I can generate some screen grabs of the
elevation data maps that can help. It will be weeks before any of us can
get into New Orleans to assess the damage. If you want to get the claims
rolling then I might be able to help. And with finding pictures and data on
the web you should be able to get some proof that your area is under water.
Just email me if you want some maps of your neighborhood. Send it to jroland@cox.net
Some links that may help:
http://www.scipionus.com/
- provides some reports of flooding in specific areas.
http://www.nola.com/ - new orleans
newspaper
http://www.wwltv.com/
http://www.digitalglobe.com/ -
satellite photos
http://www.spotimage.fr/html/_167_.php
-more satellite photos(infared)
September
2, 2005 – 7:15 am – Searching for people.
Naomi
Duffey from N. Rendon and St. Ann is looking for the following Faubourg St.
John people. If you have any
information please email her at nfd61@earthlink.net Thanks! Here it goes:
o
David "Big Dave" Jacob 200 block Pierce St. at
Palmyra. 504-488-4781.
Diabetic. 57 y.o. Caucasian
male. grey hair and
beard. Approx. 6 ft. 300 lbs.
False teeth bound to one real tooth.
o
Grace Wright 3200 block of St. Ann Street. 504-488-3510. Arthritis. 84 y.o. Afr-Am female. Black hair. Approx 5 ft. 100 lbs.
o
Connie Reynolds 900 block Moss Street south
side. 504-482-4412. Approx 70 y.o. Caucasian
female. Brown hair. Approx. 5'1" 90 lbs.
o
Evelyn (?) 3300 block St. Ann Street 504-486-0330. Approx 70 y.o. Caucasian
female. Reddish-brown
hair. Approx 5 ft 110 lbs.
o
Jeffrey Moten and mother (named McCoy), sister,
nephew. Belfort Street Fair
Grounds area.
504-943-7225. Approx 40
y.o. Af-Am male. Black hair.
Approx. 5'10" 220 lbs.
o
Ray Son (?)
Belfort Street Fair Grounds area. (Famous "Nappy" artist)
504-948-3052. Approx. 40 y.o.
Af-Am male. Bald. Approx 6 ft. 165 lbs.
o
Stacy Arton and Maggie Eldred 700 block Hagan St. 40s. Caucasian females. Maggie approx. med. length blonde
hair. 5'9" 130 lbs. Stacy approx. 5'4" 120 lbs.
short brown hair.
September
2nd 7:00 am – Parry Gettleleman from Wilson Drive checks in
Parry
is in Dallas w/ friends after staying in Tallulah, LA for a few days.
She notes that in her haste she forgot her freshly purchased bottles of
wine from New Orleans and a kind “friend” bought her some Gallo wine from a
store near her Day's Inn. She
writes: “Have managed to connect with a few of my Wilson Dr. neighbors and
am fairly sure others evacuated in plenty of time, tho very concerned
about my friend Doris on Roosevelt St. and her kids and husband. I wonder if anyone knows if the charming Miss Foley (I
believe that's her name), the former teacher in the little yellow
cottage next to the historic Custom House on Moss, got away and is doing
OK?
September
2, 2005 6:00 am – Searching for people from my Thursday Tasting Group
Each
and every Thursday for the past two+ years we’ve had a wine tasting group
in our back room at Cork & Bottle. So far I’ve only heard from two people, Warren Fredrick
and Todd Manno. Both are fine
and are with their families out of harm’s way. If anyone else can check in please do so at jon@corknola.com. I’m looking for:
Al
Seischnaydre from Avron St. in Metairie.
Anders
Osborne from Dumaine St. near Allard
Cathy
Greensfelder from Algiers
Eddie
Desocio from Vincennes Place
Eddie
Esposito from Metairie
Leon
Ricord from Metairie
Mike
Collins from Metairie
Mike
Monie from Jefferson
Shannon
Chabaud from Orleans Ave near City Pk Ave
Tedd
Nass from Calhoun Street Uptown
Tony
Zanki from City Park Avenue
Sep 1st 11:30 PM – God Bless Ray Nagin
If anyone
heard Sugar Ray Nagin on WWL Tonight with his Tirade against FEMA,
President Bush, the National Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers then
you’ll know what I mean when I say GOOD FOR HIM. He is to New Orleans right now as Rudy Guilani was to
New York in 2001. I’m sitting
here in Baton Rouge feeling as helpless as a person can feel, my good
friend Jason and I were efforting a flat boat so we could come into the
city on Friday and try to help and now we’ve learned we will be turned away
because the city is TOO UNSAFE FOR RESCUE VOLUNTEERS! I’m glad our Mayor can get past
political rhetoric at a time like this and tell it like it is. Now if someone will just listen to
him.
God Bless You Ray! I’m glad I moved back to New Orleans to open a business
while you were the Mayor!
SEP 1ST – AMERICAN CAN COMPANY UPDATE
Ok,
we’ve gotten some direct news about the American Can Company and its not
good. Jack Allred from
Pennsylvania sent me information from his mother who lives in the building. She called him from a borrowed cell
phone. The first floor is
badly flooded and there is a group of people who have gotten to the roof
and are trying to be evacuated.
They do have plenty of fresh water and have what they need to
survive, but reports of the building do not bode well for that end of
Orleans Avenue and the first floor of American Can. (Jon adds: Having spent every of the last
three years in the Can Company I can tell you that the first floor
bordering Orleans begins probably 6-7 feet above the street so I am
wondering exactly how bad the flooding is)
September
1st – 5:47 pm – Jackson Hill Update
Jackson
Hill, the photographer who owns Southern Lights Studio, and his wife are
fine in…you guessed it…Jackson, MS.
He’ll be there for a while.
September
1st – 5:45 pm – Martin Wine Cellar Staff
PJ
Rosenberg from Martin Wine Cellar is fine and in Houston with his family
but trying to connect with many from home. He would like to hear from you if you are looking for
him. He is at
281.980.7707. (Jon adds: I
know many Martin’s Staff is unable to connect with each other, I’ve seen
the message on NOLA.COM. I’ve
set up a GMAIL account for you guys, you can all send it to
mwc.katrina@gmail.com Email me
for the log-in password and you guys can use it as your own message board.)
September
1st – 5:45 pm – Jimmy Farenholtz Update
Jimmy
sent me an email this afternoon.
He and his wife are in Champai, IL at her Mom’s house. He is going to try and get back
into the city early next week with the Mayor’s help.
September
1, 2005 – 3:30 Mid City Pictures
These are
available on Nola.Com which has an amazing databas of pictures, but I
thought these of Mid-City might start to answer some questions. They are
high-res pictures so they each get their own page.
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
September
1, 2005 – 12:15. Another
Weblog
Alan
Guitterez has been keeping a Wiki with some good information - http://thinknola.com/wiki/
September
1, 2005 – A Good Picture of the City
Alan
posts that there is a VERY comprehensive picture of the flooding that you
can look at BY
CLICKING HERE. If you have
a picture editor like Picasa you can zoom in fairly tight. What I saw on the corner of Dumaine
and Moss looks promising.
There looks like flooding in my house, but you can see the whites of
the bridge ramps which means the whole neighborhood is not under
water.
September
1st – Uptown Pictures – VERY TELLING
Click HERE
for a first hand amateur account of Hurricane Damage Uptown.
September
1st – A picture from Jon.
I was
going through my hard drive and came across this picture I took in
January. I wanted to share it
with you. I think we need to
see this right now instead of what we are seeing (if you want a large, high
res copy of this email me at jon@corknola.com)
September
1st – 11:15 – Fairgrounds question
Katie
and Andy Romero want to know any information about Lepage Street, which is on the
Fairgrounds side of Esplanade. Their block is between Crete and
Broad. They’ve heard info around this area, but nothing very
close. They don't know if all their neighbors got out, but are hoping
they did- especially Curtis and Mark. They are at katienola@gmail.com
September
1st – 11:15 A Bill Lavendar and MidCity Update from Steve
Dangermond
Letting you know that our friends Bill
Lavender and Nancy Dixon were able to get out safely to Baton
Rouge thanks to a small boat they paddled to Uptown where they were
able to get a friend's car and get out. Their report is that their house on
St Philip next to Pals is completely flooded, but it seems to vary from
block to block. Our house on Moss appeared to be above water and our
beautiful black tarp that covers the front stayed on through the hurricane.
They said there was some flooding in the ground floor of the American Can
but the upper floors were dry. They took refuge in our apartment on the
third floor for a while and gave away our food and water to people out
in the streets -- and it sounds like there are lots of them. Their story is
quite harrowing as they said they had to paddle past many bodies to get out
and it sounds like complete mayhem in the streets like a collective madness
has set in.
Sep
1st – 10:45 A Mercy Hospital question.
Dr. David Myers and family are
safe in houston. If you have any knowledge of the depth of water at
the corner of bienville and jeff davis and on iberville at n. hennessey we
would appreciate the info – email David at damandshm@aol.com
September
1st – 10:45 – Metairie Update
From
Vickie Cusimano: My husband is with the Louisiana Air National Guard @
Belle Chasse & he said they have "set-up shop" @ the saint's
training camp & the zephyr stadium. They have been loading supplies with water & MRE's
to bring tothe people that are in the Superdome & overpasses. He has reported to me that Airling
Hwy is high & dry, but did have some water. We live off of Ithaca & Elmwood in Metairie & a
friend of mine actually drove to my house & said that that area has had
water (can't tell if it got into the houses)but nothing is in the house
right now. Trees are down in
this area, but the roads are passable.
September
1st – 10:45 A Lakview report:
From Lynn Metzger: We were in Lakeview between Navarre and
the tracks and evacuated to Baton Rouge, but got back into the city to try
to rescue a neighbor. That area (including our houses) is completely
under water.
September
1st – 10:40, A
field report
I
don’t want to post too many posts like this, but I found this email from Melissa Bonin to be particularly
interesting. Not much direct
info, but a glimpse of life in the city right now: A
close friend of mine is a photographer for a major newspaper. He has
been covering the story for days now with no relief. Last night he called
from Royal Street. He said Royal street was not as badly hit by
rising water as other parts of New Orleans. He didn't know where he
would sleep he had slept in his car the night before. He had seen
dead bodies during the day, was covered in sweat and mud and human fecal
matter from wading in deep waters to take photos. None of that bothered
him so much as he was afraid of being shot by snipers and looters when he
had to leave the building where he had found temporary refuge and a working
phone.
September 1, 2005 – FEMA Information
This just in from Lolis
Elie: The WWL website is suggesting that
everyone who thinks he/she may have been effected by the storm should begin
the registration process with FEMA. They suggest that people do not
wait until they have returned home and assessed damage to their property
before calling. If you do, you may face long telephone waits.
My sister called the number and her info. was taken after a brief
wait. FEMA number to begin assistance process is 1-800-621-FEMA or http://www.fema.gov.
(Jon
adds: If you have web access, which if you’re reading this page means
you do, you can also register online)
September 1, 2005 8:00 am North
Pierce Street
From
James Cooke: My wife and I and oldest daughter share a home at
644/645 North Pierce Street… If anyone knows anything about North Pierce
Street please contact me at cookehouse@eartlink.net.
We are all safe and sound, thank God, but if anyone has information it
would be greatly, deeply appreciated
September 1, 2005 7:00 AM
NEW BLOG FEATURE. I have added a “How to Find Me” page. Click the link to the left to let
us know how friends and relatives can contact you via land line where you
are at since 504 numbers no longer work.
The
link is http://www.corknola.com/findme.htm
September 1, 2005 7:00 AM –
Whereabouts of some Bayou St. John Area residents given
This
morning I received an email from Anne Marie Hesson who wrote: “I have
been told that Eric Hartman went to Florida with his sister Liz and her
husband Donald. Celia Krebs went to Zachary with her family. I
am in Memphis and Nashville, staying with family. Can you put some sort of "Hot to Find Me"
information ares on the website? Most of our cell phones aren't
working - at least to call 504 numbers. It would be nice to be able
to post land line phone numbers for friends to use. (Jon adds: Thanks for the
info about Celia and Eric, I was worried about Eric)
September 1, 2005 – 6:45 am
Village de l’Est Information Request
Wayne
Labat is looking for any info about the Village De'Lest area-
specifically Lemans St. near Sarah Reed HS, he can't find anything
and even the satellite images don't go far enough east. Please send
any info to sixgun@evilemail.com
September 1, 2005 – 3300 Block of
Esplande Question
Early
this morning D. Porche wrote me and asked: My house is in the
3300 block of Esplanade Ave (a block down from Gabriels Restaurant
going towards City Park). Do you know if that area of Mid-city -
Bayou St. John is under water?
I
sent D to read Dante Ramos and Doug MacCash’s articles in the
Times-Picayune online yesterday.
Again, I think currently the NOLA.COM’s
website is putting out the best information. WWL has a good site too, but I think the Times-Pic has
their act together.
September
1, 2005 12:20 am Good Night
from Jon
Today my wife and I began a
frantic search for a place to live and a place for her to set up her office
in Baton Rouge for a few months until our home city is livable again. We thought this was a hard
thing. Throughout the day I
read hundreds of your emails of grief, despair, concern, confusion and
replied to as many of them as I could. I thought this was a hard thing. Tonight I watched another displaced
couple we are staying with finally get in touch with their immediate family
and close friends to whom they had not spoken to in over three days, all
the while watching the despair on TV.
I thought this was a hard thing. There are 6 of us that are staying with two friends in
Baton Rouge, tonight we ran the gamut – we cried, denied the situation,
reflected and stared blankly at the future with as many questions as you
all have. I watched a room
full of adults do this and I thought it was hard thing. I realize as I’m typing this with
sheer exhaustion that I am so very lucky to be sitting in a dry, air
conditioned house with food, drink and electricity (hell, someone has even
put on “Runaway Jury” which is a tribute to our great city) while I’m
surrounded by my wife and son and five friends I love dearly. I am so very lucky and I count my
blessings. All I lost were
things – things that can be replaced.
I’m not separated from my family, sleeping in a hot, wet, foodless
shelter and I’m not in an attic or roadway waiting for someone to rescue me
(or an even worse situation).
Regardless of how exhausted I am right now I know that I don’t have
it hard at all. Thank you all
for your emails today even if they were just questions. It means you care, it gives me hope
to know you are all out there and - please - do not give up on New
Orleans! We will rebuild our
proud city together!
May
God have mercy on those that do have it hard tonight.
August
31 – 11:55 pm – Answers at NOLA.COM
The
EXCELLENT information fourm at http://www.nola.com
has some first rate information about Mid City.
August
31, 2005 – 11:53 pm – News from the Front Line to answer many Bayou St.
John questions
Tonight
Dante Ramos, Deputy Editorial Page Editor (or a title thereabouts) of the
Times-Picayune emailed me the following. I do not know if Dante stayed in an official capacity as
a journalist but he has contributed to the NOLA.COM blog I thank him for his recap: I paddled through the neighborhood this
afternoon (Wednesday) in a canoe along with Doug MacCash. Most
of City Park Avenue is high and dry. The water at Orleans
and Carrollton was maybe a foot deep. Moss Street was under water on
both sides of the bayou; we paddled from Grande Route Ste. John to Harding
Drive and up Delgado St. without hitting land. The wind damage is bad in
some places, less so in others.
August
31 – 10:00 pm – Looking for Claude Smith
I received this message from Sonya Smith. She writes:
Hi Jon my name is Sonya. My husband lives at the american
can apt on Orleans Ave. the last time I spoke to him was monday morning. Do
you have any info on what is going on over that side of the town. I am in dallas
and I am very worried about him.
Please email her at cebuckle@yahoo.com
if you have any information.
AUGUST
31 – 10:00 – Lakeview Question
Micheal
Mailing writes: The Maling's (Michael, Kim, Georgia and Owen)
have relocated to Alpharetta, Ga with family until we hear we can return
home (if we even have one). We are also concerned about Bill and Nancy
Lavendar. They are close
friends. We hope they are
safe! I hate to ask...but
is there any hope for Lakeview??
Our home is (or was) located on Mouton and Louis XIV. From what we see on the news we
have nothing. If anyone can
offer any insider view it will help with the healing.
August
31 9:30 pm – Notes about North
Rendon
This update comes from Naomi Duffey who is travelling out
west with Louie and they are doing fine: “We
just heard from one friend that some people on North Rendon, about the 800
or 900 block, had only (MAYBE) a couple of feet of water there. Good news
there maybe. Dana Embree and
Chris Hughes down the street from us on Hagan are in MS., and traveling
from there to visit various family groups. I'm hoping someone can tell
Louie and me about various neighbors: Miss Grace Wright and Miss Turner and
Udean on the 3200 block of St. Ann, Connie Reynolds and Evelyn who have
houses on the 3300 of St. Ann, and more. We couldn't get little old ladies
to leave.”
August
31 9:30 pm – Calling All AmCan
Employees
I’ve gotten emails from all businesses at the American
Can Company requesting information about other employees. If any of the following people see
this PLEASE email me.
o
Dana
Deutsch from Sun Ray. How are
you and the family.
o
Anybody
from PJ’s Coffee.
o
Brett
from Clothsline Cleaners and his family
o
Any office
employee (Cindy, Amy and Carmen - my favorite Cristallino drinker).
Aug
31 – 9:00 Calling Eric Hartman
Eric,
if you got out and you are fine please email me at jon@corknola.com
August
31 – 4:35 pm A note from Jon
Thank
you! Thank you all so much for
your initial response.
I’ve gotten over 200 emails since 9:00 this morning and I’m trying
to post the most important questions and comments first but I promise I
will get to each and every one of them. But most of all, please keep emailing even if they are
just questions. That’s all
most of us have right now are questions. The answers are no doubt to come later. I also thank each and every one of
you who have wished us well and please know that we WILL be back! We’re not going to let this thing
break us and we WILL rebuild our community and our neighborhood
togther. Again, please keep
emailing. It gives me hope to
know how many people care about our community.
August
31 – 4:25 American Can Questions
I
have received numerous emails regarding the condition of the American Can
Company. I have heard news
from the TP message board that the first floor took on some water on the
back side, but this is unsubstantiated. Calls and emails to other HRI properties have not been
answered. No one wants to find
out this info more than me and I will let everyone know as soon as I do.
August
31 – To Employees of Juan’s Flying Burritto
Got
this email a while ago from jay@juansflyingburrito.com:
This
is jay morris, co-owner of Juan's Flying Burrito and Slice pizzeria. I made
out to Montgomery,AL, but am currently looking to get an apartment in the
Baton Rouge area. I have not heard from many of my employees and truth be
told, only one from our mid-city store. I'm going to forward you a list of
people that my friend Tiffany wallace had or did not have info about. If
you know any of these folks or know the whereabouts of anybody in our
community, I would greatly appreciate a reply. Thank you and God bless
you!
much love, jay
August
31 – 4:05 – Looking for Sal Fazzio
Ashley
Marie Adams at ashmadams@hotmail.com is looking for Sal Fazzio and two of
his tenants. They stayed and
we are hoping they are OK- they were last seen at 1435/1437 Crete St., on
corner of Lepage, if anyone knows of his whereabouts, please let us know.
August
31 – 4:05. A note from Lolis
Special
thanks to Lolis Elie, columnist for the Times-Picayune, who is not only
safe and sound in Maringouin, but also emailed this one hindsight regret: “…life and limb have
been spared. Of course that wine I was saving, shouldn't have saved it!” Thank you Lolis for
this glimpse of brevity in the face of all this. I for one need it.
August
31 – 4:00 Park Place Question
If
anyone has any information about Park Place (flooded, how high?) please
email jbkiefer@mchsi.com
August
31 – 2:05 PM – West Jeff Hospital Update
Corey
Doyle tells us that: My friend
is currently in West Jefferson (Hospital) and you may want to let your
readers know that the hospital is OK - they even have A/C (at least the
last I knew yesterday afternoon they still did). So if anyone has
loved ones there they can rest a bit easier knowing they are safe. If
they have the room # they can also call into the rooms, I haven't had many
problems calling in. The operators though are not answering.
August
31 – 2:00 PM – Kenner and Lower Garden Districts Questions
- Edel
P writes: We evacuated to
Memphis, and would like to know if anyone knows how the houses between
Vintage and the lake , and David Drive and Transcontinental made
out. We heard that there
is no more water in the streets in Kenner. Is this true? Thanks. Edel P.
– Anyone with information can email Edel at momedel@bellsouth.net Thanks.
- Alex
Babineaux is in Atlanta.
He writes: I am going
crazy here in Atlanta not knowing the condition of … the situation in
the Lower Garden Distict.”
Alex can be reached at cinderellaman@cox.net (Jon
Sez: Alex, we’ll be back up and drinking Unibroue in no time my
friend.)
August
31 – 1:55 PM – Bayou St. John Evacuation.
From
Mark Venczel: Hi Jon, my
name's mark and i evacuated with 12 other people from the bayou St. John
neighborhood. We've all been trying to get info on what's happened in
the area but so far we haven't heard anything specific to Mid-city.
We're glad to see that you can maybe help to get some communication going
for our community. We have a friend who is still in the french quarter, he
weathered the storm in a hotel but he owns a house right by Dumaine and
Hagan. He said he would try to make his way over to the neighborhood
and take a look. We'll let you know if we hear of anything.
August
31, 2005 – 10:30 AM – French Quarter, Faubourg St. John and Fontainebleu
Updates and Questions
o
Steve and Rachel Dangermond (and Val and Nick
Marshall, formerly of Olga Street) write: Like you
we are desperate for information about the neighborhood, and about two
of our stubborn friends, who decided to stay and ride it out. Bill
Lavender and Nancy Dixon, on St. Philip Street, right behind your house
next to Pals. Last we heard from them was right after the hurricane had
gone through, they were fine, but the water hadn't started rising yet.
o
Jon Egan of Importicos is trying to find out
about his house 5825 Fontainebleau on the corner of Vincennes near
Nashville. Also his other
house was to go to act of sale on last monday is in Tall Timbers in
Algiers, 3617 Pin Oak avenue. Jon Egan also writes: I managed to contact
someone in the french quarter on 736 Royal street where our store is. No
flooding there and most shop windows in tact, Blue dog gallery windows not
broken and not boarded, huge magnolia at the back of saint louis cathederal
down on royal street. (Jon Smith sez: I’ve heard anecdotal reports that
Algiers was dry for the most part but I’ve heard nothing specific to Tall
Timbers).
o
Paul and Becky want to know about Bonnabel Blvd
between Veterans and West Esplanade.
If there is any information of general damages or flooding.
August
31, 2005 – 10:00 AM
Here
is a very comprehensive email from Kim Carlson titled “Katrina Cental at
Oschner” that she sent to her family and friends. Kim, thank you for
letting me post this:
Hello everyone,
I hope that everyone is safely out of New
Orleans. I am at Ochsner right now as essential personnel. Being in this
hospital during the storm was terrifying. We lost electricity and water.
Some of the windows were blown out and patients had to be moved into the
hallways. It looked like war in a third world country. One of my co-workers
was attempting to close a window that flew open. He was pushed against the
wall and another guy had to help him get the window closed. We got lights
and use of some electrical outlets from the generator, but no AC. Glass in
the ceilings in the atrium of the Brent House and clinic also blew out. The
stairwells and elevator shafts starting leaking. The stairwells were like
wind tunnels and there were constant banging noises in them. When going
from floor to floor we would run so we didn’t have to stay in them long. I
have no idea how the wind was getting in. All the while I kept trying to
get glimpses of my house but most of the time I couldn’t see it because the
rain was so thick on the windows and the glass was bowing with the force of
the wind. The one thing I could see was that a vent from my roof was gone
and I had rain pouring into a huge triangle in my roof. The water got about
6 feet away from my shrubs in front and the water looked like a river
flowing down Betz Avenue with whitecaps. We later got some fans hooked up
to some of the functioning electrical outlets. The thermostat reads 85
degrees, but it truly feels much hotter. I’m seeing patients in a tank top,
scrub pants and flip flops. We got water from a well on the first 3 floors.
It is undrinkable and sort of brown, but it felt great to take a bird bath
in it Monday night. Where is this well? …and how does Ochsner have access
to it? I don’t have a clue. After about 2pm, my friend Ryan and I walked
over to my house. Water leaked
through the ceiling into my kitchen and living room. Ryan went into my
attic and found two pieces of plywood. He nailed them over the hole for me.
He had to climb out onto my roof to finish the job, then walk onto the roof
to my carport before jumping to the ground. We used to joke that he was my
“Man-bitch” because he helped me with several manly house stuff. He’s now
been upgraded to “Master” and I’m his Indentured Servant. We later got
water to all floors of the hospital, still brown, but now toilets flush!
Yeah! It sounds as though we fared better than other hospitals in the city.
We’ve heard that most of them had to be evacuated because of flooding.
We had some food donated by Wal-Mart so that
hasn’t been a problem. Breakfast is from 6am – 8am, lunch 11am – 1pm,
dinner 5pm – 7pm. The line is pretty long, but it moves quickly. Not
everyone gets the same meal depending on what’s there when you get to the
front of the line, no choices, no substitutions, but no big deal. We even
had red beans and rice on Monday. One of our nightly rituals is to go to
the parking garage to visit the pets. It’s a good distraction to play with
the pets.
Tues: 11:30pm- We’ve heard rumors that because
of the football field size of the breech of the 17th Street Canal, water is
flowing into the city and flooding areas that previously survived without
much damage…and that it will reach Ochsner and flood our 1st and 2nd floors
and we would we could lose generator power and water. The nurse who told us
this saw her dog being rescued from a rooftop in her neighborhood and she
basically put us in hysterics. We had a midnight meeting up in our 9th
floor gym with our department manager and Vice President to dispel part of
this rumor. Water is coming around Ochsner now, but very slowly. The
employee parking lot across the street now has water in it and there’s a
little water on Jefferson Hwy.
Wed: 9:00am – There’s a little more water
across the street and on Coolidge (the side street on the other side of
Ochsner), but I didn’t see any on Betz. That was good news. We can see some
smoke from fires in the distant so I’m probably going to go turn the gas
off at my house. We supposedly have AC but that must be a rumor too because
it’s still very hot. I’m soaking wet. I’ll try to keep things as upbeat as
possible so we can all keep it together until I we get to see our family
and friends again. I’m off to go find a cool spot for a little while
August
31, 2005 – 9:30 AM
Note from Jon Smith: The emails are coming in fast and furious replying to
our blast email. It sounds
like most of you so far are safe and out of harm’s way. By the way, my wife and son are at
a friend’s house in Baton Rouge and we are fine. Here are some points from recent emails that are of
interest:
- Elizabeth
Milhous from North Hagan street is in Atlanta and
has offered the following help: “I have an additional cell phone with an
Atlanta number and would be happy to be a contact person anyone who
needs a home base contact person with a number other than a 504
number. The number is 404-735-0026.”
o
Tim and Laura Dwyer are safe and wondering if
anyone has heard from Joe Kight, Randy and Eileen, Jim Singleton and
Marcella, Joe Nixon. If so
please email them at jahlove3@juno.com
- Kim
Clayton is wondering We are specifically
looking for information about the area around Leda Court, across the
street from Cabrini on Esplanade. How bad are the homes damaged? Are
there looters in the area? How is the area around there in general?
The park, the trees??
Email her at itskimnotkimberly@yahoo.com
- From
Jean Pecoul Nelson : ……So far, my Mother's home on
Carnation by Camphor 1500 block has water in the street but not in the
homes, of course, no water or Electricity. My cousin's home is
around the corner the corner from East Jefferson Hospital which had 7
feet of water so she assumes she will have that in her house
also. Her son lives by City Park, Chris Sunseri, and he was
having water running into his house when the 17th Street Canal levee
broke. She has not been able to contact him or his wife since
that happened. His Father is Lucien Sunseri, a New Orleans
Policeman. We have not had contact with him either since
Sunday. email winejeanie@yahoo.com
August
31, 2005 – 7:22 am
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those of our
friends and neighbors who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina. What has
happened has been a catastrophe beyond what most of us can comprehend and
the next few days will see us searching for information. The next several weeks, months and
years will see all of us rebuilding our homes, businesses and lives. WE
WILL GET THROUGH THIS. WE WILL
REBUILD THIS CITY TOGETHER. In
the meantime I have decided to devote my businesses website to assisting
the flow of information about the status of the City of New Orleans and our
community in Mid-City. We see
a great deal of information about the city, like me I know many of us are
wondering what sort of neighborhood we have to go back to and we would
appreciate the sharing of information about our neighborhood and
others. Please share any information
you have and send me an email at jon@corknola.com
I will post any and all information and will let this website serve as a
Mid-City/Bayou St. John area message center, (however if you do send me an
email please let me know if your reports are first hand or ancedotal.) Even if you have no information but
just want to post a message please feel free to email. May God bless those of us who got
out alive and have mercy and protect those of us who are still trapped in
the city.
August
31, 2005 – 6:15 am
The Best New Orleans specific web based information I
have found is The Times-Pic’s website found at www.nola.com
There is a forum for people to post questions about the
status of their neighborhood, although at this point there seems to be a
lot of questions but no answers.
Another great source of information is WWLTV’s weblog:
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWLBLOG.ac3fcea.html
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