spikethecat
On the Prowl
Hi, my name is Mike. If you have some time I would like to share my story with you. Unfortunately it is a story mostly of loss and pain. I know you are all familiar with the city wide destruction of New Orleans, and like everyone else, just wish that it would all just disappear from the news. I want to share a personalized account of life in the "Big Easy".
What spurred this on was when I met a friend from Baton Rouge for lunch. (A fellow JUBBER, shout out to Spooger & Smokey) We had lunch at a little café in Algiers Point. During the course of the meal the fact that I used to know one of the cooks came up, but he doesn’t work there anymore. He was killed some months back when he got into an altercation with a neighbor who was pressure washing his house at 10 pm. My friend, Herc, was inebriated. He walked over to his neighbor and told him to "Shut off that Damn machine!!". After a shouting match, the neighbor, who is a doctor by the way, struck Herc in the head with a shovel. Herc stumbled home and lay in his bed. He never woke up. The local authorities declined to press charges against the doctor. A wonderful, giving, and caring father is gone.
The obituaries here used to be half a page. Now they are 2 and a half pages. It’s common knowledge here that these deaths are storm related. These are usually older people who cannot take the stress of losing everything at this point in their life. The heart attack rate is way up. This is not based on studies, this is based on anecdotal evidence.
In a previous thread I related to you the loss of my relationship with my boyfriend (Mikey, don’t be Gay). But it goes much deeper than just that. One of my best friends in the area, Nate, has moved to Chicago. He came back from the evacuation to try to help rebuild his adopted city. After a few months of struggling, He just had to leave. It is tough to deal with the realities of what happened to this place we love so much.
The bar where we used to all meet and hang out is open again. The only way I can convey the atmosphere is to refer to "Cheers". For a few months it was like a family reunion every time one went back. There were hugs and tears of joy every night when you saw an old friend and found out that this friend or that friend was alive and in this city or that city. We accounted for the regulars, But very few were able to make it back. So the nucleus of Cajun Mikes Pub & Grub has changed, irrevocably. It is like Norm and Cliff never returning. Just one more piece of the landscape that is as gone as the marshlands.
My brother had to leave because his wife lost it one day and quit her job (Corporate Attorney), packed up the kids, and moved out of state. They had been discussing a move but were trying to take care of a few things beforehand. She just called him at work one day to tell him she was moving and he was welcome to join them after he sold the house and etc. She was already 200 miles away. What a bitch, but I understand her frustration.
The man I worked for had several companies. I have known his extended family for most of my adult life, and have watched his kids grow up. I love them all, very deeply. I used to have a pretty good job. I was able to use a wide assortment of skill sets, I was the troubleshooter. I would spend several months fixing a situation in one company, and when that was working well, I would move on to another company. Sometimes I would bounce between two or three companies in the same week. Never a boring moment, never a routine, always a challenge. A dream job for someone like me, who gets bored and stagnant easily. Housing was part of my compensation. The bookkeeper paid my monthly bills, how sweet is that? Talk about spoiled rotten.
My boss and I stayed in town for the storm to help protect the downtown property. The building was heavily damaged. I won’t go into that experience now, but just to let you know, I wish that none of you will ever be able to even Imagine that experience. However, during the week after the storm, when we were in survival mode, some things happened and some things were said that forever changed our relationship. I will never be able to bring myself to work for him again, although I will always have love for him in my heart.
I thought my second floor apartment would be safe from flooding. I was right. A tornado removed the roof and on outside wall. I saw my couch from half a block away. I was able to save 3 cookbooks. Everything else gone. No renters insurance.
Right now I am staying with my parents. I helped repair the damage to their home and since they are in their 70's, its good that I am around. I hate it. Rents have skyrocketed in this area. No surprise there. What used to rent for $650 a month is now $1200. Rent is not protected by the gouging laws. It is truly capitalism at its finest.
Transportation is a problem now. I have not driven in years. I have never needed to, and the world is a safer place because of it. I could get my licence back if I paid the $800 for the tickets and contempt of court charges for not showing up. Except that the court systems are not functioning. I can’t get an appointment to see a Judge to clear this up. The clerk laughed at me. Seriously, snickered when she told me try back in 6 to 8 months. I used to take public transportation all the time. It is barely running right now. The schedules change constantly, and they don’t even stick to those. It is just not reliable, besides it shuts down at 7:30pm.
I do a lot of work for free. How do you charge friends and family? The insurance companies are all under paying everybody. Their favorite is to pay for three quarter of what the job costs. The old wind damage/ water damage routine is getting old. One person I know had both homeowners (wind damage coverage) and flood ( water coverage). They had two adjusters come out at separate times. The wind damage adjuster took a look at the damage and said that because of these circumstances it was flood damage, The flood damage adjuster looked at it and said that because of these other circumstances it needed to be covered by the wind damage policy. Neither adjuster was willing to say that their policy covered this damage, here is the kicker.......My friend had both policies written by THE SAME COMPANY.
So how do you charge friends and family to help them rebuild? Whatever they can afford. You have to help them get back into their house. You can’t turn your back on them. Apparently, I work for food, cigarettes, and beer. Because I love them. Last week I was helping remodel a bathroom for my friends sister, because her husband was just paralyzed in an accident and we had to make the bathroom wheelchair accessible. During this time my friend looked at me and asked me how could I always be broke? He told me that I needed to start getting more money for the work that I do. I had to laugh. I asked him how much should I be charging him for the work that I was doing right then? Oh, but this is different. Yea, right.
All this is starting to really take it’s toll on me. Everywhere I look things are wrong. The neighborhood stores that never reopened, sitting empty, desolate, destroyed. Just out of the city proper is like a bomb went off. For miles. And miles. And miles. Don’t get me wrong, the downtown and french quarter are fine. That is our lifeblood here. It is the true heart of this city. That part is fine. The violence around here isn’t a problem as long as you are not buying or selling drugs. You wont get in a crossfire in the CBD or French Quarter. But seeing destroyed homes and lives everywhere is starting to make me numb.
It has gotten to the point where I just can’t seem to sleep, I start to cry at the least provocation. Any show of affection will make me have to wipe my eyes. I am lethargic, sometimes I can’t leave the house for days at a time. I can’t seem to get anything started and when I do I can’t seem to follow it through to completion. Loss of appetite, excessive drinking, sometimes for days, I blow off appointments, I don’t follow through with new acquaintances, Random hook ups.....I seem drawn to self destructive behavior.
There is no Public mental health facilities in the area. They have "Trained Crisis Counselors to help you cope". BULLSHIT. They have a church lady on a phone saying "that’s alright, I know how you feel, it will get better later."
I feel just like when it took them a week to get bottled water into the area, abandoned.
I know that the first question to come up will be "Why don’t you just leave?" I can’t. New Orleans is a part of me and I am a part of New Orleans. We are one and the same. There is a vibrancy to life here that unless you experience it you can never understand. I grew up thinking that this was all normal. Pre-Katrina this city was full of people who came down here on vacation and never left. Seriously, I know I have talked to 2 dozen people that decided to live here after a short visit. There is not much better in life than a French Fry Po-Boy and a Abita beer listening to a band that includes a trombone, a banjo, and a clarinet. After the storm I spent some time in Dallas. (Great people) When I mentioned to a friend that I was considering staying there she asked me, "How is Dallas going to be able to handle you? You are wild even for New Orleans." She was right. I could not stay away from "The City that Care Forgot."
I recently got a letter from FEMA. In a nutshell it informed me that if I did not return the $2,000 I could be liable for civil as well as criminal charges. I NEVER RECEIVED ANY MONEY. And now they are going to prosecute me? I really don’t want to end up on CNN, but they really do need to stop.
I just wanted to give you a slice of life that you are not going to find in any media sound bytes. This city is going to return, in spite of our government. All this money you hear about being allocated to the recovery, It is being allocated but not spent. FEMA is so badly mismanaging the entire situation that if I were to start talking about it here I would be in violation of the Patriot Act.
So if you made it this far down I am really impressed. I just wanted to give you an insiders view into the recovery efforts of New Orleans. There is an excellent book by Chris Rose called "One Dead in The Attic". Please try to read it. He really says it better than I do. It talks about why New Orleans is the way it is, and how badly we are being screwed.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. That in itself helps.
Thank you
Mike
What spurred this on was when I met a friend from Baton Rouge for lunch. (A fellow JUBBER, shout out to Spooger & Smokey) We had lunch at a little café in Algiers Point. During the course of the meal the fact that I used to know one of the cooks came up, but he doesn’t work there anymore. He was killed some months back when he got into an altercation with a neighbor who was pressure washing his house at 10 pm. My friend, Herc, was inebriated. He walked over to his neighbor and told him to "Shut off that Damn machine!!". After a shouting match, the neighbor, who is a doctor by the way, struck Herc in the head with a shovel. Herc stumbled home and lay in his bed. He never woke up. The local authorities declined to press charges against the doctor. A wonderful, giving, and caring father is gone.
The obituaries here used to be half a page. Now they are 2 and a half pages. It’s common knowledge here that these deaths are storm related. These are usually older people who cannot take the stress of losing everything at this point in their life. The heart attack rate is way up. This is not based on studies, this is based on anecdotal evidence.
In a previous thread I related to you the loss of my relationship with my boyfriend (Mikey, don’t be Gay). But it goes much deeper than just that. One of my best friends in the area, Nate, has moved to Chicago. He came back from the evacuation to try to help rebuild his adopted city. After a few months of struggling, He just had to leave. It is tough to deal with the realities of what happened to this place we love so much.
The bar where we used to all meet and hang out is open again. The only way I can convey the atmosphere is to refer to "Cheers". For a few months it was like a family reunion every time one went back. There were hugs and tears of joy every night when you saw an old friend and found out that this friend or that friend was alive and in this city or that city. We accounted for the regulars, But very few were able to make it back. So the nucleus of Cajun Mikes Pub & Grub has changed, irrevocably. It is like Norm and Cliff never returning. Just one more piece of the landscape that is as gone as the marshlands.
My brother had to leave because his wife lost it one day and quit her job (Corporate Attorney), packed up the kids, and moved out of state. They had been discussing a move but were trying to take care of a few things beforehand. She just called him at work one day to tell him she was moving and he was welcome to join them after he sold the house and etc. She was already 200 miles away. What a bitch, but I understand her frustration.
The man I worked for had several companies. I have known his extended family for most of my adult life, and have watched his kids grow up. I love them all, very deeply. I used to have a pretty good job. I was able to use a wide assortment of skill sets, I was the troubleshooter. I would spend several months fixing a situation in one company, and when that was working well, I would move on to another company. Sometimes I would bounce between two or three companies in the same week. Never a boring moment, never a routine, always a challenge. A dream job for someone like me, who gets bored and stagnant easily. Housing was part of my compensation. The bookkeeper paid my monthly bills, how sweet is that? Talk about spoiled rotten.
My boss and I stayed in town for the storm to help protect the downtown property. The building was heavily damaged. I won’t go into that experience now, but just to let you know, I wish that none of you will ever be able to even Imagine that experience. However, during the week after the storm, when we were in survival mode, some things happened and some things were said that forever changed our relationship. I will never be able to bring myself to work for him again, although I will always have love for him in my heart.
I thought my second floor apartment would be safe from flooding. I was right. A tornado removed the roof and on outside wall. I saw my couch from half a block away. I was able to save 3 cookbooks. Everything else gone. No renters insurance.
Right now I am staying with my parents. I helped repair the damage to their home and since they are in their 70's, its good that I am around. I hate it. Rents have skyrocketed in this area. No surprise there. What used to rent for $650 a month is now $1200. Rent is not protected by the gouging laws. It is truly capitalism at its finest.
Transportation is a problem now. I have not driven in years. I have never needed to, and the world is a safer place because of it. I could get my licence back if I paid the $800 for the tickets and contempt of court charges for not showing up. Except that the court systems are not functioning. I can’t get an appointment to see a Judge to clear this up. The clerk laughed at me. Seriously, snickered when she told me try back in 6 to 8 months. I used to take public transportation all the time. It is barely running right now. The schedules change constantly, and they don’t even stick to those. It is just not reliable, besides it shuts down at 7:30pm.
I do a lot of work for free. How do you charge friends and family? The insurance companies are all under paying everybody. Their favorite is to pay for three quarter of what the job costs. The old wind damage/ water damage routine is getting old. One person I know had both homeowners (wind damage coverage) and flood ( water coverage). They had two adjusters come out at separate times. The wind damage adjuster took a look at the damage and said that because of these circumstances it was flood damage, The flood damage adjuster looked at it and said that because of these other circumstances it needed to be covered by the wind damage policy. Neither adjuster was willing to say that their policy covered this damage, here is the kicker.......My friend had both policies written by THE SAME COMPANY.
So how do you charge friends and family to help them rebuild? Whatever they can afford. You have to help them get back into their house. You can’t turn your back on them. Apparently, I work for food, cigarettes, and beer. Because I love them. Last week I was helping remodel a bathroom for my friends sister, because her husband was just paralyzed in an accident and we had to make the bathroom wheelchair accessible. During this time my friend looked at me and asked me how could I always be broke? He told me that I needed to start getting more money for the work that I do. I had to laugh. I asked him how much should I be charging him for the work that I was doing right then? Oh, but this is different. Yea, right.
All this is starting to really take it’s toll on me. Everywhere I look things are wrong. The neighborhood stores that never reopened, sitting empty, desolate, destroyed. Just out of the city proper is like a bomb went off. For miles. And miles. And miles. Don’t get me wrong, the downtown and french quarter are fine. That is our lifeblood here. It is the true heart of this city. That part is fine. The violence around here isn’t a problem as long as you are not buying or selling drugs. You wont get in a crossfire in the CBD or French Quarter. But seeing destroyed homes and lives everywhere is starting to make me numb.
It has gotten to the point where I just can’t seem to sleep, I start to cry at the least provocation. Any show of affection will make me have to wipe my eyes. I am lethargic, sometimes I can’t leave the house for days at a time. I can’t seem to get anything started and when I do I can’t seem to follow it through to completion. Loss of appetite, excessive drinking, sometimes for days, I blow off appointments, I don’t follow through with new acquaintances, Random hook ups.....I seem drawn to self destructive behavior.
There is no Public mental health facilities in the area. They have "Trained Crisis Counselors to help you cope". BULLSHIT. They have a church lady on a phone saying "that’s alright, I know how you feel, it will get better later."
I feel just like when it took them a week to get bottled water into the area, abandoned.
I know that the first question to come up will be "Why don’t you just leave?" I can’t. New Orleans is a part of me and I am a part of New Orleans. We are one and the same. There is a vibrancy to life here that unless you experience it you can never understand. I grew up thinking that this was all normal. Pre-Katrina this city was full of people who came down here on vacation and never left. Seriously, I know I have talked to 2 dozen people that decided to live here after a short visit. There is not much better in life than a French Fry Po-Boy and a Abita beer listening to a band that includes a trombone, a banjo, and a clarinet. After the storm I spent some time in Dallas. (Great people) When I mentioned to a friend that I was considering staying there she asked me, "How is Dallas going to be able to handle you? You are wild even for New Orleans." She was right. I could not stay away from "The City that Care Forgot."
I recently got a letter from FEMA. In a nutshell it informed me that if I did not return the $2,000 I could be liable for civil as well as criminal charges. I NEVER RECEIVED ANY MONEY. And now they are going to prosecute me? I really don’t want to end up on CNN, but they really do need to stop.
I just wanted to give you a slice of life that you are not going to find in any media sound bytes. This city is going to return, in spite of our government. All this money you hear about being allocated to the recovery, It is being allocated but not spent. FEMA is so badly mismanaging the entire situation that if I were to start talking about it here I would be in violation of the Patriot Act.
So if you made it this far down I am really impressed. I just wanted to give you an insiders view into the recovery efforts of New Orleans. There is an excellent book by Chris Rose called "One Dead in The Attic". Please try to read it. He really says it better than I do. It talks about why New Orleans is the way it is, and how badly we are being screwed.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. That in itself helps.
Thank you
Mike
