Since we are coming up on the 5th anniversary of the Bitch Named Katrina(sponsored by Nature) and the Federal Flood (engineered by the Corpse of Engineers), it’s time for the Rising Tide to do it’s thing. This year it will be at The Howlin’ Wolf.
Hie thee to the Rising Tide for more information.
Over the last few months my Blogging has almost become non-existant. It’s not that I don’t have enough to rant about… I’m just tired. Four years of slogging and smacking down mooks for being stooopid on top of the cares of rebuilding our home and lives, care for friends and love for New Orleans have taken much out of me. It has also upset that delicate balance that I had acheieved years ago with my little dance with HIV.
For months I’ve been more of a news aggregator funneling good pieces onto dear old FB and just letting the chips fall as they will. I had gotten away from what I started doing right after the Flood in educating folks about what was going down here and explaining the arcane systems that the powers-that-be had concocted for the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. One-liners followed by a link doesn’t fit the bill in my book.
This weekend I was with many of us original NOLA Bloggers for the Rising Tide 4. I felt connected again and so proud of what they continue to do even now at the eve of the 4th anniversary of the Federal Flood. I realized that I wasn’t a parrot, but an owl. My life has spread half-way around the World twice, I have the Blessing to be able to have been able to rebuild my life and Being as it must be and I am surrounded, physically and in cyber with some of the best souls I have ever known. Some of the folk there asked why I had gotten quiet on my Blog, that they missed the rants and the snarky diatribesand the Tales of Our City.
The Blog no longer had any meat.
There has to be the meat, the processing of a news article by a person in order to make sense, show some relation and postulate what a political decision can lead to down the line.
So I’m going back to Blogging more regularly. If someone trashes New Orleans of the Gulf Coast, I am going to freaking eat you alive. Some politician wants new rules that will be to our disadvantage here, I will dig to refute or abuse you in creative ways. And when I just want to talk about life or my beloved New Orleans, I will do just that. There is a story to be told about a chunk of the country that has been used and abused for the Nation’s benefit but is sadly lacking when it comes to being helped to heal. (the volunteers who have come understand and we hail them). I’m talking State and Federal governments and the oil/gas companies. I’m talking about the destruction of our wetlands… the disregard for the folk of the swamps as just fools and simple folk. About buying a populace and culture and just running it into the ground because “people of this region do not count”.
Yes we do. Without us and the sacrifices over the last century the rest of the U.S. would not have what it has now. Our homeland, bought as just swamp and some chattel have been almost crushed, but life still flows here.
Sinn Fein!
Be there or our Orisha will get you. (Or maybe I’ll ride the dark winds to express my displeasure.)
Here’s the link for registration, info and donations. We like donations, but we’d rather see you there.
and don’t let the time-vault door hit ya’s on the ass. Now git!
Good old ’08 has been one major struggle after another in the lives of Betts and me. Started the year screaming for our contractors to get the repairs done and screaming at Road Home concerning our Elevation grant. Didn’t help that my body was slowly coming up with more problems that I really didn’t have time nor energy for. These things would wind up coloring my whole year.
In February our beloved Siamese, Opal, passed away peacefully in her sleep lying between us. She actually rolled on her back as Betts rubbed her and then did the same for me. She left five minutes later. I was a mess, but the memory of adopting her when she was 10 and giving her a good life, and some adventures, for the next 11 years did cheer me up a little. (Giving Betty a large heart-shaped box of dark chocolates for Valentines perked her up a little)
Missed all of Mardi Gras last year. I was starting to get some very strange feelings in the old body but kept pushing on (behind Betts) in order to finally get our grant and get the lousy contractors to do their J.O.B. . This latter poop would color the rest of the year.
In early April NOLA Blogger great and a friend, Ashley Morris died suddenly. To say that we local Bloggers took this hard would suffice if spread very thinly. Some set up a fund for his family and together they helped to have a good funeral and give Ashmo a good Second Line to see him along his way. He would have loved the Wake we held later at Bulldogs.
May was much the same with the contractors and my physical probs. Same goes for June except for showing up for Pride in a driving rain. July was a wash.
In August we worked on getting our final Elevation grant only to keep hearing the program might start up in the Fall. We finally got our Occupancy Cert. Rising Tide III was going down at the end of the month, but between packing the dumpster we lived in, getting the power on and my illness, we missed the entire thing. We moved into our home 3 years and 1 day from the day we evacuated due to Katrina.
The next day Gustav hit. I stayed online all night and then lost power the next morning as Baton Rouge was getting the storm. Our home stood like a rock, but the next five days is was hotter than Hell without power to cool the place down. We took most of our 3 freezers of food and either cooked or brought it raw to the Starlight since they were feeding all and sundry. From then until early November Betts and I crashed and burned as so much of the pain, sorrow and strees of the last 3 years somewhat flowed out of us.
November was eventful in that the damn elections were over and Obama won the Presidency and the Dems took strong control of Congress. Later in the month we cooked up a T-Day dinner for 12 to 14 only to have one person show up. I was really getting ill so I decided to bite the bullet and make an appointment with the only Doc I have left at the V.A.. I planned to not have to be in a hospital for the Holidays, but what would be would be.
December found me fretting over the medical stuffs and doing what I did most of the last year- fall into the bed at any time and just sleep. My ‘puter died for a while there and Betts got me a new one. Then she got the call that the mitigation grant folks wanted our paperwork a month earlier than previously. Betts ran it down and later they said we would be getting it, put probably in January.
My visit with the Doc went well. Tests to do, meds to help with the sinitus/tinnitus/ loss of balance and dizziness and an appointment for next month to set up various scans to find out what is happening inside of me. At least he said a brain tumor was pretty far out of the equation. *rolls eyes*
Christmas Week we had an old friend down We hadn’t seen each other for over 5 years. She had only seen pics of the house from when we bought it. We did things during the week- Eve dinner at La Cote Brasserie, quiet Day dinner at home and visited with our friends. It was nice having her visit. Was just like old times.
So tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and we shall do Rueban PoBoys, drink and then watch the Time-Vault door smack old Mr. 2008 in the tush as the Fleur De Lis falls. (And watch “Things To Come”, H.G. Wells) The next morning starts a new cycle and I have a little one named 2009 to become friends with.
Happy New Year Gentle Readers!
Shamelessly copied in it’s entirity:
Tomorrow night kicks off the Rising Tide 2 Convention with a Social and video night at Buffa’s (1001 Esplanade @ Burgundy). Starts at 7:30 PM and runs ’til 10.
August 24 – 26 is our second Rising Tide Conference for New Orleans. Details here. (Yes, we are still putting it all together… no cans or jars in our kitchen… we cook from scratch to give you the best.)
Here’s our theme for this year:
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