Hurricane Ernie

Best luck to all as this creature approaches...

And let us all maintain a healthy sense of humor.

American Lie

American Lie
Originally uploaded by ernieattorney.

This one speaks for itself...

Gumbo, po-boys, and water lines

Gumbo, po-boys, and water lines
Originally uploaded by drinkgoodtea.

I just got back from New Orleans on Thursday. I was there for a week attending the American Library Association's Annual Conference, the city's first major convention since Katrina. I got to volunteer with the New Orleans Public Library, see several old friends (from my high school days in New Orleans), and see some of Hurricane Katrina's damage 10 months later. It was horrifying to see the damage, but I was truly amazed at the positive, hopeful spirits of New Orleanians. The city will bounce back and be better than ever, this is very clear...

Volunteering in New Orleans

Waing for deployment...
Originally uploaded by ALA TechSource.

Here we are at the ALA Annual Conference yesterday, waiting to head out on our buses to volunteer with the New Orleans Public Library. I'm just right of the photo's center, with my black bag strap across my yellow shirt...

Blue skies after Alberto

After a noisy, windy, rainy night, we woke up to blue skies this morning. The clouds are still a weird brownish-grey color, and there's still a lot of wind, but the sky is blue. Weird.

Went down to Pass-a-Grille beach with Courtney this morning. The water was covering much of what is normally beach, and waves were crashing all over (not our usual bathtub Gulf at all). What sand wasn't under water was covered in washed-up shells. Found much nicer shells than usual.

On the eve of Alberto

So Alberto is on its way. Our sky looks nasty and ominous. The hours of rain finally stopped late this afternoon, but the world still has that super-silent sense about it as everyone waits for the worst still to come. I would have thought after watching the horrible hurricane season last year I would be more inclined to run around preparing. Instead I find myself grumpily trying to ignore the whole business. Actually, everyone I know seems grumpy right now. Maybe people haven't emotionally recovered enough from last year to rationally accept another active season. I'm glued to my computer but avoiding weather reports, F is making a cake and picking lichees off the neighbor's tree before the wind gets them, and our two houseguests are both napping. We're all being argumentative and almost stepping on each other. Four people and three dogs (Bandit and the two we're dogsitting) cooped up in a small house seems to be overkill.

2 days to Hurricane Season

NOAA has officially predicted a "Very Active 2006 North Atlantic Hurricane Season". Go ahead, run out and buy water for 50 people. Or at least make sure you own a flashlight.

Alternatively, like some I know, you could take this chance to move to a geographic area not threatened by hurricanes on a weekly basis for almost half the year.

I do know that after last year, most of us will never see tropical storm season quite the same way again. I don't have to use the excuse that getting older is calming or sobering my thoughts. Last year scared the *&#%@$! out of me, and I saw the lives of several close friends massively changed. While having hurricane parties in the face of worry can be therapeutic, the whole thing will have a bitter taste this year...