Well, It's been 10 bottles of red wine, 11 beers, and 3 margaritas since Katrina came to visit and trashed my city. For those of you who are hearing from me for the first time, I've been in Shreveport, LA since two days before the storm. My house in uptown N.O. is dry, undamaged, and has not been looted. The studio I work at is fine as well.
The real story/update concerns my next-door neighbor/college roommate, Hans Arata. Hans never left N.O. and is still there playing Mad Max. He has a generator and has been fairly comfortable the whole time. He and our neighbor Ishmael have been working together to save pets, check on houses, siphon gas, etc. They keep their block barricaded by dragging huge tree limbs in and out of the street when they come and go.
I've talked to Hans every night, which seems to be the time when his cell phone can get calls out. I still can't call in. He told me yesterday that he drove to save some pets in the Bywater. The Bywater is on the backside behind the Quarter. I've seen on TV that there's a good bit of water back there. Anyway, Hans drove down Tchoupitoulas and said it was dry all the way with very little damage. What he seemed to be really surprised about was the fact that the Quarter seems dry and unaffected.
He said Jackson Square looks untouched as does all of that area, including Cafe du Monde. He kept saying that tourism should be able to bounce right back. More on Hans as it develops. He's got enough supplies for months. Now, before he starts sounding like a survivalist, he didn't have all this stuff stock piled. He had a friend, who left town, who had it all stored. He just told Hans to go to his house and get it all before somebody else did. He hasn't even broken into the guy's champagne yet.
My cell is not working properly, so I'm pretty much hit and miss as far as phone communication is concerned. I hope to get back to town when the power gets turned back on. I may or may not leave N.O. It's much too big of a decision to make at this time.
I hope this finds you all well. Thanks to all those who have reached out to say hi and offer encouragement. I am so lucky to have not lost everything I own. I couldn't live with out my Mardi Gras bead collection, not.
All The Best,
Ovis
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