I hope that Pale Scottsman and J.M. White...

[bulliedawg]

are both safe. Pale is a frequent poster who lives on or near the coast of Alabama near the Florida border, and J.M. White is an infrequent poster who lives on the Lake Pontchartrain side of New Orleans.

We should keep them in our prayers, along with all the rest of Katrina's victims.

[pale scotsman]

Hey Mr. Dawg - Thanks for the concern but we're fine. I sure hope J.M. is OK. We lost power a few times and it got pretty scary but nothing like what those west of us got.

Sometimes we need a little perspective and just last September 16th, the day before our sons 11th b-day, we came home to a 80' pine tree on our house. But... at least we came home to a house. People closer to the water have nothing now but maybe a slab or a few piers where their home was. No one expected a 20' wall of water to wipe them out. No one. We can all second guess why they stayed but the bottom line is that there are a lot of people down here that cannot afford to leave. Kind of makes the merits of an 8K frameset kind of trivial to me right now.

We have friends in Greene county Miss that we cannot contact. They had fled for Dennis and the others and knew what a big one could do since they visited us the week after Ivan. This time they stayed and we pray they are OK.

My wifes bank is under water in downtown Mobile and they are in dire straights, but again they have something tangible there. One of her co-workers only has what's on her back since her townhouse was wiped out on Dauphin Island. She saw it on the news and can't even go back for a week or more.

Those in New Orleans that left were those with means. Those that stayed don't or didn't think it would be much. It was. My heart goes out to to those in that city that have touched my life. Even the guy that hits me up for a dollar every stinkin' time on Bourbon Street, because " Mister, I ain't gonna lie to you, I need a dollar for a beer."

Here's hoping that they come out of this with decent spirits and that those in need get what they need. It's going to take a long time before we are done with Katrina down here.

[bulliedawg]

I am glad you're okay. I can't believe what I've been seeing on TV.

J.M White and I watched the Tour de Georgia together up in Dahlonega, GA back in 2004. We had a great time. That's how I know that he lived on Lake P.

Ps. With this post, I am ahead of you by one, Mr. Pale

[William]

Pale one, I'm happy to hear that you and yours are alright. We're praying that J.M as well as others in the areas effected by this strom are going to be safe as well.


William

[Kevin]

Pale,

I am glad to hear that you are ok. I hope that all of our other forum members in the area do as well.

Kevin

[Bill Bove]

Good to hear that you're O.K. PaleDude :banana:
Unfortanately my sister's in-laws did not fare as well. The y evaces to Texas early enough but we saw their neighborhood on T.V. last night and there were no roofs on many houses and the ones that did have a roof had water up to them. It looks like a total loss. They are insured, if that means anything and he works for the state so his job is safe if he can ever get back to it. They still consider themselves lucky, they're alive and will eventually recover. So many others are not so lucky.

1-800-HELP NOW

The american Red Cross needs our help.

[J.M. White]

Thanks to all of you for the prayers--they worked. This afternoon I learned that my house has survived intact and with no flooding despite being only 400 feet from the shores of Lake Pontchartrain--and all family and friends are safe. On the other hand, I will not be allowed to return for some time. Further, my office is directly across from the Superdorm, and our firm has just voted to relocate to another city more than 200 miles away for the foreseeable future.

During evacuation, I packed as if I would never see my home again... something I would not wish upon anyone. The last item packed... the CIII. I rode this morning to drum up some endorphins after watching hour after hour of misery on the tube. Although I am still recovering from a respiratory infection and I suffered like a dog on the hills of Arkansas, it may have been the best ride I've ever had.

As for that other thread about rebuilding New Orleans, there is a lot of truth in what has been said, and a lot ignorant spew. I don't have the energy now to address all of that, but please consider two things: first, for decades Louisiana has asked the feds to restore our coast, which has eroded in large part due to the activities of the oil industry and the Corps of Engineers (which by the way dumps millions of tons of sediment over the edge of the intercontinental shelf each year); second, the looters should be dealt with harshly--many who stayed behind did so in order to steal from the evacuees. Please don't let the actions of these animals color your opinions--the people of So. Louisiana and the Miss. Gulf Coast have big hearts and are the friendliest and you'll find anywhere.

[Climb01742]

pale and JM--very glad you're both as OK as you are. jm, amazing that you're only 400 feet from lake p, yet your home is standing and ok. can anyone ever predict the ways of mother nature? einstein said he didn't believe that god played dice with the universe. but in a storm, what stands and what falls can seem so random, so darkly capricious. glad chance broke your way. :beer:

[William]

J.M., I'm happy to hear that you and your family are safe. With everything that's happening down there, it's good to hear any type of good news.


William