Sunday, September 28, 2008

Photos from South Pole Station -- John Miller, USAP




Here are some great photos from Antarctica from our USAP pen pal John Miller.
John is at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The photo of the people is of an OSHA 10 safety training class at South Pole Station. John is in the front row wearing the red Rex Sox baseball hat. The others in the photo are men and women of the US Antarctic Program at South Pole Station. They must train frequently for safety reasons in the extremely dangerous land of Antarctica.
Another photo is of the sunrise at South Pole. It is just beginning to come up down there, and we know they are happy to have the sun back once again. It stays totally dark for about 6 months in the Antarctic "winter." Then the sun comes up and stays up for 6 months, but it always stays low on the horizon. Care must be taken to protect the eyes from "snow blindness," too much sun reflection.
The last photo is of "Old Glory. " The US flag is flying proudly next to a sign indicating the location of the actual South Pole.
Great stuff!! Thanks again, John
-- Adrian

The Tent: A John Miller Photo from South Pole, Antarctica


Our USAP pen pal John Miller sent us this striking photo of the famous tent from Antarctica. It is an exact replica of the tent used in 1912 by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen; he left this tent and an note inside as evidence that he was the first human being to reach the South Pole. Later the English explorer Robert Falcon Scott found the tent and stayed in it. But Scott and his team perished on the Ice from starvation and extreme cold.
The actual Amundsen-Scott tent, the USAP believes, is still at the South Pole somewhere, hidden under the ice. No one has found it yet. But some of the members of the US Antarctic Program have set up the replica (see photo) and John Miller might attempt to re-create history soon by spending a night in the tent.
Wow! What an amazing story!
Here is some of what John Miller wrote to us about the tent: " I’m hoping to go out to [the] old pole in the next couple of weeks now that the sun is up. I also am hoping to bite the bullet and spend the night in the Amundsen/Scott tent that is set up next to the geographic marker. Unfortunately my camcorder broke so I will have to rely on still photos for both."
In addition to the extreme cold, John points out another South Pole phenomenon and danger: "I spent three hours outside clearing snow from our summer shop Saturday morning, the sun was up and barely showing through some clouds; winds were about 15 knots which meant a wind chill of about -110, and I was actually very comfortable, being protected from the wind behind the shop, where the temperature was around -70. I didn’t think I really worked that hard until the next day when I woke up very sore from head to toe. And I work out 4 times a week.
Lately I have really begun to notice the effect that living at altitude will have on your short term memory. If I am on a ladder and I take a measurement for something, I will forget what it was by the time I climb down unless I write it down. I can walk across the room to get something and forget what it was in the few seconds it takes to get where I was going. Very frustrating."
We can only imagine how difficult it is being at the South Pole. But it is very rewarding for science, and the men and women of the USAP are really serving America well. Our hats go off to all the brave men and women of the United States Antarctic Program from our SVDP-ALC school in New Orleans.
Incidently, I also discussed our Antarctica pen pal program in an article which was just published in September in the literacy magazine called the Change Agent from Boston, Massachusetts. The article is about climate change (which is one of the subjects studied at South Pole) and is called "Lakeview, New Orleans, Antarctica, Our Earth." The link to Change Agent is on our links column at left on this blog.
Finally, John wished us all well after our recent experiences and evacuations with Hurricane Gustav. He wrote: "I hope and pray that all my friends in New Orleans are back at home and safe from any more of this season's hurricanes."
Thanks again, John and all our friends in Antarctica, for the well wishes and the great Antarctica updates.
-- Adrian

Friday, September 19, 2008

Remember Katrina: Fred Swaim, The Socrates of Loyola University



(Below is another in our SVDP-ALC blog series on "Remember: Hurricane Katrina." As you recall this series was interrupted by the appearance of Hurricane Gustav near August 29th this year, Katrina's anniversary, and then again by Hurricane Ike. We will, however, continue with more Katrina stories and more Katrina people until our story is told.
-- Adrian)





"For sudden the worst turns the best to the brave."
From Prospice by Robert Browning

It was Ernest Shackleton who was fond of this quote (above) from Browning's poem about death and life and courage -- Prospice (pronounced from the Latin as pro-spee'--kay, meaning looking forward). Shackleton was a man who should feel right at home on this blog. He was the Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who tried to cross the frozen continent via the South Pole. He became shipwrecked with his crew when his famous ship, "The Endurance", got stuck in the ice at the Weddell Sea. "The Endurance" was finally crushed and sunk in the shifting ice of Antarctica. Shackleton, however, did not desert his crew or give up hope. He abandoned his original goal of being the first to transverse Antarctica via the Pole for a much higher purpose: to save the very lives of his crew and himself. He used Browning's poem and that very line (above) to inspire his crew and keep them alive. The "worst" situation had fallen to them. But "the best" would occur suddenly as they shifted their goals in life from vainglorious glory to sheer survival and self-sacrifice to save their own lives and the lives of each other in the crew. Shackleton did eventually save every man in his crew in an incredible adventure -- by sailing in nearly frozen seas with some of his crew in a wooden life boat to get help and return for the rest of his crew.

This amazing story of Antarctica, among other things, inspired me to begin our school's pen pal program with the the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). In addition to geography lessons and other studies for basic education, Antarctica teaches us about struggle, death, and life.

But to us who read this blog, Antarctica is also linked now --oddly enough --to New Orleans and thus to Hurricane Katrina. In an unpredictable and seemingly impossible way, a set of characters have crossed paths right here on our blog. Shackleton's struggle -- and the very name of his ship "The Endurance" -- is relevant to our story of Katrina. We have seen on our blog other Katrina people -- the students from the St. Vincent de Paul - ALC school and their pen pals who are members of the USAP stationed at McMurdo and the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. You, dear reader, have read about Miss Kitty, the post-Katrina cat, who was a good friend of mine during my own Katrina "displacement. (See the post on Aug. 2nd.) You read about hurricanes and rumors of hurricanes besides Katrina like Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Gustav which drove all the citizens of New Orleans into evacuation, once again, from their wounded and vulnerable city. And you read about Hurricane Ike which just missed us last week and hit Houston instead and destroyed much of Galveston.

Now you will meet another Katrina person -- who was (and still is in spirit) the most outrageous of them all. (See his photo above.) He was a lawyer, but he did not act like a lawyer. He was a law professor, but he did not act like a law professor. He was the author of a book on law, but he did not act like the author of a book on law. He had a law degree from Tulane and a masters degree in law from U.C. Berkeley, but he certainly did not act like he was from Berkeley. (He went to De la Salle too and spent his youth in MidCity, a true New Orleanian.)

How did he act, you may ask? Well, he took Shakespeare's advice: All the world was his stage. He acted like he was Jimmy Cagney. He acted like he was Marlon Brando in "The Wild Bunch" (Question: "What are you rebelling against?" Answer: "What have you got?") He acted like Peter Falk in Columbo, a program he once watched religiously. He rode a motorcycle at one point while teaching law at Loyola Law School in New Orleans despite the fact that he suffered most of his life from polio.

He had a fast wit and would take jabs at people, but it was just in fun. He once ran --or attempted to run -- an ill-fated campaign for governor of Louisiana. After watching countless re-runs of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," he came to believe that he was Indiana Jones. But as evidence that he was not totally delusional, he quite sanely called himself instead merely "Louisiana Swaim."

"Louisiana Swaim for Governor!" Yes, I can still recall the rallying cry. Alas, that was the campaigm that never materialized, although his law students were ready to carry on with the campaign. He taught law at Loyola Law School for about 30 years, from the early 1970's until the hedious days of Hurricane Katrina.

Despite his deteriorating health -- again due to post-polio syndrome-- he tried to continue to teach. He never claimed to be like Socrates -- that was not one of his Walter Mitty roles on his stage of life. But, yes, I think he was like Socrates. (The wise man knows how much he does not know and challenges those who think they know everything.) While your basic Corporations or Real Estate Law professor would be aghast to show up in class wearing the wrong color tie or an inappropriate business suit, Fred -- I mean Louisiana Swaim-- would wear a Hawaiian Luau shirt. He might show up in winter time wearing his motorcycle jacket, who knows? (Again... Q: "What are you rebelling against? A: What have you got.)

But it was not all craziness. No. Mainly I remember the books. Lots and lots and lots of books. He had accumulated, well, it must have been in the thousands. He read all the time. And not just things that he taught like law, which, of course, he read. But subjects of every type, it seemed. Books on philosophy. Books on drama and movies and psychology. Books on history, especially on World War 2. Books on science fiction. (We, of course, ofter discussed the "truth" behind the Roswell Incident, you know, where the flying saucers crashed landed in New Mexico in 1947? Yep, he knew "the truth" about UFOs too.) He read books about the Kennedy Assassination and even got an autographed copy of Jim Garrison's book on the subject -- which he subsequently gave to me.


Fred had one wife and three children, one sister, and parents who pasted away many years ago. (I remember Fred's father once told me that he, the father, once sat on the Outlaw Jessee James' knee once when he was a child. I wonder if that was true?) Fred had acquired polio in the 1950's in New Orleans during what was a period of epidemic. But instead of letting this destroy himself, he found other goals in life. So, rather than crossing Antarctica via the South Pole (or the New Orleans equivalent of this), he concentrated on saving the only life he had and the equivalent of the lives of his crew, which were the people who came into his life, his family, his friends, and his students -- or at least helping them as best he could. And throughtout his life he continued to read. Lots and lots and lots of books.

I still recall seeing his room at his parents' house many years ago. He had his large bookshelf right next to his bed where he could reach books right off the shelf from a proper lying/reading position. I realized then this was a brilliant idea, and I have always tried to duplicate this in my life (although in post-Katrina living it has been a challenge.)

He liked boiled crabs, New Orleans seafood, beer, and above all my sister's homecooking. (My sister Mary Ann and Fred were married more than 30 years ago at Holy Name Church at Loyola University).

He was at one point my Admiralty professor. He was my-brother-in-law. And he was my friend.

The Hell that was Hurricane Katrina -- the nightmare that was the evacuation from both that storm and also Hurricane Rita -- eventually was too much. (He and my sister had to evacuate twice -- from New Orleans to Lafayette for Katrina, then from Lafayette to Mississippi to stay at the home of the parents of my brother-in-law Chris. (Chris had helped our family multiple times during and since Katrina. He also has helped our SVDP-ALC school on many occasions behind the scenes. It was Chris and Marci, my sister, who "owned" Miss Kitty by the way, the Katrina Cat who is mentioned in another Katrina story on this blog. See Aug. 2nd post.)

It is very difficult to remember those days of Hurricane Katrina without breaking down. What words can we use to describe the whole ordeal? Nightmare? Horror? Unbelievable? I just don't know anymore. You tell me.

Fred -- his real name was Frederick, by the way, but I never called him that-- passed several months after my mother passed who also went through Hurricane Katrina. He did not go without a fight, however. He once loved to follow boxing, and even punched a punching bag as a youth -- despite having polio... or maybe because of it?


People might not always be able to overcome the insurmountable, but some people still try. I recall my sister Mary Ann discussing how they watched and enjoyed a film about FDR with Kenneth Branagh, the Irish actor who also played -- oddly enough-- Ernest Shackleton in a biographical film. Franklin D. Roosevelt, of course, was stricken with polio. We who do not have that illness, or a similar sickness, cannot really understand what it does to people both physically and psychologically. But it is amazing what some people can accomplish despite these afflictions.

Fred, who was once an English literature major, was fond of the poems of Dylan Thomas. I will not tell you when it was the last time Fred heard this poem read out loud; but I will tell you that it was after Hurricane Katrina, and it had a special importance.

So, I will repeat that poem below. Please read it. Perhaps it will have a special meaning for your own life or the life of a loved one some day.


"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"
By Dylan Thomas


Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning
they do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


Fred did not go gentle into the night.
He was still outrageous and courageous to the end.
The worst turned the best to the brave.

And we will all meet again.

-- Adrian

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Houston

I was watching some of the Hurricane Ike coverage online from the stream at KHOU TV, and I just could not stand it anymore. It brings back the memory of Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was in a category by itself, of course; but Ike should tell us something else. It should be a warning about our future. Climate change is real. We are in danger and have been in danger and will be in danger for many years to come. Unless we take this issue seriously, and deal with it responsibly, we are all doomed. Our cities on the Gulf Coast and East Coast will be jeopardy of destruction by winds and floods.

While I write this tens of thousands of people in Houston and Galveston and all the way to Louisiana are suffering. Furthermore, many more people in south Louisiana are suffering from Hurricane Gustav. Furthermore, we are STILL suffering a painfully slow recovery in New Orleans and Louisiana from Katrina and Rita.

So... I will re-print the same list of hurricane relief charities I listed the other day. If you can help, please do so. Tell your friends as well. I will keep repeating this list over the coming days and weeks. Thanks.
-- Adrian

Here are some links to charitable organizations which deal with Hurricane Relief. There are many other relief agancies, of course, but this list is a good start. Contact one of these if you want to help the victims of the hurricanes, or contact your local Church or Synagogue or community civic organization. There are many ways to help those affected by these recent storms. Thank you for helping.-- Adrian

The American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/
The Salvation Army http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/
Catholic Charities http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=193
Catholic Charities Archdicese New Orleans http://www.catholiccharities-no.org/
Catholic Charities Galveston Houston http://www.catholiccharities.org/
St. Vincent de Paul Society (National Center) http://www.svdpusa.org/
AmeriCorps http://www.americorps.org/about/donations/index.asp

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Sign on Our Front Door


Here is a photo of our painted sign on our front door of our school. The door survived Hurricane Gustav and gusts from Hurricane Ike in just the past few days.
Doesn't it look great!
-- Adrian

The Antarctica Bulletin Board at SVDP-ALC

We are constantly adding new photos and emails from our pen pals at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and McMurdo Station to our bulletin board at the school. Students and visitors can see these on display at all times. Visitors are usually astonished at this display, and everyone loves it!

The only news not directly from Antarctica on the bulletin board is the set of the baby photos of Gibson with Sarah and Owyn. These photos have a special dispensation due to their overwhelming popularity (I emailed a copy of these to Antarctica), plus Baby Gibson appears to be dressed properly for Antarctica with his blanket and matching little hat. He looks ready to go to South Pole Station and live on the Ice. (Gibson is wearing his Antarctic gear in the fuzzy photo -- top row, 2nd from the left.)

We try to put up a photo or email from each of our pen pals who write to us -- John Miller, Calee Allen, Weeks Heist, Shandra Cordovano, Leah Webster, Jason McDonald and Lisa Welfare. Lisa and Shandra are at McMurdo; John, Calee, Weeks, Leah, and Jason are at South Pole -- although some are leaving the Ice soon for home.

Occasionally we rotate photos when the board gets too filled. Also, that lets people see new photos and letters as they come in.
-- Adrian

Hurricane Relief -- Links

Here are some links to charitable organizations which deal with Hurricane Relief. There are many other relief agancies, of course, but this list is a good start. Contact one of these if you want to help the victims of the hurricanes, or contact your local Church or Synagogue or community civic organization. There are many ways to help those affected by these recent storms. Thank you for helping.
-- Adrian

The American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/

The Salvation Army
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/

Catholic Charities
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=193

Catholic Charities Archdicese New Orleans
http://www.catholiccharities-no.org/

Catholic Charities Galveston Houston
http://www.catholiccharities.org/

St. Vincent de Paul Society (National Center)
http://www.svdpusa.org/

AmeriCorps
http://www.americorps.org/about/donations/index.asp

Friday, September 12, 2008

Hurricane Ike -- NOAA Satellite Photo


As you can see from this satellite photo from NOAA (see www.ssd.noaa.gov), the hurricane is on the brink of hitting Texas near Houston. But its winds and rain and storm surge are also hitting some of Louisiana.
For the past three years New Orleans has been living on the edge with the threat of hurricanes and tropical storms.
What could happen very soon in Galveston and Houston could be another major national tragedy.
Although this SVDP-ALC blog is mainly about literacy education and related issues of social justice, we find that now we must cover the weather too because the weather during hurricane season in New Orleans is now an issue of life and death.
-- Adrian

Hurricane Ike's Wind Field


Another day, another hurricane. Hurricane Ike is marching towards Houston and Galveston, Texas and will probably do serious damage there.
New Orleans is, as I write this, in the wind field of Hurricane Ike. We are on the right front quadrant, the worst side, of the storm; but we are 200 miles from the eye. Still, we are getting heavy rains and winds and some tropical storm gusts today from the feeder bands.
See the map at left from the internet from NOAA -- www.nhc.noaa.gov
Incidently, our pen pals at South Pole Station are also affiliated with NOAA in that NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) has various weather stations and equipment at the Pole. Much like NASA, NOAA relies on scientific help from the USAP at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. We are fortunate in New Orleans that Ike did not come any closer. We are still recovering from Katrina. And Hurricane Gustav just hit near here last week. Some in our area were also affected by Hurricane Rita.
All indications are that Houston, Galveston, and the Texas coast will be hit hard; so, if you are able, please help those people anyway you can. Contact an appropriate relief agency -- such as the American Red Cross or Catholic Charities, etc. -- and support them if you can. In the alternative ask your local Church or civic association if they will help the victims of Hurricane Ike. It does really look bad, and just as other Americans needed help after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, it looks like tremendous damage will occur in the Houston area very soon.
-- Adrian

Thursday, September 11, 2008

September 11, 2001 and New Orleans

Today is September 11th. It is seven years since the Twin Towers in New York City were attacked, the Pentagon was attack, and many Americans died in combat with terrorists in a jetliner that eventually crashed into an open field in Pennsylvania. That was a day of horror. It was our generation's December 7th, our Pearl Harbor Day.

Much has happened since that terrible day. Our nation is still at war with terrorists, and we in New Orleans faced another day we will never forget -- August 29th, 2005, the day Hurricane Katrina struck.

Some have tried to compare September 11th and Hurricane Katrina. There are major differences, but there are similarities too. 9/11 was an attack on our nation by a foreign enemy. Katrina was a destructive act of nature combined with a breached levee system. But the similarities are that two major and unique American cities were severely harmed and thousands of Americans died, many more were injured physically and psychologically.

Perhaps the most important similarity is that despite the horror and destruction, other ordinary Americans around the county came to the aid of the wounded cities and their people in that time of desperate need. We were all united on those two horrible days -- September 11th, 2001 and August 29th, 2005 -- united much in the same way as an earlier generation of Americans was instantly united on that day of infamy on December 7th, 1941.

Something good could come from these horrible days, in the end -- a sense of solidarity and a profound and heart-felt compassion for one another as fellow Americans in need.

-- Adrian

Hurricane Ike -- Satellite Photo From NOAA


At left is a photo from NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) taken from the internet which shows Hurricane Ike heading west past the Louisiana coast to Texas.
New Orleans is on the right front quadrant, the worst part of the storm, so we will get winds and rain all day. But the hurricane is far enough away not to do major damage here.
However, the situation looks bad for the Texas coast and Galveston, Houston, or Corpus Christi. We hope everyone stays safe.
-- Adrian

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Telescope and Aurora at the South Pole


Our pen pal John Miller sent us this awesome photograph of the telescope used at the South Pole with the Aurora Australis in the background.

It must be a stunning sight to behold in person. Scientists can make astronomical studies at the South Pole that they cannot make anywhere else on Earth because of the nature of the sky, the atmosphere, and the location.

Scientists at the Pole are studying a number of topics including climate change and even the Big Bang theory and the origins of the Universe. Antarctica is a fascinating place indeed.
-- Adrian

Amundsen's Tent Exact Replica -- Antarctica


Our pen pal in the USAP John Miller sent us this photo from South Pole Station; the full official name of the United States base at the Pole is Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, was the first human to reach the South Pole. He and his team, which made the trek to Antarctica in 1911-12, stayed in a portable tent there and left a note indicating, for whom ever came later, that Amundsen was there first. The English explorer Scott and his team came later, found the tent, reached the Pole, but died of starvation and the extreme cold on the return trip.
That tent remained at the South Pole since 1912. The tent is still there somewhere in the South Pole vicinity, but it is hidden under the ice. The tent in the photo is an exact replica of Amundsen's tent which is in the care of the USAP. If you look closely at this photo which John Miller sent us, you can see the actual pyramid-shaped tent.
One of our students, Jennie Gorden, was reading about this tent and Amundsen today in school and was fascinated by them. Some of the USAP crew, including John Miller, might attempt to spend a night in the replica of Amundsen's tent to re-create history soon. John promised to update us about this event should it occur.
Also of note in the photo is that the sun is beginning to rise. It rises once per year at the South Pole, and that process takes a long time. The sun never rises high on the horizon but always low. This begins the Antarctic "summer" which is our wintertime. There are only two seasons in Antarctica, as I was told by one of our pen pals -- cold and colder. The Winter is colder, the summer is cold. So, soon the sun will rise, and it will merely be cold at the South Pole.

Also of note, the square building in the photo behind the tent is a weather station for NOAA -- National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
NOAA, like NASA, often works in conjunction with South Pole Station.
-- Adrian

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The Hurricane Katrina Memorial in New Orleans


This is a photo I took recently of the still unfinished Hurricane Katrina Memorial in New Orleans; it is located at the Canal Cemeteries near St. Patrick's Cemetery Number 1. (Read more about the memorial in the post below.)

It is a beautiful place, a place of peace to help us remember the dead and all of us who suffered -- and still suffer-- from the affects of the worst natural disaster in American history, Hurricane Katrina.
-- Adrian

Hurricane Katrina Memorial at Canal Cemeteries New Orleans


Here is a photo I took of the new and still unfinished Hurricane Katrina Memorial which is located at the Canal Cemeteries in New Orleans. To find it, go to the Charity Hospital Cemetery which is near "Potter's Field" which is near St. Patrick's Cemetery Number 1 on Canal Street at the end of the streetcar line.

The memorial is a beautiful tribute to the dead of Katrina. Two main things will be at the memorial eventually -- a memorial site (which reminds me somewhat of the famous Vietnam War Wall in Washington DC) and also a burial ground for the actual remains of the dead from Hurricane Katrina who were still unidentified. I will try to add more photos as the memorial is developed.
To those who lost loved-ones in the storm, after the storm, because of the storm, or who were brutally affected by the storm, this memorial is a place of peace and remembrance which may help alleviate the emotional anguish of Katrina.
-- Adrian

Monday, September 8, 2008

Interactive Map of the New Orleans Flood in Hurricane Katrina


Above is a link to an interactive map from http://www.nola.com/
(Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans).
It shows step by step how the city flooded in Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. It is frightening to watch, but it is a very excellent source of information.
-- Adrian

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Hurricane Ike -- No Rest for the Weary


Well, the latest news on the latest hurricane this Sunday morning is that Hurricane Ike will probably go over Cuba, weaken some, then enter the Gulf of Mexico, strengthen some, then head towards New Orleans ... but a high pressure system will block it somewhat and turn it towards the west.
It might then parallel the Louisiana coast and go to Texas. Well, who knows??? (See the map from the National Hurricane Center NOAA at left from www.nhc.noaa.gov)
Anyway, we in New Orleans are very, very, very tired of all this. Just too many hurricanes and rumors of hurricanes. Life in post-Katrina New Orleans has been very hard and stressful for the past three years. Having to deal with an endless, nightmarish parade of destructive hurricanes does not help us. Whether they hit us or not, the anxiety and disruption they cause when ever the storms come on our radar is unimaginable. New Orleans is not a normal city. Most of it, but not all of it, lies below sea level. In some cases 8 to 10 feet or more below sea level. So, in order to survive, we need barrier islands at sea to act as windbreakers, marshlands or wetlands south of us to act as sponges to sop up the storm surge, and, of course, levees all around the city. Hurricane Katrina all but wiped out the barrier islands. The wetlands have been eroding over many years. And you saw what happened to the levees on CNN. So, unless we fix the barrier islands, the wetlands, and the levees, all we have left are prayers and luck to protect us.
-- Adrian

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Hurricane Gustav in Baton Rouge

Although I could not take a photo then, let me describe to you what I saw around Baton Rouge on our drive back to New Orleans after Hurricane Gustav. The first thing I saw were many large trees flat on the ground, torn out by the roots. Then there were freshly cut logs from trees all around the sides of streets. (This was four days after the storm, and people were cleaning up.) I saw that almost no one had electric power. In some cases, the strong winds had knocked down large trees; and they crashed right through homes, destroying them. People were milling about outside in the neighborhoods, on front porches, walking on sidewalks, sitting on front lawns. Debris and tree branches were every where on the ground.

It was said on the radio that Hurricane Gustav was the worst hurricane to ever hit Baton Rouge. It was not Katrina (but nothing else was); but for Baton Rouge, it was very bad. It is possible that the state capital will be without electric power for many days or even weeks. The storm went on to attack much of the rest of Louisiana as well. It was difficult to find gasoline, food, bottled water, and other supplies anywhere in the area. The heat and the humidity increased as we approached New Orleans on our re-entry to the city.
-- Adrian

Hurricane Gustav Evacuation






Here is the home where I stayed for my Hurricane Gustav evacuation (the lovely white house with the porch). It is the family farm house of Sr. Kathleen's family in the Louisiana countryside about 40 miles from Baton Rouge. The other, more rustic looking building is also on the farm grounds and is a very old building. Doesn't it look great!! Historians would love to see this. It is an old barn with a corncrib nearby (see post below for more info). My thanks again to Sr. Kathleen, Sr. Lory, Mal Bahlinger and the Bahlinger Family, and the nuns at St. Joseph Convent in Baton Rouge for helping me in my Hurricane Gustav evacuation.
-- Adrian

Gustav Evacuation




Here is a photo of my new hurricane-friend Mal Bahlinger, the nephew of Sr. Kathleen's. Mal (Malachy) maintained the farm where we stayed during Hurricane Gustav. The farm is about 40 miles northwest of Baton Rouge. We lost electric power on the night of the storm, and it stayed out the rest of the time. Mal is a great chef, however, and knew how to use those large cast iron Cajun pots and pans, so he fixed some really great Cajun dishes despite the lack of electricity. These photos of the rustic looking buildings are of a very antique barn and a "corncrib." The corncrib was a place to hold corn as feed for farm animals in olden days. The barn once held agricultural supplies and room for a mule (nowadays a tractor). The house we stayed in is a beautiful home made in the 19th century. Unfortunately, the nearby town lost electric power too, and the power is expected to be off for many weeks. Many large trees also fell down in the whole area. The temperature was not bad compared to the city heat, but the humidity from the storm was very strong. On the day we left for New Orleans, the sun was finally shining.
-- Adrian

Endless Hurricanes


Well, I just got back from my Hurricane Gustav evacuation; I stayed with a relative of Sr. Kathleen's at their family farm in the Louisiana country side northwest of Baton Rouge. I will post a couple of photos from this event on the blog soon. Sr. Lory and Sr. Kathleen are safe, and they will return to New Orleans probably this weekend.
At left we see a map from nhc.noaa.gov (National Hurricane Center at National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration). As you can see it tells us that New Orleans is in the 5-day "cone of uncertainty" for this latest hurricane.
I don't know how much more of this the people of New Orleans can stand. We were still recovering from Katrina. Then came Rita. The recovery continued, then came Gustav this week. Now comes -- perhaps next week-- Hurricane Ike. Hurricane Josephine is also at sea and approaching the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic. Endless hurricanes...
-- Adrian