I’m lucky. Well, I’m smart, privileged, and lucky. I just wanted everyone to know I am doing okay and most of my stuff is intact, although life here is different. My apartment and my job are safe and I’ve returned to a somewhat normal existence. Meg wasn’t as lucky as her school, and thus job, was basically lost in the flood. Though she’s headed to Paris for a while and we’ve both been lucky to have places to be and things to do.

I’m going to try to have more postings to give an idea of what has happened to the gulf coast and what it’s like to live in New Orleans right now. I know that you’ve all seen the pictures. I had seen them too. Pictures, videos, and stories do no justice to the situation. While the part of the city that I live in often seems like an oasis where nothing ever happened, there are huge stretches that are uninhabitable.

Some people have tried to compare this to the WTC. That is a ridiculous attempt. While both had significant death tolls, that doesn’t even begin to scratch at the surface of the problems in New Orleans. 9/11 devastated a building; Katrina decimated a whole region. The destruction in New York consisted of 16 city blocks. There was practically no housing lost, no communications lost, no power lost. Imagine thousands of square MILES lost. I know that you might think that you can comprehend that, but you can’t. I can’t. Think of the entire state of Vermont ruined… not only would have every person evacuated, but most would have no home to return to. That’s a lot of people, and it’s a true story for Louisiana and Mississippi (and small parts of Alabama, Texas, and Florida).

I don’t know if there is a good place to give your money. I just hope that more people will understand what is going on down here. I don’t know if every piece of land should be rebuilt on. I do know that a large portion of the city must and will come back. Whether you choose to support us is up to you. You should know that the people here would most likely be some of the first to help you and your community. I don’t know what I’m asking for from you, though I would hope that you continue to have compassion for my community, long after the media has lost interest. We are a self-sufficient community that needs a little bit of help right now.