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tough old lady in a hard place
I'm following the situation in New Orleans like everybody else, shocked and distraught and wondering what the hell the disaster preparedness office was doing for the last fifty years. Edited to add: see this five part report from the New Orleans Times-Picayune called "Washing Away." None of what's happening comes as a surprise.
I have spent a good amount of time in New Orleans, because I like the place and I'm writing about its history in this new novel. I like all of it, the gritty parts and the tacky parts and the pretty ones. I've spent a lot of time in archives and libraries. Given the damage and destruction to the lives of thousands of people I am a little embarrassed to be worried about books, but I can't help thinking about the Historic New Orleans collection, about Pitot House (see below), and about a hundred other artifacts that probably won't survive this disaster.
Robyn sent me links to the Wikipedia news articles, which I find a lot more useful than network news, so if you're interested, here they are: general information, and a really frightening bit about the toxic overflow. I'm also scouting around for the best way to send money for the relief effort. At this point some people are estimating that it will be four months before the city is habitable again. There are a lot of low income people in New Orleans and the greater effected area, and they are going to need on-going help. If you have any suggestions, please speak up.
Finally, a repost of part of what I wrote about my New Orleans research trip in Janury of 2004:
I did a lot of research for the trip and made plans, and got pretty much everything in that I needed to do. The re-enactment of the Battle of New Orleans at Chalmette was high on the list, and that was indeed a good thing to see. People who spend so much time and energy doing reenactments are a wonderful resource. Who else knows what it's like to wear woolen underwear all day long? And it's one thing to see a uniform in a color plate, and another to see it on a man walking along the levee. Also, I always forget how loud the artillery fire is. I'm surprised anybody who fought in those battles had any hearing left.
The most instructive and interesting place was the Pitot House, (French Colonial/West Indies in style) built in 1799 on Bayou St. John. It's been carefully restored and is maintained by the Louisiana Historical Society. We were fortunate to be the only people touring that morning, which meant I could ask all the questions I usually hold back for fear of slowing things down too much or boring less inquisitive types. Kathy Collins (our guide) was one of the best informed and most helpful people I have ever run across at a historic house. We got into such an interesting conversation that I took up a good hunk of her morning.
The house itself is the kind of place historical novelists are always looking for, with an atmosphere that is so strong that you can -- for a few moments -- get the sense that you are no longer in your own time. The furnishings, the way the light falls, the air itself -- everything comes together in a very powerful way that allows the imagination to take over. I'm going to use the Pitot House as one of my settings in this novel. I will make some changes, of course, but then I will set my characters loose in its rooms. Kathy was kind enough to share the names of some of her ancestors with me, and I may well end up using them, as well: Jean Baptiste Baudreau dit Graveline is especially nice, but from Kathy I also found out more about the Pelican Girls (also called Cassette Girls).
In the early 1700s, the first families and young women came from France to the new French colony at what is now Mobile, Alabama. Many of the girls came from Parisian religious communities, and they were all approved first by the bishop (who made sure they were virtuous, but also hard workers). These young women -- some no more than fifteen-- married the French Marines who were already stationed at the colony. Prime material for a historical novel, if anybody's looking.
August 31, 2005 06:51 AM
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Comments
the review of your trip to the pilot house brought home to me the impact of this event. I sit snug and safe in my air conditioned house (after all it's 102 in the central valley) reading, going to work, pretty much unaware how these things really effect everything. i've never had the opportunity to visit that area of the country, and now i see im never gonna see it as it should be.....
Posted by: laurie at August 31, 2005 07:23 AM
And yet another header. This one's sadly appropriate.
Posted by: sarandipity at September 1, 2005 09:00 AM
As far as giving monetary assistance goes, beware who you donate money to because it may not be going to help the people who need it. It's a really sad commentary on human nature that already there are phony donation sites popping up on the Internet. The FEMA website provides a list of reputable charities and/or places to volunteer help at: http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/katrinadonations.shtm
So much of this suffering was preventable but why is it taking our government so long to get them help? The US is the most powerful country in the world but we can't get it together enough to help our own people.
Posted by: Karen J. at September 1, 2005 06:29 PM
Karen -- thank you for that very useful link. Good advice, and sad that we need it at all.
Posted by: sara at September 1, 2005 07:02 PM
http://www.aam-us.org/aamlatest/news/HurricaneFirstReports.cfm
First roundup I've seen of reports on the condition of various museums... Had this to say about Pitot House: "Pitot House Museum, New Orleans, LA (as of 9/10). The Washington Post said that Meg Lousteau, director of the Louisiana Landmarks Society, scoured satellite photos to check on the society's museum. She was able to see the grass in the side yard, meaning there was no standing water on the site."
Posted by: robyn at September 17, 2005 02:03 PM
A little more good news from the same site:
"Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans, LA (as of 9-12). Priscilla Lawrence, executive director, reported that members of the staff were able to enter the French Quarter last week with a state police escort. The buildings and collections are high and dry. Much of the material was moved to a generous and accommodating institution in another part of the state. Because the presence of armed forces is now pervasive, they feel that the museum is extremely secure. They hope to be back in operation as soon as city services have been restored."
Posted by: robyn at September 17, 2005 02:05 PM
Robyn, that is EXCELLENT EXCELLENT news. Thank you for the links and the heads up.
Posted by: sara at September 17, 2005 04:19 PM