Katrina

I put this up at my KFOG page. I'll add a little more at the end.
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With September just getting under way everything will be happening fast. Kids in school. Fall sports under way. High School football games, and even Costco has Halloween costumes on sale now.

For the people of the New Orleans gulf area it is all going to be different this fall. I never traveled much in the US. I grew up in the east bay and went to college in San Francisco. My jobs have all been here on the west coast. For vacations I always have had more desire to head north or south along the coast and camp, fish, and be in the great outdoors.

The big cities back east have very little to relax me for a vacation. I'm way more of a small town guy.

There is a road trip I have always wanted to take in the USA. A trip that would include Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans. I'm completely fascinated by those 3 places. The music, the location, the culture. I'd really like to make that trip sometime.

Growing up here in the Richmond, San Pablo, El Cerrito area I always was surrounded by southern culture. I still am. This was kind of a sleepy little area until WW2 when ads in southern newspapers offered jobs in California to build ships. Hunters Point and the Richmond shipyards had a huge influx of people arrive to do the work. Housing was built, like Atchison Village (still there today and a great place to live) and these people arrived to help win the war.

Of course they brought their culture with them. Long before we were eating baby carrots, it was smothered chicken and greens all over the East Bay.

My dad served in the war and ended up coming here, and I went to school with lots of kids whose parents had a very thick southern accent. Often over the years lots of family members made their way west. The grandparents of the kids I went to school with were not too removed from the slavery days of the south.

Richmond has a great Rosie The Riveter park you can visit and a nice web page to find out more. It is one of the great under told stories of the Bay Area.

It always interested me how populations move and cities change. The Mission district in S.F., once had a big Irish population...

To grow up with these kids and parents was great. We all got along. So I always thought I would love a trip down south. I am not blind to the problems and poverty, but I'm also not blind to what there is in the culture of the people.

Every day I will think of them and their families hoping only for the best and fastest recovery of some of America's greatest cities.

So my dream trip is put on hold for a bit.

But I can help. I hope you can too. Did you ever want to go and never made it like me? Wondering how much to give? Try this. I am going to figure out how much money I would have spent on my time in New Orleans, say 4 days. I like a good, but not top end hotel, and I'll eat at a cheap "good eats" kind of place. Maybe some of that smothered chicken and greens I like so much, with room saved for bread pudding. I'd like to get out on the gulf on a fishing trip, and see lots of live music. If I am lucky the Saints would be in town and I'd go see them 'cause I love NFL football. And as I recall they have a very talented cheerleading squad. I would also take in some historical sights around the area.

So I can figure I'll add that up and cut a fat check. That'll be my New Orleans vacation for now.

And hey we're giving away a free cd.

I can't help but to think that when they tells us to have 5 days of food, water, and supplies on hand for when the expected big earthquake comes we had better do it. I'm putting together an old cooler with supplies and I'll keep it in the Ford truck. Hoping of course I'll never have to use it.

But wait there's more.

If I said a prayer for every time I heard the phrase "our thoughts and prayers" I'd be saying lots of prayers. So I have been. Every time I hear the phrase I say a prayer. If you aren't a believe in god type no worries from me. Indeed we might be globs of protein cells and saline solution formed in a somewhat random order by some roll of the dice.

But if you want to say a prayer, please do so.

Rick

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But wait there is even more. What I didn't post there.

Anybody who uses this to rip on Bush, or pound their chest for their own good is an asshole. A few people are already spinning this to be anti-Bush, or anti-Democrat.

Why didn't Bush wave his magic wand and make it go away?

How come the democratic Gov. didn't wave her magic wand and rescue everyone?

What a useless waste of time. It is a completely shallow thing to to. At this early stage it seems there is enough "gee you could have done better" to go around. And it doesn't matter. Not at all.

Jack Cafferty is a big blowhard and one of the reasons I don't watch CNN much when he is on. On Monday he commented "where is Bush? I think he is in San Diego talking about Japan..." Yep Jack he was. It was to commemorate the end of WORLD WAR II. Kind of a big deal Jack. On Fox blowhard Bill O'Reilly is saying he will get the busses there, he's going to get it done. No Bill, hard working people who have been under extreme pressure for days and nights on end will get it done. And they are.

Same goes to any politico who goes on live tv and has a press conference and starts off by thanking fellow politicians, "the great mayor of ___, and the honorable representative from ___ ." Oh shut up.

Hard working, brave, dedicated people are getting this done. They aren't on tv. Americans are donating to good causes and trying to do what they can to help. We aren't on tv. But we watch tv. We see those taking advantage of the situation either for political reasons or tv ratings. And for that you suck.

But what do I know? I a flippin' radio dj!