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Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
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9:17 am
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From NY's Newsday today:
August 31, 2005
You want to know what heartbreak is?
Heartbreak is watching at a distance while the city you love turns to muck.
Heartbreak is breathing a sigh of relief at the positive early signs, assuming they mean that things won't be so bad.
Heartbreak is learning that Category 4 may not be as bad as Category 5, but it can still pack a powerful wallop.
Heartbreak is discovering that the worst - a whole lot worse than anyone could have imagined - was still very much yet to come.
Heartbreak is watching floodwaters keep rising even after the monster storm has passed, instead of going down.
Heartbreak is finally reaching family members on the iffy phones and hearing false courage on the other end of the line.
Heartbreak is knowing the death toll will rise much, much higher because the survivors keep telling stories of friends, neighbors and loved ones who floated off helplessly in rising waters - or all of sudden just disappeared.
Heartbreak is saying hopeful things to them and not believing a word of it.
Heartbreak is being momentarily pleased when officials explain how helicopters will drop 3,000-pound sandbags to close a levee gap, then waiting and waiting and waiting for the giant sandbags to work.
Heartbreak is taking comfort in the confident words of New Orleans homeland- security Director Terry Ebbert - "It's a very slow rise ... I think we can get it stabilized in a few hours" - then wondering and wondering what on earth could be taking so long.
Heartbreak is hearing New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin say that so many living people still need to be rescued, "We're not even dealing with dead bodies. They're just pushing them on the side."
Heartbreak is declaring a giant domed stadium the "refuge of last resort" and then watching the roof ripped up in the wind and the stadium begin to flood.
Heartbreak is hearing scattered reports of looting in downtown stores, wondering what on earth would make someone do that at a time like this and recalling what looting did to Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York.
Heartbreak is hearing that the evacuees still aren't being allowed to return, knowing how painful that must be and still thinking it's probably the right decision.
Heartbreak is hearing Jackie Clarkson, a retired councilman, say disgustedly: "We're using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue."
Heartbreak is hearing Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco say, "The devastation is worse than our worst fears... The situation is untenable."
Heartbreak is suspecting she's right and knowing she can't do a damn thing.
Heartbreak is the story of one man so desperate to get out of the hot and leaking Superdome, he jumped from an upper level to his death.
Heartbreak is finally discovering a weapon of mass destruction and learning her name is Katrina.
Heartbreak is digging up memories of classmates from grammar school, neighbors from six houses ago, teammates from Little League, fellow players in nameless garage bands, funny co-workers from pick-up jobs, first cousins and second cousins and cousins you're not even sure how you got to be cousins with, girlfriends and prom dates and people who were always just kinda nice - all the automatic connections of growing up somewhere - and wondering what has happened now to each and every one of them.
Heartbreak is ticking off all the old houses you've lived in and predicting which ones are standing this morning and which ones are not.
Heartbreak is knowing that in this sadly homogenized age, very few American cities have real, distinct personalities and New Orleans was one of them.
Heartbreak is talking about a place you love and using the past tense.
Heartbreak is being 1,058 miles away.
You want to know what heartbreak is? For me, today is heartbreak.
current mood:  gloomy
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(2 heartbreaking betrayals | can i trust you? )
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| Monday, March 31st, 2003
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10:35 pm - in keeping with what seems to be a fad...
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You know you're from Michigan when...
1.You've never met any celebrities.
2."Vacation" means going to Cedar Point.
3.At least 1 member of your family disowns you the week of the Michigan/Michigan State game.
4.Half the change in your pocket is Canadian.....eh!
5.You drive 86 mph on the highway and pass on the right.
6.Your idea of a traffic jam is 40 cars waiting to pass an orange barrel.
7.You know how to play (and pronounce) Euchre.
8.It's easy to get VERNORS Ginger Ale, Sanders Hot Fudge sauce, AND Faygo Pop.
9.You know how to pronounce "Mackinac."
10.You've had to switch on the "heat" and the "A/C" in the same day.
11.You bake with SODA and drink a POP.
12.The movie "Escanaba in Da Moonlight" wasn't funny. You consider it a documentary.
13.Your little league game was snowed out.
14.The word "thumb" has geographical, rather than anatomical significance.
15.You show people where you grew up by pointing to a spot on your right hand.
16. Traveling coast-to-coast means driving from Port Huron to Muskegon.
17.You measure distance in minutes.
18.When giving directions, you refer to "A Michigan Left."
19.You know that Kalamazoo not only exists, but isn't that far from Hell.
20.Your year has 2 seasons: Winter and Construction.
21.Home Depot on any Saturday is busier than toy stores at Christmas.
22.You know when it has rained because of the smell of worms.
23.Owning a foreign car was a hangin' offense in your hometown.
24.You believe that "down south" means Toledo.
25. You've taken your kids trick-or-treating in a blizzard
26. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes get filled with snow
27. You can detect a Canadian or an Ohio accent
28. You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie with only 8 buttons
29. You owe more money on your snowmobile than your car
30. The local paper covers national and international headlines on l/4 page,but requires 6 pages for sports
31. Your snowblower gets stuck on the roof
32. You think the start of deer hunting season is a national holiday
33. Summer takes place the second week of July (and it still rains!!)
34. You know which leaves make good toilet paper
35. You find -20F a little chilly
36. The trunk of your car has ever doubled as a deep freezer
37. You attended a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewelry and your snowmobile boots
38. Shoveling the driveway constitutes a great upper body workout
39. You have more miles on your snowblower than your car
40. You have 10 favorite recipes for venison
41. The municipality buys a zamboni before a bus
42.YOU ACTUALLY "GET" THESE JOKES TELL THEM TO ALL YOUR MICHIGAN FRIENDS AND FAMILY!
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(16 heartbreaking betrayals | can i trust you? )
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| Monday, January 6th, 2003
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3:11 pm - alpha gam community
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| Thursday, September 19th, 2002
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1:43 pm - hmm.... friends only, huh?
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just paid for a year of LJ... it's only $25 for a year, so whatever... :)
...in the process of making my journal 'friends only'... leave me a comment here if you want to learn more about me! :)
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(23 heartbreaking betrayals | can i trust you? )
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happy