Lots of people have been contacting us over the last few days, via phone, internet, and in person. We appreciate the many offers of help and support.
Many people have also been asking us questions, and I haven’t been able to respond personally to every query. But here’s an attempt to answer the most frequently asked questions:
- When are you going back to New Orleans?
- We don’t know. It may be weeks or even months.
- What are you going to do until then?
- We don’t know. We’ll may be looking for gainful employment here in Bloomington soon. Of course, we’re not alone. A million people have been rendered homeless and jobless by Katrina. If there’s a massive public works program to put people like us to work rebuilding New Orleans, we’d probably get on board with that. But that’s a long way off, and who knows if it will even materialize in this privatized era we now live in.
- Where are you staying?
- We’re staying in Bloomington with Xy’s parents for now.
- How can I get in touch?
- You can try Xy’s cell at 504-913-5413 but you may have problems getting through to the 504 area code. You can call Xy’s parents house at 812-336-4656 but they have a weird “privacy manager” thing that may require you to state your name if Caller ID doesn’t recognize your number. You can send a message via this form.
- What is the status of your neighborhood/home?
- There’s just no way for us to know for sure. We live in Mid-City. The area is certainly flooded. We just don’t know how deep.
- What’s going on in New Orleans now?
- It’s changing by the moment. The best sources of information seem to be cable TV news and nola.com
- Can New Orleans really be rebuilt?
- Yes, I think so.
- Are you insured?
- Yes, we have homeowner’s insurance. We also have flood insurance, which I think is issued by the federal gov’t. We were required to have flood insurance in order to get our mortgage.
- How can I help?
- Don’t worry about helping us. We’re pretty much OK. Think of all the people in much more dire need, and consider giving to an organization like the Red Cross. (Though I could use a bicycle, come to think of it, if anyone’s got a extra large spare lying around.)
I can’t see any comments.
Do you guys still keep in contact with Karen?
Have you heard from your neighbor yet?
That’s weird – the above message is from me, not B. Methinks there’s a glitch. Or user error more likely.
Anyway, I hope you’ve heard from your neighbor. We’re about to receive a large amount of families here in St. Louis – we’re coordinating with the downtown builders to find housing and collect clothing, etc.
Hey LoJo!
Hey, guys, thanks for posting this — I was wondering how you were doing (I¬¥m at a philosophy conference in Brazil — just got in today and thought I¬¥d take a minute to check). Glad you guys are OK, alive, dry — and — thanks for the article — in amazingly good spirits (this is also good to read after listening to a big American man on my flight to Brazil threatening to “beat down” a man on the plane because the guy¬¥s child was crying — the big American started asking where the guy was from and saying, “Where _I_ come from… bla bla bla in AMERICA …!!”). I am so glad you guys are OK.
Well, if you need a weekend (or week) away, there’s a spare bedroom for you in Pittsburgh. Come visit whenever…
In other news, I have some footage of an adventure to see Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes blown into the sky. Given that it’s my first filming experience in years, it’s probably not worth much, but when you’re up and running again, I’ll pass it on.
Thinking of you guys…
Bart –
Man, I’m glad you two are ok! Can’t imagine the insanity you must be going through collectively.
Chantal and I moved to northern Maine in January, where I have a tenure track job at the University of Maine at Machias, on the coast 40 miles from Canada. If you ever want to come up (and find work – few qualified tech people and teachers because of bad salaries…), do let me know.
Good luck sorting it all out, Jeremy