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Althea

I just learned that tomorrow will be my co-worker Althea’s last day here at the University.

Althea

Althea has been with the University for many years. I believe she started working as an administrative assistant in English. I knew her because she was working a computer lab manager for my unit when I was hired back in 1999. I worked with her for six years. After the levee failures, she was terminated along with many others, as the University made some deep and painful cuts. She got hired back at English when the University reopened.

She’s one of the sweetest and realest people I’ve met here. I always enjoyed talking with her.

But she’s been living in a trailer since her house was destroyed. Her husband found work in Texas, where they evacuated, and he’s still living there. Their son is enrolled in school there. That’s a hard situation. So she’s moving out there to be with her family.

I’m going to miss her. She’s good people.

Here’s a staff photo from the summer of 2003:

CAT Staff 2003

Of the five people shown here, only Janice and I are left in New Orleans.

I do understand why people move on, but this attrition is killing me.

Published inKatrinaNew OrleansPixThe Ed Biz

4 Comments

  1. rickngentilly rickngentilly

    aletha is one more good person that the fabric of new orleans is losing……….

    . we are gonna be in a flux for some time. i wish i was younger…………..

    i would love to ride this out to the end. …..

    the shame for me and others and this state………

    is once my mortgage is paid off im out because im an older person. i just dont trust my feeble years to this state. but i sure had a hell of a time in my youth….

    i would love nothing more than to croak in my gentilly joint but i dont trust this state .

    me and my wife can cash out and move to the sticks and die a slow lovely death with gardens and animals.

    the youngstahs like b’ and xy and the others need to be cultivated or this parish will become a disney joint……

    i aint got the fight in me no more…………….

    i just want to cash out and move to the sticks and let my farm girl wife have a horse again and have my self a garden.

    in the words of jon lovitz “is that so wrong?”

  2. Yeah, the attrition is really starting to wear on me, perhaps because the ones that are leaving at this stage are the ones who wanted to and tried to stick it out. 🙁

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