Thread: Greetings from New Orleans

hi Wit nice to see you here, we missed you. great thing you are doing.

Thanks love.

"Little Wing"? Why the name change?

^ No love for WWE's The Rock.


Oh, and Wit,

i took the name rockgazer yrs ago. the rock is still great but eh time to take a name that means something to me now. Little Wing is the best song ever n means a lot to me personally.

Hi Shae,

I've missed you guys. Being in a city completely empty of its' civillian population is creepy.

Guess I'm gonna have to get briefed on why Little Wing would divorse herself from "The Rock".

Hope all is well with you

*** Edit **
LW answered my question before I could post

Damn she is good

Little Wing loves Vanity.

Did I ever tell you I met my wife online?

no but cool. Vanity would make a very nice Mr.

Yea, I bet he would.

I think I made out pretty well on the deal

did u see mino's i miss my dog thread? think u will like it.

No....... I haven't. But then I've been here in N.O. for the past 18 days with no net access.

I'll look it up.

Hey, Wit. . .it's good to know you are safe. We can see that there is going to be an awful lot to clean up and rebuild down there, but I've heard some really good stuff about some of the Guard units working down there - I think Grand Isle has adopted the Tennessee group like their own sons. . .

I'm not sure if you are allowed to tell us what part of the city you are handling, but I do know there are still some people living there who never left, so be careful. . .and I'm glad you have power and phone service again!

I'm spozed to be sent with Red Cross over Christmas, but I don't know where I'll be going yet. . .but thank you for helping those people. We have evacuees scattered all over the country and a lot of them are still just at loose ends with their lives.

Just be safe. . .and don't play with the alligators.

And hey. . .isn't that...like a dead body wrapped up in one of those pics?

My Battalion is located right in the "Garden District" and the "French Quarter". We are currently sharing the french Q with the 82nd airborne but they are pulling out soon.

We were the first ones here on the scene in this area and we are still the only ones residing this deep in the disaster area.

We've already run across several people still living here who don't want to leave. They are mostly harmless so we just make sure they have food and water and leave them alone. We've caught several looters and arrested them without too much trouble. So far, the gang members either puss out and surrrender on site or they've already fled the scene and are hiding somewhere. Regardless, we've not had any gun-fights with bad guys thus far.

I don't think the television really showed you just how bad the "looting" was. Sure, there were people taking food and water to survive. That's not surprising. But there were also people who took the opportunity to rob homes and stores blind during the chaos. Even worse, there were mobs of people marauding the streets and attacking innocent people, beating, raping, robbing and killing as if it was for sport. This was the side of "looting" I don't think the media did a very accurate job of portraying. It wasn't looting, it was all-out anarchy.

Yes, one picture does contain a body wrapped in plastic. it contained the body of a young woman. We don't know her identity or who wrapped her. It appears that she died prior to the flood. Possibly strangled.

You know, I haven't seen one alligator yet. Somehow I thought I'd see a bunch.

Thanks for your encouragement and support.

Here is an excellent link that illustrates the devastation. Allow the graphic time to load and then mouse-over. You can clearly see how broad the flood-waters spread over the city.

Watch out the old creole people have cast a voo-doo spell to rid the
city of white folks...

The living dead walk at night, but they hide from the lights deep in the shadows

Originally Posted by Witmaster

My Battalion is located right in the "Garden District" and the "French Quarter". We are currently sharing the french Q with the 82nd airborne but they are pulling out soon.

The Quarter seems to be where we see the most television coverage and scenes from the unflooded parts of the city. I know the mayor is still concerned about the fires, but it sure doesn't sound like the city is ready for up to 180,000 people to return yet. It seems like many of those buildings in the flooded areas are just going to have to be destroyed.

We were the first ones here on the scene in this area and we are still the only ones residing this deep in the disaster area.

We've already run across several people still living here who don't want to leave. They are mostly harmless so we just make sure they have food and water and leave them alone. We've caught several looters and arrested them without too much trouble. So far, the gang members either puss out and surrrender on site or they've already fled the scene and are hiding somewhere. Regardless, we've not had any gun-fights with bad guys thus far.

I don't think the television really showed you just how bad the "looting" was. Sure, there were people taking food and water to survive. That's not surprising. But there were also people who took the opportunity to rob homes and stores blind during the chaos. Even worse, there were mobs of people marauding the streets and attacking innocent people, beating, raping, robbing and killing as if it was for sport. This was the side of "looting" I don't think the media did a very accurate job of portraying. It wasn't looting, it was all-out anarchy.

This part of the situation seems to be the most confusing. The media couldn't get into some parts of the city because of the height of the flood waters and the dangers from looting. I saw the initial looting report by reporters with the Times-Picayune while the storm was still winding down on Monday - people stealing from a clothing store in the CBD near the newspaper building. After that a lot was sketchy - we'd hear or read reports of guns firing around the city but the dry areas seemed to be the Garden District, part of the CBD, the French Quarter and parts of the Marigny on the East Bank. It makes me wonder where the bulk of the lawlessness happened. I've seen some narrative reports from individuals in the foreign press who wrote about having to dodge groups of people during the day.
The biggest thing is that I have little doubt about this happening in any other American city in a disaster - its almost a sure bet. And it did make us look no better than a Third World country.
Yes, one picture does contain a body wrapped in plastic. it contained the body of a young woman. We don't know her identity or who wrapped her. It appears that she died prior to the flood. Possibly strangled.

You know, I haven't seen one alligator yet. Somehow I thought I'd see a bunch.

The city isn't exactly their natural habitat - I know they are more likely to be in the swampy areas between there and the coast.

Thanks for your encouragement and support.

Just keep yourself safe.

Originally Posted by Witmaster

Here is an excellent link that illustrates the devastation. Allow the graphic time to load and then mouse-over. You can clearly see how broad the flood-waters spread over the city.

Thanks. . .I had looked at some close-up images of aerial views, especially of neighborhoods where I know people or hang when I'm in the city, which was once or twice a year. I had assignments before on a few businesses just beyond the Garden District (down the trolley line past the zoo) and have attended conferences in the CBD. That Hyatt with the blown out windows - the last time I was in the city, I stayed in that section of the building. It is hooked onto a mall with a branch of the gym I worked out at. . .and I used to go to one in the River Walk area down by Harrahs (another high-rise mall there). I used to hang in parts of the Marigny too (just east of the Quarter and Esplanade) - it looks like part of it didn't flood. Some really great old homes in that neighborhood.

Originally Posted by Witmaster

Yea, I bet he would.

I think I made out pretty well on the deal

Cool picture of you and the wife.


Keep safe.

Originally Posted by Little Wing

i took the name rockgazer yrs ago. the rock is still great but eh time to take a name that means something to me now. Little Wing is the best song ever n means a lot to me personally.

I play "Little Wing" on the guitar everyday, I love it!!!!


And Wit....

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Cool picture of you and the wife.


Keep safe.

Thanks. It took me forever to get her to sit still for it. She get's so excited around dinner time

DID you see this one?

IM's own KKSCHAEF is now an Images of Venus Model

HEY!!!

Looks like my advertising campaign finally paid off!

I hear Foamy The Squirrel is with you to help.

Thanks Wit.

Originally Posted by Shae

I hear Foamy The Squirrel is with you to help.

Foamy makes perfect sense.

Originally Posted by kbm8795

The biggest thing is that I have little doubt about this happening in any other American city in a disaster - its almost a sure bet. And it did make us look no better than a Third World country.

I disagree completely. Louisiana had a murder rate of 12.9 per 100,000 *before* Katrina.

Thats over twice the national average, 6 times the rate of most other,"civilized"countries(and many US states).

Perhaps we can play the blame game and say the Fed's knew of the levy problems and were gambling that nothing would happen..(I believe theres enough blame to go around from the mayor, to the president, and the people as well ( -not refering to just the levies, the locals were very vocal about them..- )

Just the same, Louisiana has fostered crime for a damn long time, Its been only the fear of law enforcement thats kept La together.. Once the local police were disbursed, in addition to the non-presence of national guard, it was a sure bet anarchy would break out.
Once that happened it was a must to send the military to restore order.. Had it been the police alone they would be fighting for months. Luckily criminals have the common trait of cowardice, so unless they largely outnumber a serviceman, or take him from behind I dont think criminals will be much of a threat to them.

And yes, It did make La look like a thrid world country, possibly worse.

Back on topic(lol I love to debate so it took priority .. sorry )
Im glad to hear you're not getting much trouble around there. Things started sounding worse and worse on the news after you said you were leaving.. about how long did it take from the time you left home to get down to La?

My other post got me thinking.. You guys have body armor, right? at least enough to handle hundgun rounds? Part of me says,"Dont be stupid, of course they do.."

The other part says,"The government probably decided they dont need it, and the weight would only encumber them"

Anyways, Im proud to know someone down there, sounds like you guys are doing an excellent job That just sucks about the girl in the bag though.. Im sure you've seen more than that, heck, theres stories of people being beaten to death in the superdome.. With police there! So outside can only be worse.