[MR] OT: Mike in the City, Vol VII

[Jeanne]

If any can help with boats for the SPCA there................

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike 
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2005 5:30 PM
To: you at humankind.com
Subject: Mike in the City, Vol VII



Well, today's been a tough day.  I'm very mentally burned out.  I didn't 
write last night because it was tough too.  My neighbor was working in a 
house pulling up the floor when he was hit by a board and shattered all the 
bones in his face around his nose.  He got out of the hospital late last 
night and has gone back to work because he needs money.  He has his face 
all taped up and looks like "Jason" from the horror movies.

It's only 3pm and I feel like I've been wrung out.  I have this one client, 
my "client from hell", a flower store owner, who drives me nuts and acts 
like I'm on this planet to be his personal computer tech and whipping 
boy.  He's already paying a fraction of what he should for the internet 
services I provide, but that's never enough.  He is having problems with 
one of his five e-mail accounts on my server and I've checked everything a 
hundred times and spent countless hours trying to help him, and he still 
constantly harasses me.  Yesterday when I was working with the pet rescue 
folks when my "client from hell" called me up and demanded that I drive to 
Baton Rouge and help him with his computer.  When I told him I was busy 
doing some Humane Society stuff, he left me voicmails and then sent an 
e-mail today demanding I stop everything and fix his computer (which isn't 
my job), saying, "I know saving the animals and hugging a pine tree is very 
important to you..."   Well that was the last straw and I lost it.  I told 
him I didn't want to hear from him unless it was to terminate his services, 
pay us what he owes, or apologize for being a total asshole.  It's amazing 
how someone in the business of helping lift peoples' spirits can be such a 
self-absorbed, insensitive prick.

It's been a rough week and I'm burning out.  Everybody around here is on 
edge.  The craziness of the city and the people anxious about trying to 
make something out of the twisted wreckage is finally starting to get to me.

Today I ventured into Lakeview.  That area is appropriately named because 
it's one big lake now.  A festering cesspool of black ooze that smells like 
an oil-infused prehistoric peat bog.  Veterans Blvd at the 17th street 
canal has become a four-lane boat launch.  The water is still 6+ feet deep 
even at the edge of the area.  It appears to have receded about 3-4 feet 
but you can pretty much write off EVERYTHING in the area.

Earlier in the week I remarked about how people, when confronted with a 
refrigerator in their homes that had been hot for a week, were opting to 
duct-tape the unit and drag it into the curb without even venturing within 
to see if there was anything salvageable.  Well, if you live in Lakeview 
(and related areas), you might want to seriously consider the same approach 
with your house.  I hate to say it, but I was getting nauseous just 
standing at the edge of this humongous septic tank which has swallowed the 
entire area.  None of these homes will likely ever be habitable.  They'll 
probably have to completely bulldoze everything.  It's that bad.

I haven't been able to get in touch with my "Aunt Marilyn".  Her home is 
smack in the middle of this mess, as is my bookeeper, Susan's and many 
other friends.  It makes me recall the time when Marilyn moved into her 
neat new home in Lakeview and we had a celebratory dinner at Tony DiAngelos 
- also in the area; also destroyed... and I realized I still have pictures 
online from that event 
(http://www.mikeperrymedia.com/xib/200311-marilyn/Page2.html) The pictures 
are from about 2 years ago, and basically every place pictured, the 
restaurant and Marilyn's new house are gone.

Amidst all this toxic soup, you have a rag-tag group of animal rescue 
people, mostly women, who are bravely going into the neighborhoods with 
maps and addresses given to them by people who have reason to believe there 
may be animals trapped within.  They're navigating streets like canals, 
donning hip-waders and respirators, risking their own lives just to make 
sure a cat or stray dog has a chance to make it.

When my client trivialized the entire operation, he didn't see what I 
saw.  How brave these people are.  Many of these people were also rescuing 
people, and now that they're out, they're going after pets.  I saw crying 
broken women begging to be let on a boat so they could check to see if a 
pet they left behind was alive.  When you look into the lake that is 
Lakeview now, it's probably not unlike watching people venture into 
Hiroshima after the bomb.  Everybody is inherently aware of how totally 
dangerous the whole area is.  One worker went so far in, that she couldn't 
get out before curfew and ended up sleeping in a small boat until morning 
so she could find her way back out.  These people are amazing, and even the 
military guys have respect for what they're doing. When you see them come 
back with a scared, rescued animal, it's really a refreshing ray of light 
on this otherwise dark day.

The Humane Society has been having a hard time getting boats.  I had a 
friend whose neighbor has one, but they won't let us use it because they're 
afraid the boat will be commandeered.  We're still trying to secure more 
resources.

I've got some pictures of the area.  I'll post a few more later.

http://www.mikeperrymedia.com/xib/20050912-kat/index.html

My webcam is now up and running here:   Not that much to see but it's the 
best I can do right now.  We plan to move it downtown but that'll be later.
   http://webcam.icorp.net/

Yesterday I got all my credentials.  A pass as part of the "Jumpstart 
Jefferson" project, and I also have a letter from the Governor's office 
authorizing me as a representative of the Public Utilities Commission to be 
granted full access at all checkpoints in the area.  I have as much access 
as anybody now in the city, but unfortunately I don't have the desire to 
drive around.  A friend got sick from the inoculations and I'm not keen on 
getting shots for Tetanus and Hepatitis.  But at some point, probably 
tomorrow, I will venture downtown.

Power is starting to come in in lots of areas.  Still not here, but at this 
point, it's no big deal.  I've gotten used to living with no A/C.  It's 
really not that bad at all.  I used to look at those vintage pictures of 
New Orleans with people walking around in suits and think they must be 
nuts, but it makes sense now.  You adapt.  90 degrees can be comfortable if 
that's what you're used to.

There's a series of very nasty, misleading e-mails trying to pin the blame 
for the Katrina disaster on Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor 
Blanco.  Snopes.com has all the details of this mean-spirited internet myth:
   http://www.snopes.com/politics/katrina/nagin.asp

Worth revisiting: Scientific American ran a story last year on hurricanes 
and whether they can be controlled:
 
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000593AE-704B-1151-B57F83414B7F00
00


-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.10.24/100 - Release Date: 9/13/2005