Say a Prayer for the Gulf Coast

[star2city]

Late this afternoon, a deep level of thankfulness and joy was felt throughout my Mobile neighborhood as power was restored. To not only be spared the human toll and physical damage of cities like Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Gulfport, and of course, New Orleans, but to actually have power back (after sweltering for only two days) was an incredible gift. Last year, after Hurricane Ivan, it took eight days for power to be restored to the same neighborhood. But still, perhaps only 10% of the city of Mobile has power. And since this city will be a major staging ground for the horribly damaged Mississippi Gulf Coast, every day’s delay in getting normal services restored here delays progress further west.

A major challenge to the recovery will be the availability of gasoline, not just in Mobile, but throughout the Deep South states. Today, there were one-two hours waits at stations (with electric power) that had new shipments of gasoline (and then the gas would be gone). Most went without. If this situation remains unchanged, the ability of this area to recover will quickly will be threatened. But since much of the oil importing capability, refining, and pipeline system emanate from the New Orleans area, the national consequences of Katrina may just be beginning to impact the economy.

While the armadas of power company trucks and shipments of generators coming down I-65 is impressive, the number of friends, aquaintances, and co-workers that are concerned about ‘missing’ family members in Mississippi or the New Orleans area is disconcerting. Granted, the cell phone towers and landlines are mostly destroyed as well as bridges and roads, so communication is difficult.

Beyond saying a prayer for the people down here and giving to a relief fund, please rejoice over the blessings in your life.

[PCM]

I'm glad to hear that you're doing okay. I certainly know what it's like to be without electricity for an extended period of time. But what Grand Forks went through in 1997 in no way compares to what Katrina did to your part of the world. I see the pictures and video, but I still have a hard time getting my mind around the magnitude of it all.

Take care of yourself and your loved ones. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

[GCWaters]

Hang in there, S2C....we're all praying for you and the other folks there in need...

[GeauxSioux]

Thankfully Pensacola was somewhat spared this time around. We were only without electricity for 24 hours at our house. Most of metro Pensacola has had power restored, which means that Gulf Power can head west and help get AL, MS and LA back up. We are currently housing relatives that have evacuated from New Orleans and the Northshore, so obviously we watch the news 24/7, including live streamding on wwltv.com.

I got a call from parents in GF this morning asking what they can do to help. The number one thing is prayer at this point, because this will be a long period of recovery. We have family all over the New Orleans area that may have lost homes, jobs, businesses.

BTW Star2City, we do have gas in Pensacola in most places, but I have been told that the stations are getting nervous about the supply line. Let me know if you need anything. jlarson@lpugh.com

[airmail]

My thoughts and prayers are with you, and those in your region. Please stay safe... and yes, I did take a moment to rejoice in my blessings. I guess sometimes we all need a little reminder. Thank you for that.

[Let'sGoHawks!]

I have also been praying for all of those affected by the tragic events. You will rise above all of this.

[JESUS,family,rutgers]

GOD BLESS all of you, your relatives, and friends in the Southeast. Once every ten years, we might be snowed in for a couple days here in New Jersey, but I have never seen devastation like this in America. We live in a great country and I know we are going to see an outpouring of help from around the country that will match or exceed Pearl Harbor and September 11.

[BigGame]

We are taking in kids at my school today. I live in the Houston area and it is expected that a good portion of the kids from New Orleans will be checking in to different schools around the area. We have had 7 or 8 check in today, but I would assume it will be a lot more over the next week or so. Tough situation all around.

[GaryP]

The hurricane must have been absolutely terrible. I certainly sympathize with all who were affected and I've donated to the Red Cross.

But you know as an atheist I get a little tired of all the "praying for you" stuff after a disaster such as this. It seems to me that if there is a god, he either caused this thing to happen or he could have prevented it and decided not to do so.

So while I respect anyone's perogative to believe what you will I just haven't seen any evidence in my 55 years that believing in a god makes any tangible difference in what happens and what doesn't happen.

[Sioux-cia]

The hurricane must have been absolutely terrible. I certainly sympathize with all who were affected and I've donated to the Red Cross.

But you know as an atheist I get a little tired of all the "praying for you" stuff after a disaster such as this.  It seems to me that if there is a god, he either caused this thing to happen or he could have prevented it and decided not to do so.

So while I respect anyone's perogative to believe what you will I just haven't seen any evidence in my 55 years that believing in a god makes any tangible difference in what happens and what doesn't happen.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You don't have to offer a prayer since you don't believe but would it go against your atheism to say, 'Good luck', 'Hope things get better', 'I'm rooting for you', 'May the force be with you' or whatever. At a time like this folks like S2C could use a good word/thought. Lacking that, your money will be much appreciated. Thanks

[GaryP]

You don't have to offer a prayer since you don't believe but would it go against your atheism to say, 'Good luck', 'Hope things get better', 'I'm rooting for you', 'May the force be with you' or whatever. At a time like this folks like S2C could use a good word/thought. Lacking that, your money will be much appreciated. Thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of course I hope the best for him and for all down there. I hope that nothing like this ever happens again to anybody anywhere.

[star2city]

But you know as an atheist I get a little tired of all the "praying for you" stuff after a disaster such as this.  It seems to me that if there is a god, he either caused this thing to happen or he could have prevented it and decided not to do so.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

GaryP:

You have the right to disagree with me, but I respectfully submit to you that there is an unseen world out there that is hellbent on destroying humanity: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

So while I respect anyone's perogative to believe what you will I just haven't seen any evidence in my 55 years that believing in a god makes any tangible difference in what happens and what doesn't happen.

In a way, I agree with you as prayer too often is the last resort rather than a daily preventive part of our lives. "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

[star2city]

Just a brief update:

Although for me and most residents of Mobile (except for those right on Mobile Bay), life has actually been back to normal for more than a week (no more curfew, no more gas lines, traffic lights back in place), systematic help is still not reaching many of the Mississippi and Louisiana evacuees in the area. Its been difficult for most of them to even get phone calls through to FEMA or the Red Cross. Fortunately, local churches and charitable organizations have been responsive. Even without New Orleans, the shear scale of the homeless is difficult to crasp, as two parishes in Louisiana have been wiped out (Plaquemines and St. Bernard's) as well as much housing on coastal Mississippi.

[BigGame]

Well I have lived in the Houston area for about 5 years now, and it looks like I am about to get hit by my first Hurricane. We were here when tropical storm Allison came through, but this appears to be much more serious. If the hurricane continues to strengthen and come our way (which the eye is predicted to be just west of the area I live in) we could see some major damage. The county I live in has a mandatory evacuation starting tonight and six (Wed. at 6PM) So we are going to get ourself the heck out of here and hope we still have a house to come back too.

[UND Fan]

Well I have lived in the Houston area for about 5 years now, and it looks like I am about to get hit by my first Hurricane.  We were here when tropical storm Allison came through, but this appears to be much more serious.  If the hurricane continues to strengthen and come our way (which the eye is predicted to be just west of the area I live in) we could see some major damage. The county I live in has a mandatory evacuation starting tonight and six (Wed. at 6PM)  So we are going to get ourself the heck out of here and hope we still have a house to come back too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I, and all Sioux fans, wish you the best of luck. I, for one, will be praying for you!

[Sioux-cia]

Well I have lived in the Houston area for about 5 years now, and it looks like I am about to get hit by my first Hurricane.  We were here when tropical storm Allison came through, but this appears to be much more serious.  If the hurricane continues to strengthen and come our way (which the eye is predicted to be just west of the area I live in) we could see some major damage. The county I live in has a mandatory evacuation starting tonight and six (Wed. at 6PM)  So we are going to get ourself the heck out of here and hope we still have a house to come back too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If there is ANYTHING we can do for you do not hesistate to let us know. Between all of us, we should be able to meet any needs you or any other SiouxSports fan needs. (Not to worry, we're helping non-Sioux fans as well).

[HockeyMom]

[BigGame]

Thanks you all or as I have learned from living in Texas, thank ya'll very much. I am fortunate that a good friend of mine (and another UND graduate) lives in Fayetteville, AR. So we will be staying with him for a few days, and hopefully everything will work out OK.

[star2city]

Thanks you all or as I have learned from living in Texas, thank ya'll very much.  I am fortunate that a good friend of mine (and another UND graduate) lives in Fayetteville, AR.  So we will be staying with him for a few days, and hopefully everything will work out OK.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hopefully you avoided the horrible traffic jams. Looking more and more like the Houston metro area will avoid the storm surge. Hopefully, Rita will weaken even more so its effect upon Lake Charles, LA and Beaumont, TX will not be as severe.

[star2city]

The New Republic had this article: Small Change- WHAT NEW ORLEANS CAN LEARN FROM GRAND FORKS.

In the years before their floods, both New Orleans and Grand Forks seemed to be developing unsolvable problems--poverty and crime in New Orleans, "brain drain" and the death of the downtown in Grand Forks. Like the biblical flood, the Grand Forks flood seemed to erase certain messes the city had been powerless to clean up--and therefore created an opportunity not just to rebuild the city, but to remake it into a model town.  ...

But Grand Forks's rebuilding experience suggests we should be cautious about thinking too big in New Orleans.

Grand Forks suggests that a conservative approach to rebuilding is often the right one. The government's most successful contribution to Grand Forks's recovery was, arguably, not its vision of a new downtown but rather the Army Corps of Engineers' insistence on returning the floodplains to the river. Beginning by identifying crucial mistakes that simply could not be repeated worked best. New Orleans would be well advised to follow a similar approach. And after that? Think small, and aim for one miracle at a time.

[BigGame]

[dj_hoime]

It looks like now that Huston has been spared good luck to all who live down there our prayers are still with u.

[star2city]

In what should be a major story on media hype and exageration, read this story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Widely reported attacks at Superdome and Conventions Center false or unsubstantiated

Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie Jordan said authorities had confirmed only four murders in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina - making it a typical week in a city that anticipated more than 200 homicides this year. Jordan expressed outrage at reports from many national media outlets that suffering flood victims had turned into mobs of unchecked savages.

"I had the impression that at least 40 or 50 murders had occurred at the two sites," he said. "It's unfortunate we saw these kinds of stories saying crime had taken place on a massive scale when that wasn't the case. And they (national media outlets) have done nothing to follow up on any of these cases, they just accepted what people (on the street) told them. ... It's not consistent with the highest standards of journalism."

[BigGame]

We were very lucky and had no damage to our home, just had a few small tree's blow over.

[Sioux-cia]

We were very lucky and had no damage to our home, just had a few small tree's blow over.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the update. We were really worried about you. Trees can be replanted, people can't.