re: Craziest/Shadiest/Scariest thing you saw in Katrina Aftermath

I wonder if Blackwater was a cash only operation. Do mercenaries take checks?

I sat up this morning and tried to picture 6-10ft of water in my home. Can’t imagine the feeling.

If nothing else, reading these stories reminds me how petty we all can get and how many small luxuries I take for granted on a daily basis.

I’ve seen and read that same article a few times over the years.

quote:

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there were floating bags of rotten chicken everywhere

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Apparently there were containers full of 10lb bags of frozen chicken at the harbor in Gulfport. Those things were washing up on the beach for months after the storm. It was bizarre to find what appeared to be a sealed bag full of chicken bones.

I don't know how they paid for it. I know he paid for Blackwater to do stuff for him personally outside of AP. A few people would figure out who it is quickly, so I'm not gonna go to much further into it.


The thing I'll never forget, and the thing that brings back my most vivid memories ever, is the smell of mud, both swamp, and city. I almost broke down driving through Laplace when it flooded a few years back. I could be 100 years old and on my deathbed, and I won't ever forget that smell

Worked for the company who built fema villages. I did QC of the trailers and also helped when people arrived on busses.

The ones who were thankful made it worth it. Some said the trailers were nicer than their houses
Obviously not all of them were thankful.
And most of the villages were a nightmare of drugs and prostitution.

Im surprised more people didnt mention this but what surprised me after Katrina was that for every person whose life was left in financial ruin, I heard of two who actually MADE money off the storm. Whether it be through fema money, road home money or any other gov program that was doling out money at the time.

Remember all the huge green flies around the city after the storm.. That shite was crazy... I remember when we opened Touro's emergency room October 1st, we would sit around swatting flies all day..

Seems like there were millions of them..

I volunteered for the red cross shelter at la mar dixon for 3 months. I was basically the local contact in charge. The things that I witnessed were 3rd country appalling. Drugs, rape, stealing, fighting.. it was unfathomable. But, there was a lot of blame on the government. We didn't get "showers" till the 3rd month.. up until then people were having to shower in the horse stalls, but they were also defecating while shower as well as outside and anywhere besides the toilets. The only way to get control of the situation was to actually pay those living there to do the clean up...and it worked.
And the greed, that was even worse to witness at times... they would take the money that they were receiving and go buy big screen TVs and full size mattresses... we eventually ran out of room bc of that.
Greed, was another huge issue. Most were getting money from so many different types of government, that they couldn't spend it fast enough. And many didn't want to leave. We had businesses pleading for work, but no one wanted to leave. I truly believe that if given the opportunity, some would have stayed for a year. We had to lock everything up or have the national guard secure it. I'm not talking about the obvious like food, meds,equipment but they were stealing everything like toilet paper and paper towels, donated clothes, other evacuees stuff,
breaking into volunteers cars. It really was like a 3rd world country.
Don't get me wrong, there were many great people but I honestly think that it was a case of most of them had been sheltered and they lived like their relatives lived many years ago. I think people have to realize that most of them had never experienced life outside of their neighborhood. It doesn't excuse their behavior but it does explain it.
It was definitely an experience that I wish I could forget and because of what I personally witnessed. I'll never be able to do something like that again. It was truly life changing; and not the good kind.

I lived in Lakeview. I was on vacation during Katrina and to make a long story shorter, I helped my folks in Gulfport, who lived south of the rr tracks, dig out.

There was a yahoo Lakeview group I would monitor while I lived in Gulfport. We organized a meeting at Heritage Plaza to discuss getting back into Lakeview to recover our valuables. Lighted torch crowd.

After the meeting I took a chance and headed to Lakeview. I bs'ed the guard and he let me in. Surreal. I was the only one in the hood, the water had finally drained (pumped), and it looked as if the area was in the aftermath of a nuclear winter.

Walked in the house. Bad. 8 foot according to the water line. If I live to be as old as Methuselah, I will never get forget that smell. Some furniture unrecognizable. Some clothes too. I had a cheap bedspread in a back bedroom that appeared brand new. It was glowing.

After gathering some valuables and paperwork and nearly overcome by the heat, I stripped completely naked in the street to change clothes. Not a soul around and eerily quiet. I will never forget that sight. Those smells. I never broke down, but I saw neighbors later collapse in anguish. Several generations in the area will do that to you.