Our homes are much more than mere shelters. Our homes are the repositories of our history. They are our personal archives. They are extensions of our personality, filled with acquisitions both meaningful and meaningless. Our homes are our castles, our shrines, our very selves. We think of our houses as sturdy, solid, permanent. Even those of us who use a house only as a place to store food and to rest our heads when sleep calls depend on our house to — at the very least — just be there at the end of our day.
My friends Ferne and Terry Kistner were able to evacuate New Orleans to Baton Rouge in advance of the hurricane, but their son Mark wrote me today that they don’t have much hope that their home remains, as it was not far south of Lake Pontchartrain, near one of the breaks in the levees. The Kistners are safe for now, but many of their fellow citizens haven’t been so lucky. In New Orleans alone, thousands are feared dead, and more than a million people will be displaced for three months or more. They may eventually come home, but many will not have homes to come home to.
I look around our own house at the acquisitions of a combined 82 years of life. I think I could do without much of it, but to be displaced from my neighborhood, my city, my routine, to have my future altered so dramatically… what would I do?
Tobias Wolff wrote, “We are made to persist. That’s how we find out who we are.” The residents of New Orleans, Biloxi, and the other affected communities will persevere and rebuild, because that is what humans do. At the moment, though, some of their most basic expectations of our modern life — fresh water, food, shelter, and communications — have been swept away. We are reminded how fragile our lives are, and we are reminded how much we depend on one another.
There are many fine organizations that are already on the scene offering what help they can. Money is what is needed most at the moment. The American Red Cross is probably best positioned to mount a massive response, and they do prefer you use the website for any donations. Other reputable organizations can be found at this list of websites of charitable organizations at the Daily Kos.
There are also several bloggers and other online sources of information. Nola.com has been an excellent resource. Also check out Metroblogging New Orleans, Kaye’s Hurricane Katrina Blog, the Hurricane Katrina page at Wikipedia, Eye of the Storm, Storm Digest, and the links here and here.
Finally, if you are at all technically inclined, there may be another way you can help. Geek blog BoingBoing let us know about efforts to use Google Maps to analyze flood damage. Read more here.
I have a cup full of Mardi Gras beads that I keep on my shelf, beads given me by Ferne Kistner as I made my way by road to Seattle. I crossed the bridge over Lake Pontchartrain, painted the town in the French Quarter, rounded the Super Dome by surface streets and Interstates where many now sit and wait for rescue. I’m holding those beads now as collateral against another visit. New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, and all the places in between: you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Technorati Tags: Hurricane, Katrina
