A Bad Night

Went to bed around 9:30... was woken around 3 a.m. by the core group of volunteers having a party a few tents away. Too damn loud. Got up, wandered into the terminal tent to discover the internet was down. Wrote a paper journal entry which I'll transcribe and backdate when I get back. Headed back to the tent around 4 a.m. to discover my bedding was wet. Went and slept in the car for a few hours. Mostly broken sleep and nightmares. The car is parked alongside what was Fred's Store -- a large food market. It was too easy to imagine myself swarmed by rats during the night. I don't know how they would get into the car, nightmares don't have to make sense.

There aren't any rats here. They all drowned. No birds, either. The silence away from the roads is sometimes only broken by man sounds or the drone of insects. There are a lot of dragonflies, beautiful glittering needles of color amongst the wreckage. I guess they eat mosquitoes.</P?

Quick Update

Marrus called this morning. Tomorrow we'll be quit of this place and in new Orleans. NWC shuts down on Thanksgiving (less than 3 weeks -- hard to believe it's humid and in the mid-70s here). The organizers are like a three year old with a favourite toy about their food supply. We offered repeatedly to take things into the shelters in NOLA, but they'd rather throw it away sulkily at the end of their tenure than see it go to a good home. Despite the good you've done here people, this isn't your home. Get out and make room for the natives to come back.

I served breakfast this morning and packed breakfasts to go, but didn't do prep. A woman recognized me from yesterday after I talked her into taking a whole wheat bagel.

"You're quite the salesman. You talked me into taking something I didn't want yesterday, I don't remember what it was".
"The fruit salad. Good, wasn't it?"
"Yes. Delicious."
"So are the bagels. Enjoy."

During breakfast we sat with Ivan. I explained about the tree yesterday, and asked him to point us to someone for this morning. he came back 5 minutes later with a guy in his mid-50s who lived over in Bay St. Louis. We got directions and, after breakfast, headed over. Bay St. Louis was striking little town, you can still tell. For whatever reason -- better buildings, I think -- it wasn't hit as hard as Waveland. That's not saying much, but it's something. We drove around until we found this fellows place. The steps to his back deck rested against his fence some 30' from where they should be. The steps were a big wooden construction of three connected sections, about 70' in total. Wood floats. We couldn't move them without them falling apart, so we spent a pleasant hour or two hauling and clearing brush and debris. Nice guy -- and smart. He loves his town, held a Ph.D. in Chemistry, used to be a commissioner on the Salt III treaties, and teaches at Tulane. He's getting married in four months to a woman who's relocating from Amherst; he noticed the MA plates.

I'm damn tired, but we're back at base camp. I asked Ivan to try and hook us up for the afternoon. I'll grab a snack, since I'm sure there'll be to much food from lunch. As rickthefightguy used to say "Sleep can substitute for food, and food for sleep... but neither for long". It seems I can't get sleep, but I can get food. And this is just for a little while longer.

More later...

Patrick's Story

(As a brief aside, I considered seducing someone just so I have some place to sleep other than my terrarium of a tent. I decided that that would violate the Use These Powers Only For Good rule).( Read more... )