Lancair friends:

Do NOT send "stuff". Donate money. We just got power back. I'm in Baton Rouge.

You have helped more than you know just by offering. We are fine. Minimal damage to our house other than one hell of a mess with trees down. We just found out that all of Pat's family in Gulfport survived. Houses torn up. Can't get to them, but they're damned tough country folk and will make it. We have friends coming who lost everything who will be staying with us for an indeterminate time. We're gonna leave the light on on for them. We expect the house to be OVER-FULL by nightfall. Many wonderful things have happened. People are stepping up to help.

NO ONE who used to live in N.O. has a job or a home. Freezer trucks are being brought in to stack the dead in. An extra 100,000 people are now in Baton Rouge. It is expected to double in size in a month. That is a problem. I was told by the police yesterday that you should not move around town without a gun to protect yourself. Some of the N.O. Gangs have come here. They are out of drugs and pissed. No one who lived on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain has a job right now. A few still have homes but the roads are impassable. The FAA has made the whole area a no-fly zone so we can't even go evacuate people we know can get to a GA airport. This makes 9-11 and the Sunami look like Romper Room.

The low-life scum in N.O. are shooting at the rescue choppers and shooting the good blacks in N.O. Rescue operations have been suspended as a result. I see no way to stop the rioters without killing 'em. That means an awful lot of good black citizens will die when they otherwise could be rescued. I see no resolution. I suspect 50-100,000 deaths--maybe more if they keep shooting at the helicopters. I suspect N.O. will not be rebuilt. Few are yet willing to admit it.

We are fine but my income has just gone to zero. It took 6 months to recover from Andrew in 1992. This will be MUCH worse. The good news is that we are all alive and well and my airplanes are undamaged... if only we could use them to go help folks.

Walter

On Sep 1, 2005, at 7:57 AM, Sky2high@aol.com wrote:


Unless you have a helicopter, maybe the best thing to do is contribute to the Red Cross.  I think they know what to do.
 
I am so impressed with this country.  We seem to be ready to jump into the middle of any disaster - whether abroad or here at home.  Remember that FEMA is quite capable of using your tax dollars where ever needed.  Incredible disasters seem to bring out the best in most Americans - Everything is lost, I have to start over, Let's get going.  Material things can be destroyed but the human spirit - never....
 
Grayhawk