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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
  
Location: USA | komet. - 2015-08-24 3:48 PM Dreamingofcans - 2015-08-24 11:23 AM komet. - 2015-08-24 3:51 AM Dreamingofcans - 2015-08-24 2:09 AM komet. - 2015-08-23 5:06 PM I was in Missouri learning there were people stupid enough to live in a hole below sea level between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. Not only this, but they were stupid enough to be surprised when the water slopped over the rims and filled up their hole. Prayers to all the firefighters out west. It's hot, nasty, dangerous work. Wow. First of all, no one is stupid for living in South Louisiana. Being judgmental about people you don't even know based solely on geographical location is asinine. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters this country has ever seen and you're going to call people stupid? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you from Louisiana? Secondly, the water didn't "slop over the rim and fill the hole" - the levees busted. Maybe it's a technicality, but regardless. This started out as a remembrance post since the 10 year anniversary is coming up - remember all those who died, all those who helped, the total devastation, the loss of . . . Everything. Your disdain for how others may feel when reading your derogatory comment about "stupid people living in a hole" further confirms your lack of moral decency. Are people stupid for living in Tornado Alley? Are people stupid for living anywhere on the Gulf Coast or east coast? Hurricanes hit there as well. What about out west where forest fires are common? Pray tell All-Knowing-Komet, since you're so knowledgeable, you tell us the best place to live and then all the "smart"'people can move there. OH!!! Thank you! Yes. I do now Live 50 miles south of New Orleans. And 50 miles north of the Gulf. Let us start with "tornado alley"... I used to live and work there. I grew up there. Did you? Can you spot a wall-cloud coming at you in daylight? Can you SMELL one coming at you in the dark? Can you hear one in the Dark? I learned all this decades before Doppler Radar... I've lived through an F4 when I was a child in Omaha. I Watched an F5 skirt past me when I lived in Sperry OK. Yes!!! There is a REASON they call it a "FLOOD PLAIN"... and only STUPID PEOPLE build there and expect the rest of us to pay for their stupidly. I remember the day the insurance on my truck DOUBLED!! I went in to ask my State Farm agent (for over 20 years ) what the deal was and he told me they took a bad hit from Katrina and EVERYONE ELSE had to cover it!!! Yes!!.. Get off your a$$ and LOOK at a TOPO map of That Hole in Ground!!! I don't know where you're going with that. Ain't nobody paying for me. Yes I'm angry for having to pay for other people's screwups. There is nothing natural about living in a place where they have to manually pump the water out every time it rains....and we gets lots of rain here. The only reason they don't call this a rain forest is because we don't have a forest.
So you're angry at the men who decided to build a levee to prevent the Mississippi River from flooding their farmlands over 300 years ago? Makes perfect sense Komet! You're sounding smarter and smarter with every post. | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
Location: USA | SG. - 2015-08-24 3:29 PM
Dreamingofcans - 2015-08-24 12:49 PM Rocket'sMagicGirl - 2015-08-24 11:37 AM I lived in Vinton, LA (Calcasieu parish) at the time and remember keeping a close eye on Katrina. The day it made landfall, we had the most gorgeous weather because we were on the "good" side of the storm. The days after were terrible hearing about the levees busting and the flooding, looting and devastation going on in and around New Orleans.
And then just a short time after Katrina, hurricane Rita was barreling down on us in the western side of Louisiana. Rita was actually a much stronger hurricane than Katrina was, but after seeing the devastation from Katrina, most people did take the warnings seriously and evacuate in time. I really believe hearing the devastation from Katrina saved lives during Rita. People down here are so accustomed to hurricanes. We haven't had a bad one since the early 90s, so when the weathermen say it's a good idea to evacuate, no one pays attention. Well, after seeing only slabs of houses left in Mississippi and Louisiana after Katrina, it made things more "real" and is a bug reason people actually evacuated for Rita.
I remember I was in a meeting for LSU's Master Horseman program in Lake Charles and the ag center was getting supplies and volunteers to help house the horses in Baton Rouge from Katrina, when just a few days later we had to worry about getting our horses evacuated and to better locations ourselves. We evacuated for 3 days. When we came back after the storm, it was terrible. No power anywhere for about 3 weeks. That meant no cooking on electric stoves or microwaves, no refrigerator, no grocery stores were open. Remember, this is southern Louisiana in September. It was HOT. Ice was like gold. Thankfully my husband is an electrician and we had a generator, so he set it up to power the fridge and a little window ac unit in one room. I was 3 months pregnant with my first child and the emotions going through me were horrible! lol. I'll remember those weeks for the rest of my life. After we evacuated to Florida for Katrina, we watched on the news the levees breaking and the total chaos that ensued. My dad lives in Belle Chasse and he had evacuated to Texas, but I couldn't get in touch with him - it was weeks before I knew if he was ok or not. We stayed in Florida for 2 weeks because they wouldn't let us back home. When we were finally able to get back home, well, it was total destruction. My mom lives North of Lake Ponchartrain and the eye of the storm went over where she lives. My dad has a citrus orchard and lost everything. An oak tree fell on the house I was living in and took out 3/4 of it. It was a mess. My aunt lives in Gretna and she wasn't allowed back to her house for over a month. I also had a town house that, fortunately, came away unscathed so she moved in with me for the time being. I can remember waiting in line for hours for water and MRE's to eat because we had no electricity. It took a long time to get back on our feet. School started about 6 weeks after and that was rough - they had to cram an entire semesters worth of material into 6 weeks. And it was biochem! Natural disasters can happen anywhere. Hurricanes can affect numerous states. Look at the fires happening out west. I can remember the huge tornado that hit Moore, Ok and the one in Joplin before that. What is awesome and a true testament to people's good will is when they come together to help total strangers. When you live through total devastation like that, it is such a feeling of relief when someone pitches in to lend a helping hand. It feels like a lifeline - and it feels just as good to help others out.  What a scary time... Don't let the ignorant comment upset you. Sorry he went there
Thank you =) | |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | Dreamingofcans - 2015-08-24 5:52 PM
komet. - 2015-08-24 3:48 PM Dreamingofcans - 2015-08-24 11:23 AM komet. - 2015-08-24 3:51 AM Dreamingofcans - 2015-08-24 2:09 AM komet. - 2015-08-23 5:06 PM I was in Missouri learning there were people stupid enough to live in a hole below sea level between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. Not only this, but they were stupid enough to be surprised when the water slopped over the rims and filled up their hole. Prayers to all the firefighters out west. It's hot, nasty, dangerous work. Wow. First of all, no one is stupid for living in South Louisiana. Being judgmental about people you don't even know based solely on geographical location is asinine. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters this country has ever seen and you're going to call people stupid? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you from Louisiana? Secondly, the water didn't "slop over the rim and fill the hole" - the levees busted. Maybe it's a technicality, but regardless. This started out as a remembrance post since the 10 year anniversary is coming up - remember all those who died, all those who helped, the total devastation, the loss of . . . Everything. Your disdain for how others may feel when reading your derogatory comment about "stupid people living in a hole" further confirms your lack of moral decency. Are people stupid for living in Tornado Alley? Are people stupid for living anywhere on the Gulf Coast or east coast? Hurricanes hit there as well. What about out west where forest fires are common? Pray tell All-Knowing-Komet, since you're so knowledgeable, you tell us the best place to live and then all the "smart"'people can move there. OH!!! Thank you! Yes. I do now Live 50 miles south of New Orleans. And 50 miles north of the Gulf. Let us start with "tornado alley"... I used to live and work there. I grew up there. Did you? Can you spot a wall-cloud coming at you in daylight? Can you SMELL one coming at you in the dark? Can you hear one in the Dark? I learned all this decades before Doppler Radar... I've lived through an F4 when I was a child in Omaha. I Watched an F5 skirt past me when I lived in Sperry OK. Yes!!! There is a REASON they call it a "FLOOD PLAIN"... and only STUPID PEOPLE build there and expect the rest of us to pay for their stupidly. I remember the day the insurance on my truck DOUBLED!! I went in to ask my State Farm agent (for over 20 years ) what the deal was and he told me they took a bad hit from Katrina and EVERYONE ELSE had to cover it!!! Yes!!.. Get off your a$$ and LOOK at a TOPO map of That Hole in Ground!!! I don't know where you're going with that. Ain't nobody paying for me. Yes I'm angry for having to pay for other people's screwups. There is nothing natural about living in a place where they have to manually pump the water out every time it rains....and we gets lots of rain here. The only reason they don't call this a rain forest is because we don't have a forest.
Those levees are not all their cracked up to be. Unless something is done, the Gulf will be a whole lot closer to New Orleans in your lifetime. The entire landmass south of New Orleans is there because of silt from runoff from the Mississippi River over the course of thousands of years. Since they built the levee system and the Bonnet Carre and Morganza spillways, Silt no longer flows into this area. But it still washes out with every storm. The whole area between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers is sinking. All so people can live in a hole in the ground.   This might make sense to you. It does not to me. | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
Location: USA | komet. - 2015-08-24 6:14 PM Dreamingofcans - 2015-08-24 5:52 PM komet. - 2015-08-24 3:48 PM Dreamingofcans - 2015-08-24 11:23 AM komet. - 2015-08-24 3:51 AM Dreamingofcans - 2015-08-24 2:09 AM komet. - 2015-08-23 5:06 PM I was in Missouri learning there were people stupid enough to live in a hole below sea level between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. Not only this, but they were stupid enough to be surprised when the water slopped over the rims and filled up their hole. Prayers to all the firefighters out west. It's hot, nasty, dangerous work. Wow. First of all, no one is stupid for living in South Louisiana. Being judgmental about people you don't even know based solely on geographical location is asinine. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters this country has ever seen and you're going to call people stupid? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you from Louisiana? Secondly, the water didn't "slop over the rim and fill the hole" - the levees busted. Maybe it's a technicality, but regardless. This started out as a remembrance post since the 10 year anniversary is coming up - remember all those who died, all those who helped, the total devastation, the loss of . . . Everything. Your disdain for how others may feel when reading your derogatory comment about "stupid people living in a hole" further confirms your lack of moral decency. Are people stupid for living in Tornado Alley? Are people stupid for living anywhere on the Gulf Coast or east coast? Hurricanes hit there as well. What about out west where forest fires are common? Pray tell All-Knowing-Komet, since you're so knowledgeable, you tell us the best place to live and then all the "smart"'people can move there. OH!!! Thank you! Yes. I do now Live 50 miles south of New Orleans. And 50 miles north of the Gulf. Let us start with "tornado alley"... I used to live and work there. I grew up there. Did you? Can you spot a wall-cloud coming at you in daylight? Can you SMELL one coming at you in the dark? Can you hear one in the Dark? I learned all this decades before Doppler Radar... I've lived through an F4 when I was a child in Omaha. I Watched an F5 skirt past me when I lived in Sperry OK. Yes!!! There is a REASON they call it a "FLOOD PLAIN"... and only STUPID PEOPLE build there and expect the rest of us to pay for their stupidly. I remember the day the insurance on my truck DOUBLED!! I went in to ask my State Farm agent (for over 20 years ) what the deal was and he told me they took a bad hit from Katrina and EVERYONE ELSE had to cover it!!! Yes!!.. Get off your a$$ and LOOK at a TOPO map of That Hole in Ground!!! I don't know where you're going with that. Ain't nobody paying for me. Yes I'm angry for having to pay for other people's screwups. There is nothing natural about living in a place where they have to manually pump the water out every time it rains....and we gets lots of rain here. The only reason they don't call this a rain forest is because we don't have a forest. Those levees are not all their cracked up to be. Unless something is done, the Gulf will be a whole lot closer to New Orleans in your lifetime. The entire landmass south of New Orleans is there because of silt from runoff from the Mississippi River over the course of thousands of years. Since they built the levee system and the Bonnet Carre and Morganza spillways, Silt no longer flows into this area. But it still washes out with every storm. The whole area between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers is sinking. All so people can live in a hole in the ground. This might make sense to you. It does not to me.
Regardless of whether or not it makes sense to you, intentionally criticizing people with your snide and derogatory remarks is not only callous, but also uncalled for.
Like I said before, this post was a Remembrance Post - not a "let's bash people we don't know anything about, nor the circumstances they are in" post.
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 Expert
Posts: 1718
Location: Southeast Louisiana | komet. - 2015-08-23 5:06 PM
I was in Missouri learning there were people stupid enough to live in a hole below sea level between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. Not only this, but they were stupid enough to be surprised when the water slopped over the rims and filled up their hole.
Prayers to all the firefighters out west. It's hot, nasty, dangerous work.
It's a port city. And the port has always been important to this region. The old city, the French quarter and older buildings down there, were built on higher ground and didn't flood during Katrina. The poorer people (way back in history) had to live in lower lying areas that were known to flood and did frequently. That's where the Acadian style houses come from. They built elevated houses with wide staircases out front and a covered porch all the way around so the livestock could get out of the flood waters.
Later, city leaders tried to build levees to protect people living in the lower areas, and it did work. For hundreds of years. People have enjoyed that protection and have become complacent. They aren't stupid. They live there because that's where the more affordable housing is. Still. People have to live near where the jobs are. The uptown area, with its high dollar houses, did not flood.
I am fortunate in that I could afford to live on high ground (north shore) and commute to work. I don't fault anyone for choosing to live on the south shore or doing so out of necessity.
One exception is the Lakeview area. It's all newer housing (historically speaking) and an affluent area. Unfortunately, the 17th St. canal levee broke in their neighborhood. They aren't stupid either, they paid high insurance rates from the beginning and enjoyed the protection of the levees and trusted their city leaders to use their tax money for the levees that keep them safe.
Every region has a potential for some type of natural disaster. It doesn't make people less for living there.
I didn't know about barrel horse world back then, had no camera on my phone and didn't even do Internet or text on my phone. After the storm, when cell towers were down, it was terrible not being able to contact friends and loved ones. We just kept working, doing what we could and relaying messages as we were able to. I hope nothing like that happens again before I can retire. I had taken some time off from horses, so didn't have to try and evacuate them. I sent a few of my dogs up north with friends so they would be safe. I have horses and a child now, that I would have to send with friends. I shudder to think about spending time like that away from my son. So many of my friends and co-workers did.
To answer the OP, I was preparing for an incoming storm. I was not allowed to evacuate, as my job requires me to stay. And PRAYING it wouldn't come this way. We worked the evacuation routes, patrolled the areas to help stranded motorists, gave roadside map reading lessons to people who had never had to leave their neighborhoods before and were completely lost, changed tires, counseled young and old as I saw they were terrified of the unknown doom approaching... and, well... the rest of what I remember before the storm is deciding what to pack along with me (so it wouldn't be lost) and what I could leave behind to be potentially destroyed. I was one of the lucky ones and didn't get any damage. But, I remember the stress before the storm of driving away from my home not knowing if any of it would be there when I got back. Many of my co-workers were not so lucky. | |
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 Ms. Elvis
Posts: 9606
Location: Running barrels or watching nascar | SG. - 2015-08-21 7:55 PM
10 years ago. Katrina. Where were you? Many of us here at BHW rallied around out fellow horse people, friends and strangers. Helicopter rescue. Horses rescued. Horses lost. Lots of prayers were given up during that time . Don't forget to continue the prayers.
This time pray for our nation, our military, our police, our first responders and especially our fire fighters. They are fighting and incredible battle in our NW.
Just take time to reflect and be grateful for our blessings and pray for those in need
Hard to believe it's been 10 years but I just remember post after post about all the help that was needed and sent. | |
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Ms. Elvis
Posts: 9606
Location: Running barrels or watching nascar | SG. - 2015-08-21 7:55 PM
10 years ago. Katrina. Where were you? Many of us here at BHW rallied around out fellow horse people, friends and strangers. Helicopter rescue. Horses rescued. Horses lost. Lots of prayers were given up during that time . Don't forget to continue the prayers.
This time pray for our nation, our military, our police, our first responders and especially our fire fighters. They are fighting and incredible battle in our NW.
Just take time to reflect and be grateful for our blessings and pray for those in need
Ditto on the NW fires, we were even seeing the smoke! | |
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Blessed 
Location: Here | barrelracer1983 - 2015-08-26 8:51 AM SG. - 2015-08-21 7:55 PM 10 years ago. Katrina. Where were you? Many of us here at BHW rallied around out fellow horse people, friends and strangers. Helicopter rescue. Horses rescued. Horses lost. Lots of prayers were given up during that time . Don't forget to continue the prayers.
This time pray for our nation, our military, our police, our first responders and especially our fire fighters. They are fighting and incredible battle in our NW.
Just take time to reflect and be grateful for our blessings and pray for those in need Ditto on the NW fires, we were even seeing the smoke!
We have as well. prayer they get some good solid rains. | |
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