[lbo-talk] here lies Vera, God Help us

[philion at stolaf.edu]

<http://nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspecial/05cnd-storm.html?pagewanted=3&ei=5094&en=b9ea714c75888080&hp&ex=1125979200&partner=homepage>
People like Frank Asevado III, a 37-year-old mechanic, and Travis Latapie,
44, a shrimp fisherman, both from St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans,
complained bitterly in interviews of being abandoned by the government
after the waters engulfed their community. They told of using their boats
for several days to save 300 friends and neighbors, plucking them from
floodwaters and the roofs of homes and cars.

"We never see no Coast Guard, no nothing," Mr. Latapie said.

Mr. Asevado added, "The government didn't do jack."

Aid from around the country continued to move toward the stricken region.
New York City, which dispatched 100 city buses and 172 police officers to
New Orleans on Saturday, decided Sunday to send 150 more officers and 300
firefighters today. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg noted that Louisiana had
been among the many states that helped New York after Sept. 11.

"We understand that we have an obligation, and we're happy to do it," the
mayor said.

In the midst of misery in New Orleans, there were lingering signs of a
fading vivacity. About two dozen people gathered in the French Quarter for
an annual Labor Day gay celebration, the Decadence Parade. Matt Menold,
23, a street musician wearing a sombrero and a guitar, explained: "It's
New Orleans, man. We're going to celebrate."

But the tragedy of New Orleans was more vividly represented in the Garden
District, a business area dotted with antique shops. At the corner of
Jackson Avenue and Magazine Street, a woman's body had been on the
sidewalk since Wednesday. People had covered her with blankets and
plastic, and by Sunday a small wall of bricks had been erected around the
corpse to hold down a tarpaulin to cloak her.

On it, someone had spray-painted a cross and an epitaph: "Here lies Vera.
God help us."

Stephen Philion
http://stephenphilion.efoliomn2.com/index.asp