End of November update

[infrogmation]

The roofers are zipping along at a good pace; I may have my new roof finished by tomorrow.

I have a local contractor supervising an otherwise all Maya crew from Chiapas and Guatemala.

I've talked to lots of folks who rode out the storm, the majority of whom say they wouldn't do so again. Yesterday I had the first incident of one of my neighbors who stuck around berate me for having left. "You know it never floods here", I was told. Um, I do know that we're on higher ground than most of the city, but I didn't know what this storm would do. And I'm not fond of sticking around when winds are blowing windows out, roofs off, and walls down, and sending shards of broken glass flying at speeds great enough to drive them into wooden walls like nails. Even if it doesn't flood.

Comments

[twillis.livejournal.com]

Did you explain to your neighbor that since, unlike him, your head isn't made of solid rock, you have to worry about flying debris and the like?

Debris & Debate avoidance

[infrogmation.livejournal.com]

No, I changed the subject to get some more stories of life among those who rode things out, which I find more interesting than arguing about such points.

Re: Debris & Debate avoidance

[twillis.livejournal.com]

Well, fine, if you insist on being all rational and everything, Mr. Get-Along-With-Your-Neighbor-Guy.

[machinaqueous.livejournal.com]

Did you check out the article in 'Jazz Times" magazine about New Orleans Jazz in 1960?

Jazz Times

[infrogmation.livejournal.com]

Nope. Was a new article, or a reprint of something?

Lots of folks seem to be writing about us now, but New Orleans still isn't getting magazines delivered, so we don't get to see it.

Re: Jazz Times

[machinaqueous.livejournal.com]

It was a reprint of something in the sixties. It talked about how people outside of New Orleans thought that jazz was dead and it also addressed the growing number of striptease shows and the overall commercialization of jazz.

[asienieizi.livejournal.com]

I've noticed two types of people and the differences in how verbal they are. Your experience is in direct opposition to what I've run into so far. Usually, those who left don't hesitate to tell everyone else how dumb they were for staying and the ones who stay seem to fully understand and respect the decision of those who left. It's very odd and now I'm seeing a tad bit of that in those who are here to stay during the midst of the rebuild and those who are ready to call it quits. It's almost like a "them" vs. "us" thing which seems
to bear a bit of validation in the opinions expressed by your neighbor. I'd be interested to hear if you run into that sort of thing again.
Very odd, very interesting to observe. I sometimes wonder how many sociology books will be written about observed human behavior directly due to this event. None of it seems truly surprising to me except for how incredibly accelerated it seemed. I really hadn't expected behavioral and social breakdowns to occur quite so rapidly.