How you guys doing down there?

Ed

P.S. former resident of Lake Charles, LA.

Ed,

Kind of you to ask. We, as in my family, are fine. We suffered minor
damage, roof, fence, etc... Things are mostly back to normal. I live
on the westbank which faired well.

We, as in the general metro area, did not fair well as everyone is
aware. The French Quarter area incurred minimal damages. No flooding.
The French Quarter is situated along the riverbank, which in
historical times, flooded frequently. The frequent flooding in past
deposited silt and sediment that steadily built up the land, hence the
Quarter is on high ground.

The inner city is not. There are some areas that are as much as nine
feet below sea level. For these folks, a breech in a levee in the
wrong place can be catastrophic.

In these areas, as well as some areas near the lake (you know, the
high rent district?), little has been done to restore them. It is
going to be a very slow, long, recovery. Many folks do not want to
rebuild their homes until their neighbors do. This is a circular
problem. Who would invest a load of money restoring their property in
the middle of a desolate subdivision? And many people still question
the Army Corp of Engineers ability to build a good levee. Of course,
the ACOE has a limited budget, yadda, yadda.

Which reminds me: Bush didn't even mention NO in his State of the
Union. I guess that means all's well....

Errol