I then went about my business without checking the news until Tuesday night. I was shocked and dismayed to hear about the additional levee breaks, continued flooding, and unremitting awfulness in what sounds like the destruction of a major city. I never visited New Orleans and now it looks like I never will.
By the way, Miami wasn't so great either. My sister and her family managed to get to a hotel as they had no power or water (their well runs on electricity). They are back home but their neighbor across the street still is without power. They lost several trees. This is nothing compared to what's going on in the Gulf Coast, but just a reminder of how a natural event can leave us so helpless.
I will be putting my money where my mouth is and making a donation; luckily there's enough to do this, despite recent expenditures on books. I just E-mailed our old crossword chat buddy Annou, who lives in the heart of New Orleans; hopefully she is somewhere safe.
UPDATE: Annou is fine, staying with family in VA. She believes her home is OK, but "Oh, my poor city."
These events make the daily foibles of my world seem petty. I will get back to blogging about those foibles after an appropriate period of silence.