floored...

by some stroke of good luck, i managed to get through to my dad just now on his cell phone. they're all doing okay, they've got food and water, and a small generator to keep the refrigerator functioning. he said they're sleeping on the front porch, where there's a nice breeze at night, and apparently they're "smelling like a football team", but no one is hurt.

my grandmother is staying with them. she had weathered the storm at my aunt's house, but they were flooded out (about 5 feet of water in the house) and she told me they all (grandma, aunt, uncle, cousins) had to swim down the street to get to an area that was above the water line. but at least everyone is okay.

i know that everyone is fine and that there's nothing i can do to help, but it was very good to hear my dad's and grandmother's voices, especially since the cell phone circuits have been maddeningly unavailable in the past few days. in times like these, the need to simply be in contact is so strong.

i feel incredibly fortunate that my family are all okay. and incredibly incredibly fortunate that my dad's house is all in one piece. dad told me about friends of our family whose homes have been completely destroyed. he said the city is an absolute disaster. they waited at the fairgrounds today for several hours to get fresh water and it sounded like some of the folks who were also waiting in line are not exactly handling this gracefully.

the repercussions from this storm are only beginning to be apparent. the casino industry in harrison county, mississippi (home of biloxi and gulfport) employs about 15,000 people. those 15,000 people are now unemployed -- the casinos (which are all built on barges along the coastline) were destroyed by the storm. additionally, the casinos are (were?) major contributors to the mississippi gulf coast economy. the reach of this storm has spread from west of new orleans all the way to mobile (alabama); these are highly traveled, well-populated areas that generate a great deal of economic activity for their respective states. the folks in new orleans have all been evacuated and it's rumored that it will be 12-16 weeks before they will be able to come back to the city. my dad's got tons of unused vacation time, so he's not worried about loss of income, but for thousands and thousands of folks who have been affected by katrina, there will be no ability to meet their expenses without some sort of public or private aid.

and as far as the national economy goes, 25% of the U.S. oil supply comes from the texas/louisiana/mississippi coast. the impact from this kind of destruction is going to be long and loud. now, more than ever, i'm glad i don't own a car.

my dad told me that he had thought hurricane camille (in 1969) was the worst storm he would ever see, but now katrina holds that title.

things can change so quickly. count your blessings.