Lindsay Beyertein of Majikthise is in Louisiana blogging the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
“After spending the night in the Ford Excursion, we cleared the military checkpoint without incident. The city was deserted except for military, police, and EMS. Flocks of emergency vehicles sped past with their with their lights flashing and their sirens off. The battleship Iwo Jima sat at anchor.
The Convention Center was truly horrifying: A sea of filthy orange-upolstered institutional chairs. Blocks and blocks of chairs set out on the sidewalk. Mountains of trash. Abandoned supplies rotting in the sun — cases of muffins, an entire crate of coffee creamers upended, dirty needles, unopened bottles of sparkling cider that looked like champagne, rhinestone earings still in their packages, a tiny Spiderman flip-flop, water bottles full of urine, strollers, several barbeques… The 82nd Airborne was on the scene in their red berets. Black Hawk helicopters were taking off and landing across the parking lot.”