Elaine, I copied your post and, in honor of Thai I posted a Bulletin tonight as well as posting this picture.Dreams Of Cheetah - Hood! http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=… Thank you once again for your gracious heart, you brought a special moment to mine.

You made me giggle Marjorie, I know these very feeling myself. Good tidings for a Happy New Year.

Hello Tanja, i am always glad to hear all sides of an issue especially from first hand fellow NOLA dwellers. Our area does have quiet the History Political. Illinois is far from alone. Yetin away it too is a part of the culture here for some. I hope your family is doing well, where in NOLA do they reside? I look forward to hearing their voices. If they are not comfortable here in wOw I understand that as well. Send them and to you and yours a Happy Mardi Gras…Tis the Season of coming together a celebration of what we share in common and the Joy of living this Blessed Gift of life.

Good Day C, Slidell is where we go to shop. We lived in Old Mandeville the next town west on the Northshore. Slidell took The Eye and The Bulk of the Surge as we did as well. In many ways there where other areas besides the city that are completely gone. I remember when we were allowed to return(the Electric Company made a campground at our home for 6wks) and the tears that I broke into the first time we could make it over to Slidell. There where parking lots full of people living in tents. But on the whole the North shore has fared in recovery for better than the south shore. There is still a l ot to do on the other side of the lake that is all bogged down in legal stuff and red tape. part of it is that no one knows where the owners of properties are, the day before Gustav the buried the last of the unclaimed dead. And in some areas they are still trying to re bury the dead. The Voodoo culture was really freak out over the up heave of the cemeteries. i thank you for your kind thoughts and boy they were right no place for a PG lady. Yet it was in so many thoughtful prayers and thoughts that the energy to move forwarad comes. Bless you and yours….

Hello Michele, Thank you for the thumbs up. I have to let you know I forgot to put part of The Brief Book in quotes. I took that from an email. But I was really Happy to put it here on wOw, because it seems to be a constructive way of voicing our ideas. I think that it is, The People that will bring about the changes to make Our Beautiful America, even more so.

merrell, I Thank You for your kind Heart. That is what I like about your posts the most. It was a strange time. One that is hard to describe, sorta of like trying to explain Labor pains and yet is also unforgettable. Quiet the learning experience. Yet what rose out of the events, the real healing help that fuelded myself to Rebuild. Was the manyways I saw people, neighbors, helping each other. The Grace of God was everywhere and it was amazing to experience that as well. So I will give that one up to Yes, I am a more Blessed person then before in ways more valuable then all the Gems and money in the world. Many Hugs to your compassionate Heart.

Good Morning Elaine, Thank you for your good wishes. I so enjoy our shared bond of LOve of Animals. I am not of the Catholic Religion, but I feel the poetry of St. Francis at that core Heart level. I have learned so much about LOve from the Animals, especially those I have had personal relationships with. St. Francis has a special Garden at our home it is shared with Master Thai Buddies Garden, my Bengal that we lost summer 07. I will put a photo link up of him with a link. I like to think his dreams of Cheetah- hood have become . Still miss all of those special friends and LOves, and yet I know my life has been so imensly Blessed with each and everyone, so even though it hurts to say farewell, if asked, My answer would be, each and every moment is worth the Blessings . Grace really does take away the weigh any of grief. My Little Hero ,Little Man has recovered from so much in his lifetime. The Vet was not sure he would make it through this one, but he has! He no longer has even attempted to go outside. I think he knows that if he can not run at full speed, that it is not safe for him to do so. We have different areas that no dogs can get to for his safety, but for some reason I did not think a Raccoon would . Before we moved to this place I had thought of Raccoons as cute. I no longer think they are cute, they are down right mean! I sure have been thinking about you and others that are living in such cold conditions. I am a cold weenie! Burr, I actually like our hot summers. We just went from snow in early Dec. for 3 days to a month of 80 degree weather. The flora is so confused, things that should not be up till march had started to leaf out and last night we dropped to 19. And as Burr as I been feeling, I thought of you and others that must be just stifled in your Temps. Here is to warmer days for everyone! I have noticed that Global Warming has taken a back seat this fall and winter. And like in the 1970, their are now people saying we are really going into an ice age. I have no idea how anyone could just leave their animals. When you take the responsibility of animals into your home, well then they are a part of your family and deserve as much care as any other member. They are dependent upon you, just like children. I would not be able to look my self in the mirror if I left my”kids” behind. Special is the Bond we share , So glad to call you friend, even if at times we do not see all things the same, where it counts at their you are reminding me how wonderful God is and that just lifts me to that place of smiles. Hugs Special Friend and Lot’s of Hot Chocolate to stay warm with!….

IM Lizzie, ” Please everybody try to use more kindness and less meanness.” Thank You I was just thinking this when I came to your post….

I heard that too. That is a dumb idea. If you keep building the economy on Cigarettes, while you on the other hand are doing everything to stop the population from smoking with the benefits of better education and health, then this has to be considered dumb. What happens when no one smokes anymore? Hello, the funds will be gone. By the way what does bho stand for?

Leading this country is no Sunday afternoon basketball shoot! Boy can i agree with that statment. As time grows closer I wonder if not just for a moment if Obama has thought, Boy I am not so sure I am glad I won this Election! IU know I sure would be …The way I see it is that we as individuals need to become more self responsible and we need to support our local economies by getting back to the local Business Owners and Farmers. Just a personal feeling I have. thaty and I would really like to see the currency be changed. It would pull a lot of illegal funds out of the picture as well as expose funds in off shore accounts. I have even thought about sending that thought to the Citizen’s Briefing Book….. It’s called the Citizen’s Briefing Book, and it’s an online forum where you can share your ideas, and rate or offer comments on the ideas of others. The best-rated ones will rise to the top, and after the Inauguration, we’ll print them out and gather them into a binder like the ones the President receives every day from experts and advisors. If you participate, your idea could be included in the Citizen’s Briefing Book to be delivered to President Obama.Visit the Citizen’s Briefing Book now and share your ideas: http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/

Hey Girl , There is truth in that we have a history of Political Corruption here and that our Government local and federal knew that the city was vulnerable. But the things that I have seen stated by different people in regards to Katrina, Well it is something that I really do have first hand knowledge on. Their were many people who for many years had tried to do something about the levies. And the ever growing problems that the lost of the Wetlands and Barrier Islands had created for not just the city, but it’s surrounding areas.http://www.hurricaneonthebayou.com/logo.html this is a well done film with Amanda Shaw a favorite Local , very Talented young lady, that if nothing else, you will see how Beautiful our homelands are and why we that have stayed and rebuilt, have done so with great LOve for the area. We as a family and many others have rebuilt, with out any Fema or Federal help and in our case no insurance we had just moved and you may not get insurance when their is a storm on any kind of watch. In fact the poem Humpty Dumpty has had great meaning to many here! My Kitty Little Man had his shoulder broken by a Raccoon. Glad to report he is making a full recovery, but you will understand the fact that I slept with a litter box on my bed for ten days….The babies have new homes as well! Hope you have a Good year. Hugs from my pet family to you and yours…

Hello Merrell, In our town on day four we all thought for sure they will at least air drop supplies, like those yellow packages they did in Afghanistan. After all it was the first day we had even seen an airplane. By nightfall we surrendered our citizenship in hopes that would bring help. This is True, especially when we would hear News cast about all this help and we had seen no one and no one in our town had either! It made us feel like if the public thinks we have help and we know we don’t, we are in more trouble than we thought. That is when everyone went in to survival mode.

It is just so amazing to have lived and be living something that others write about and Boy, it sure has nothing to do with what is your reality. Part of what was strange about those days after the storm, we had no communications in our area, not the Police or the Firemen or even cell phones. The Gas Lines were ruptured and water and trees everywhere. by day four the smells of Gas and Death will never leave my memories. Writing this makes tears come to me. The only communication any of those including Emergency works had was the radio. We would here a news cast to the public and knowing it was not truthful, that their was still no signs of help and at this point the Emergency workers joined the population and we were setting out plans to open up the local Cracker Barrel for supplies. The first six blocks of our town where gone, just completely gone. There where so many smashed homes and it looked just like a war zone. We had to cut ourselves out of the house. ( I have pets and we had just moved to Mandeville…Another story) Their was one local Radio Station that was broadcasting from a closet out of the Jefferson Parish. WE would here the real happenings going on through out the region from them. that was also the day I started a journal. And my first thought was, with the war zone appearance and the smells of gas and death, with the truth being heard over an in hiding radio broadcast. That It must have been horrific to have been exposed to World War Two… Here is a Beautiful presentation of Why we need to restore our wetlands…Hurricane On The Bayou…http://www.hurricaneonthebayou.com/logo.html Thank You for your caring for all of those that actually have been effected by Katrina.

You lost me here? I happen to think Bobby Jindal our New Governor is doing a decent job. Most of us down here were not wanting Him to run with McCain because we need Him where He is. Do not mistake the Truth that I lived through and with, has politics involved. I am a true independent when it comes to Politics. I could write about Katrina for days. I LOve my home and this Beautiful area called NOLA or, as many of us affectionately call her, LAlaland. Their is a history with deep rooted and unique cultures interwoven through out a history of Political Corruption. In some of the most Beautiful country their is. Which also brings forth 1/3 of Americas goods and oil. We our the Mouth of the Mississippi..This really is an amazing place to live. That is what is really rebuilding our area, the LOve that those that live here have for her. By the Way Happy Mardi Gras Season , The Celebration of the Three Kings, The Gift of Benevolence A Celebration of those common threads that bring us together, Unity.

Thanks for the new reading material. How is your area fairing? I really would like to hear from one who lives there…