More good news

Amy’s mom called about an hour ago. They just took Amy’s sister, her husband and their kid Mason (Amy’s 3-year-old godson, who sounds just like Meatwad) back to their house. Looks like some wind damage (some roof shingles are gone), but nothing major. Lots of lawn cleanup. No power at that house either, but houses a few streets over have had power restored, so it looks like it’s a matter of (brief) time.

And I’m serious about Kung-Fu Hustle. It’s really entertaining.

Post-Katrina update

Amy & I were settling in to watch Kung-Fu Hustle last night when her parents called from home with an update. Cell coverage is much better in their area, but they’re still operating off the generator they brought back from Arkansas.

Strangely enough, even though gas prices up here in NJ have shot up to $3.30 for a gallon of regular, they seem to be around $2.60 down near them (about 15 miles from where they live). My only theories about this are

A) that there are still few cars returning down there, so there’s not much demand for gas; or

B) gas station owners and attendants are afraid of being shot to death if they start price-gouging.

Her parents reported that it’s hot and the mosquitoes are the only happy ones around, but it seems like everyone’s accounted for & safe.

And Kung-Fu Hustle was one of the most entertaining movies I’ve ever seen.

More On NO,LA

Great post by Vodkapundit about the city, its demise, and the inherent elements of New Orleans that are contributing to its destruction.

After my one semester at Tulane, I thought New Orleans’ motto should have been, “A city where you can get away with murder, as long as it’s not a white guy.”

That said, it was also my favorite city to visit in America.

In early 2003, when I was thinking of bailing on the northeast, the only strategy I could come up with was getting all of my money together, moving down to New Orleans, and drinking for a year straight.

Good news!

The official VM sister-in-law-to-be left a message on Amy’s cell-phone! She and the parents are safe at their parents’ home in Des Allemands, LA! They have the generator hooked up, there’s no air conditioning, the landline is still down, and the cell is sporadic, but at least they’re home!

[note: I may be up-and-down with this stuff in the next few days, weeks, or months, so don’t hold it against me if one post about this subject sounds much different than the next, okay?]

28 Days Later

Here’s the blog of a guy who’s been holed up in a high-rise in New Orleans, trying to keep some sorta operations running. He’s former Army, and sounds it. The entries read like a zombie movie.

Hurricane Update

No real update to give, actually. Amy’s family was supposed to get back to their homes yesterday, but there’s no landline or cell service down there at present. They brought a generator back with them, so that’ll fix the power issue, but we haven’t heard yet if they got in safely.

For those of you who believe in the power of prayer/visualization/deep thought/etc., we’d appreciate it if you keep her family in your thoughts.

Louisiana Update

The official VM fiancee writes:

Thank you for all of your emails and calls this week! The west bank of St. Charles Parish escaped serious damage, so my parents are driving back today to hook up the generator and begin the process of cleaning up. Their neighbor rode out the storm and reported NO flooding or damage to houses in the immediate area. We’re relieved to hear that bit of good news, but sickened by the destruction just 15-20 miles
northeast. News coverage indicates it’ll be at least a month before Orleans and Jefferson parish residents are allowed back and who knows how long before businesses reopen and life takes on some semblance of normalcy. I wish I had some news for you about our wedding plans, but those are, understandably, up in the air for now.

I’m still hoping that we’ll be able to get hitched without a hitch down in NO,LA next March, but the short term looks pretty terrible down there.

Flood Aid

No news yet from my fiancee’s family, most of whom live in a town about 35 miles southwest of New Orleans. They evacuated out of state on Saturday, and a bunch are supposed to be on their way home now to survey the damage. I’ll post more when I know what’s up.

If you’re inclinced to contribute to the relief funds, Instapundit has set up links for a lot of them right here.

I appreciate everyone’s e-mails and calls of concern. Thanks so much; you mean the world to us.