[jero]

If you'd like to, please take a moment to voice your opinion... Please email your preference to Andrea at andrearosenthal@gmail.com ... She is keeping track of the results, not me... Anyone can 'vote' on this, not just past participants.

Ideally, I’d love for the next Bowl-a-thon to be held in…

August 2006
October 2006
February 2007
April 2007

Why?

Please ask Bill what he prefers too.

Later,

[Berengaria]

My husband works at a hospital and this came through to them today:

A former Wilmington NC physician writes from New Orleans

Aug. 31, 2005

This is a dispatch from New Orleans from Dr. Greg Henderson, a pathologist who recently moved from Wilmington:

Thanks to all of you who have sent your notes of concern and your prayers. I am writing this note on Tuesday at 2 p.m.. I wanted to update all of you as to the situation here. I don't know how much information you are getting but I am certain it is more than we are getting. Be advised that almost everything I am telling you is from direct observation or rumor from reasonable sources. They are allowing limited internet access, so I hope to send this dispatch today.

Personally, my family and I are fine. My family is safe in Jackson, Miss., and I am now a temporary resident of the Ritz Carleton Hotel in New Orleans. I figured if it was my time to go, I wanted to go in a place with a good wine list. In addition, this hotel is in a very old building on Canal Street that could and did sustain little damage. Many of the other hotels sustained significant loss of windows, and we expect that many of the guests may be evacuated here.

Things were obviously bad yesterday, but they are much worse today. Overnight the water arrived. Now Canal Street (true to its origins) is indeed a canal. The first floor of all downtown buildings is underwater. I have heard that Charity Hospital and Tulane are limited in their ability to care for patients because of water. Ochsner is the only hospital that remains fully functional. However, I spoke with them today and they too are on generator and losing food and water fast.

The city now has no clean water, no sewerage system, no electricity, and no real communications. Bodies are still being recovered floating in the floods. We are worried about a cholera epidemic. Even the police are without effective communications. We have a group of armed police here with us at the hotel that is admirably trying to exert some local law enforcement. This is tough because looting is now rampant. Most of it is not malicious looting. These are poor and desperate people with no housing and no medical care and no food or water trying to take care of themselves and their families. Unfortunately, the people are armed and dangerous. We hear gunshots frequently. Most of Canal street is occupied by armed looters who have a low threshold for discharging their weapons. We hear gunshots frequently. The looters are using makeshift boats made of pieces of styrofoam to access. We are still waiting for a significant national guard presence.

The health care situation here has dramatically worsened overnight. Many people in the hotel are elderly and small children. Many other guests have unusual diseases. ... There are (Infectious Disease) physicians in at this hotel attending an HIV conference. We have commandeered the world famous French Quarter Bar to turn into an makeshift clinic. There is a team of about seven doctors and PAs and pharmacists. We anticipate that this will be the major medical facility in the central business district and French Quarter.

Our biggest adventure today was raiding the Walgreens on Canal under police escort. The pharmacy was dark and full of water. We basically scooped the entire drug sets into garbage bags and removed them. All under police escort. The looters had to be held back at gunpoint. After a dose of prophylactic Cipro I hope to be fine.

In all we are faring well. We have set up a hospital in the French Quarter bar in the hotel, and will start admitting patients today. Many will be from the hotel, but many will not. We are anticipating dealing with multiple medical problems, medications and acute injuries. Infection and perhaps even cholera are anticipated major problems. Food and water shortages are imminent.

The biggest question to all of us is where is the National Guard. We hear jet fighters and helicopters, but no real armed presence, and hence the rampant looting. There is no Red Cross and no Salvation Army.

In a sort of cliché way, this is an edifying experience. One is rapidly focused away from the transient and material to the bare necessities of life. It has been challenging to me to learn how to be a primary care physician. We are under martial law so return to our homes is impossible. I don't know how long it will be and this is my greatest fear. Despite it all, this is a soul-edifying experience. The greatest pain is to think about the loss. And how long the rebuild will take. And the horror of so many dead people .

PLEASE SEND THIS DISPATCH TO ALL YOU THING MAY BE INTERESTED IN A DISPATCH from the front. I will send more according to your interest. Hopefully their collective prayers will be answered. By the way, suture packs, sterile gloves and stethoscopes will be needed as the Ritz turns into a MASH unit.

Greg Henderson

[Ms Carolyn]

There are also a number of efforts on to provide emergency housing for people who have been left homeless by Katrina. Check out http://www.moveon.org, anyone who might be able to provide space in your home for some of these people. It's safe, it's a blind link that lets people or relief agencies contact you. You can specify how many people you can take, whether or not pets, smoking, drinking, etc are okay. You can name a time limit on the length of your hospitality. They're particularly looking for places within 300 miles of the tragedy, but people from all over the country are invited to sign up, too -- a lot of people are willing to travel a long way if it means they'll have a half-way comfortable roof over their heads. The direct link to sign up or if you know someone who needs housing is http://www.hurricanehousing.org/

[Lady2theMax]

I was watching Bill today in the Shawshank Redemption. What a movie......

[Ms Carolyn]

Fabulous film! I love Shawshank just because it's a fabulous movie -- having Bill in it is just the cherry on the sundae!

I watched a couple of movies showing on TNT this weekend with a distinct Southern locale and flavor. Made me think of New Orleans, and how much we stand to lose forever, if we haven't lost it already.

[Berengaria]

I've been there once...had a wonderful time and am glad I got to experience it. Hope it will rise again. They need to do more than fix the levee though,they need to reclaim the wetlands...or don't even bother rebuilding. I heard that on one of the news programs but I believe it.

[Berengaria]

Heard from Ms.C. today. She is mega-busy at work and organizing a Hurricane Relief Effort....nothing more important than that these days. She won't have much posting time till that's over but she said to say "Hi" to everyone and tell them "I'll be back!"


Meanwhile,just for fun...
Things I've learned :

You Know You Are a Bad Cook When...

You use the smoke alarm as a cooking timer.
You consider it a culinary success if the pop-tart stays in one piece.
Your dog goes to the neighbors' to eat.
Your family buys Alka Seltzer and Kaopectate in bulk.
When you barbecue, two of your kids hold water guns and the third stands ready by the phone with 911 on speed-dial.
Your family automatically heads for the dinner table every time they hear a fire truck siren.
The EPA insists that all your garbage cans be marked with biohazard symbols.
Your microwave display reads "TILT!"
Your two best recipes are meatloaf and apple pie, but your dinner guests can't tell which is which.
Your pie filling bubbles over and eats the enamel off the bottom of the oven.
You've used three boxes of scouring pads and a bottle of Drano and a crowbar, and that macaroni and cheese still won't let go of the pan.
Pest control companies keep pestering you for your recipes.
You make tuna noodle surprise and the surprise is that it glows in the dark and melts the silverware.
Your family prays AFTER they eat!





To bring it on topic,wonder if Bill has anything that he calls his "specialty"....cooking-wise?

[Ms Carolyn]

Hi, gang!

Things are a mite crazy where I work right now -- in addition to this being a our very busiest season of the year anyway, we're sponsoring a big hurricane relief effort. Phones are ringing off the hook, but it's for a good cause.

However, I'm home this weekend, and although I'm working around some oral surgery this weekend (bleah!) I should be here. Possibly drugged and writing gibberish, but here!

[Berengaria]

Oh,gosh. Right there with you with the sympathy,Ms.C. I have had so much work done on my teeth over the years. If I had known,I would have taken lots better care of them when I was young.
Hear that,young'uns??? Definitely my "Tip for the Day".

Anyway,hope it goes smoothly and the drugs kick in fast.

[Ms Carolyn]

Actually, this dental work couldn't have been prevented by better hygiene. I had to have surgery about 15 years back to correct a deformity of the jaw (I had an underbite, which required that the upper jaw be widened and lower jaw reduced -- BIG time surgery. I was wired shut for five weeks.), and in the process one of my teeth was cracked, and despite many efforts, it died. Initially it was a crown, but then it snapped off and not enough tooth was left to crown it. So, yesterday I had a implant done, to support a new, fake tooth. Very high-tech. Now I'm doped to the gills on Darvocett. Boy, I'm sleepy!

However, if any of you are in Chicago and need an oral surgeon, look no further than Dr. Marvin Greene in Lincoln Park! He's a FABULOUS oral surgeon and a really nice guy! That's Marv Greene. Tell him I sent you!

[Berengaria]

Not all of my dental woes were lack of hygiene either. There was the time I had 4 wisdom teeth removed...and the dentist shattered the jaw bone but didn't see fit ti mention that to me. Many years later,a jagged shard of bone started sticking up through my gum. I thought it was a tumor! Doc said he'd never seen anything like it. He ground it down but said it could happen again.

[Ms Carolyn]

That name again is M-A-R-V-I-N G-R-E-E-N-E, Berry. In Chicago. Come get your jaw fixed and we can get together!

[Berengaria]

that's a great offer! If I need anything serious done...I will consider it. I've had so many different dentists over the years. And these days they always say to me...you had work done in the Orient,didn't you? And...the funny thing is...I did...but in the Orient,it was an American dentist I saw. I believe what they are referring to is some work I had done in California by a Dentist from Thailand. I don't know if what they see is good or bad...and am afraid to ask.

[Ms Carolyn]

It could be neither -- just differing techniques.

Well, gang, I'm just writing a quick note to let you know that I was in an auto accident on Monday night -- I'm okay, just really beat up from the seat belt and airbags doing their job. But my poor little Neon was totalled, and my hands are really sore from the airbag going off. So I'll be in semi-lurk mode for a few days -- y'all be sure to post a whole lot, and keep Berry company!

Smooches!

[Berengaria]

Oh,Ms.C. that's terrible. It must have been so frightening. Bless whoever's idea those airbags were....in the olden days you might not have survived a collision as bad as that! Please,take it easy...just get lots of R&R. The car can be replaced...it's you who can't be. We'll be sending healing vibes and good wishes your way.