finding words and pots of gold

for at least a week and a half now, i have been trying to articulate the source of this river of tears… the spark of this blazing anger and frustration… or the torrent of other emotions i am dealing with about the goings on in and around new orleans… my mother’s transition to my home in austin from what was left of her new orleans home… george "dubya's" response (or lack thereof) to the needs of the largely black populace suffering in the wake of katrina… and a host of other things that won't/can't/shouldn't/MUST come out... but i can't. i am neck deep in every moment of it right now and my words are still knotted in my throat, clotted in my veins, walled behind emotions obviously stronger than the retaining walls and levies that gave way to flood new orleans’s poorest neighborhoods. i have heard and read some excellent commentaries so i encourage you read those words. (click the names of people listed on my links. also my sister shared with me and my mom the open letter michael moore wrote to gw [which i've pasted below and is also available at www.michaelmoore.com]. It is witty and hilariously brilliant.)

shouts and thanks to my friends and this austin beautiful community who have been the vehicles of the many blessings my mother has received since her arrival last sunday. but my mother still weeps for the part of her that finds shelter in convention centers and stadiums around the country or the parts that wade through E. coli bacteria-filled flooded streets of new orleans. she weeps for the burden she believes she has placed on me in her coming. but what she fails to realize is that her being here is the huge pot of gold; that for my children and me, having "nana" around means more than she will ever (EVER) know.

your continued thoughts, prayers and loving support are deeply appreciated. and that's all i can manage right now.

abrazos y besos,
shia
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Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.