8 State Hurricane Kate

This morning I stepped outside to torrential rains that turned my umbrella inside out. It’s nothing to the people here—they’ve been through much worse…I wondered if the parade at Algiers would take place today. There was still a tornado watch and it was dark outside.

At lunch time, I asked the door woman where to catch the Algiers Ferry. It looked like the weather was clearing up and we might have a parade today after all. The door woman told me that she lost her home, two Rottweilers and a German Shepherd in Katrina. Her daughter is asking whether they will get another dog, and she said yes, but they haven’t gotten another dog yet. I gave her a postcard about Kate’s book and she was pleased—she went right out to put it in her car. I told her about the parade and said I would stop by again later (her work was getting busy).

This afternoon I came across a computer where I could check my e-mail. I had messages from Deedra of Canine Culture and from Lori of the LA-SPCA alerting me that the parade has been postponed until Sunday afternoon. I’m glad I had a chance to check e-mail! It looks like the weather is clearing up, so I probably would have headed over there if I hadn’t received the message. Fortunately, I was planning to go to Belle Chasse on Sunday around noon, so I’ll be in the area to attend the parade that afternoon.

This evening I hurried down to the RiverWalk Marketplace after I found out they close at 7:00 pm. Along the way I saw the aquarium that was featured in the public television Katrina documentary. The river was high, with steady traffic. I was all choked up to see that part of New Orleans is still going strong. I watched the Algiers Ferry approach the near dock. Some of the restaurants and stores were closed, but most were still open, although experiencing slow business.

At the RiverWalk Marketplace, I looked for stores that had books displayed and found some Katrina books that I hadn’t seen before. I left Kate postcards at a couple of places. including the tourist center.

Later in the evening, back in my hotel room, I worked on editing Kate’s book. It still needs more editing, but I’ve been looking at it for so long that the editing is getting more difficult. I’m getting ready to set it free. Its time has come! Since I’ve been back in NOLA, distributing postcards about Kate’s book, I’ve gone back to wondering where she came from. Sometimes I wonder if someone who sees the postcard, maybe at the Gatsby’s 2^nd line parade in Algiers, will recognize her and tell me the rest of her story. Mainly, I wonder if anyone is still looking for her or wondering what happened to her, even though I have come to believe that her people died or left the area. If anyone is still looking, it won’t be for lack of effort on my part! I just want to give them peace of mind if they’re still out there. Last night Lori of the LA-SPCA told me that some people are still wondering about their lost dogs.

I’m planning to go to Canines on the Catwalk on Saturday night, a dog and human fashion show benefit for Humane-LA. Deedra will be there too.