One of the new reports I saw yesterday (or the day before) showed 2 policewomen pushing a shopping cart through Walmart. They were taking shoes off the shelf. For some reason it struck me as odd. Had this footage been shown at a different time you would think they were shopping on their breaks.

There was one article (that I can't find now in the 50 gazillion hurricane stories) that noted that Walmart did have a standing arrangement with police, medical, and other public health and safety personnel that they were permitted to take whatever they wanted/needed to help survivors and to just make a list and settle accounts later.

I suspect shoes are a big need. If you're trapped in rising water you'd take 'em off lest they slow you down. But once you're on land again, the hazards underfoot are pretty extreme.

Areas of Mississippi were also hard hit, but New Orleans stands out. It's such an iconic city. Or at least it was. It's the city we emulate every year in the leadup to lent. Bourbon, beads, and beignets. Vodoo and religion. How many movies and novels drew upon the big E for plot development -- or even as a full-fleged character? I just watched "Live and Let Die" the other weekend. Heck, even Disney World has the Port Orleans complex themed for that area (albeit in sanitized form.) It was a place like nowhere else with a history like nowhere else, terrifying and intriguing and charming all at the same time.

And the levees that protected it through the years likely sealed it's final fate.

I wonder if they will ever rebuild? And if so, will they try to capture the spirit of the original or will it become just another city?

Unfortunately, it doesn't take a particularly large percentage to cause chaos. Witness the continuing evacuation efforts at the Superdome. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9156612/

Having seen the new War of the Worlds, the description and images from this are eerily reminscent of the scene where they have the car taken away from them. It's on the verge of complete chaos.

And in many ways you can't blame people, it's out of complete, and justified, desparation. The city's infrastructure is so devestated that the sad fact is, they can't get everyone what they need: namely food, water, medical care, and a way out. Yeah it's great that there are so many people trying to help, but for a while at least, that help is not going to be able to reach a lot of people and it's going to be ugly.

So silly, but I really do have a strong desire to vist DL now, and just hang out in the Square. So, so sad. I really cannot imagine what will happen to all these people who not only lost their homes, but lost loved ones, their places of business, etc. Jesus.

In the face of the looting and shootings, crime and choas, I often wonder what extreme circumstances would cause me to do.

I am certain I wouldn't be heading into Best Buy and taking laptop computers, or into a jewelry store to grab some diamonds. But would I steal water to get my child a clean drink of water or something to eat? Absolutely. I have never known true desperation, and desperate circumstances cause people to do desperate things.

What am I capable of? What would I be willing to do to survive? I hope I never have to answer those questions.

This seems like a silly thing to be paying attention to, but it illustrates just how unmanageable the situation is. I was reading about Brett Farvre's family in Mississippi. His mother's house was destroyed, but his home survived. There are about 50 people using it as shelter, including his wife and children. They have no food, no water, no electricity, and they have absolutely no way to get any of it. This is the family of a man who makes several million dollars for putting his shoes on in the morning. And they are just as trapped and desparate as everyone else. Throwing money and resources into the area is only going to help so much for a while. All the caring in the world can't change the reality that much of the city and the people left are inaccessible and that there just aren't enough resources to cover all of that ground quickly enough. It's so hearbreaking.

Apparently Fats Domino is missing. He and his family decided to stay.

The Today show interviewed a couple yesterday morning. They were getting out of a shelter in NO. They said that people are getting desperate and things are going to get really ugly really soon. They said that they had already witnessed fights over food and water. They said that they are the lucky ones, they have somewhere to go.

I was listening to NPR's on-going coverage of the Katrina aftermath today and they were interviewing the Director of the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes at Louisiana State University . He has HUGE concerns about several nasty effects on the health of those residing in the hurricane areas.

The entire show was informative, and very grim. The chance for spread of disease alone - through mosquitos, rabbid rodents, decaying bodies, sewage-polluted water - gives me the creepy crawlies. I have a feeling we will lose many more people as a result of this disaster.

The military's coming in.

New Orleans newspaper Times Picayune reports on Joint Task Force Katrina