Hurricane on the Bayou

Hi everyone! We just returned from a quick trip up to see my (Karen's) mom's side of the family in the DC area and had a wonderful time. Melanie and (2nd) cousin Natalie (only 6 wks apart) made instant and close friends. A highlight came from an idea of my cousin Linda (Natalie's mom) to see "Hurricane on the Bayou." Uncle John & Jeanie who are science museum planners (and had previously produced IMAX films for them) know the producer and gave us some behind-the-scenes info. For our time here, the film provided a highly informative context. The filming began 3 mos. before Katrina & was reviewing the degradation of LA's wetlands, which the film called "the natural speed bumps to hurricanes." Little did the film's producer know that Katrina would not only prove the film's point, but also provide an extraordinarily powerful climax.

The kids did very well watching it. Andrew pointed out "the hurricane's eye." After one scene, Melanie said with wide eyes, "That was scary!" Then Natalie took her hand and they calmed each other. If I wasn't already in tears from the film, I would have been at that moment.

Watching scenes of places we've been to (in recovery mode) both before the hurricane and just after it was itself moving. A better understanding of the myriad of reasons why Katrina produced such massive damage was quite sobering. But beyond that, the film followed musicians who are working to protect the wetlands and it followed their own stories of losing their own homes. The youngest, a teen girl, worried about her grandparents who hadn't evacuated. The film reenacted their frightful story and their rescue by good samaritans not associated with any organization.

Between our work here, this very moving film, and the onslaught of disasters this week, we have felt very moved toward doing more disaster relief of the 1st (or at least 2nd!) responder sort. We've contacted the Red Cross DAT (Disaster Action Team) here. We had already begun DAT training at home, but will be continuing it here and have agreed to be on the local DAT on-call schedule for any calls they receive while we're here. At least for me, I think this time has been clarifying and confirming a desire to help in disaster relief.