I was fortunate that no one in my family was touched by the flood, but Paramount Theater which I have many memories of playing music in, and the library where I spent so many hours discovering the world as a child, is ruined. Seeing the pictures of the people whose homes were affected makes me cry. It saddens me to see this news of this tragedy swept under the debased sensationalism on CNN.

According to the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s May 2008 press release, “1728 flood buckets have been shipped so far in 2008 to flood-affected areas.”

More information:
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/getconnected/supplies/flood-bucket/

(Disclaimer: I’m not connected in any way with this organization. I’m not even Methodist. I just think flood buckets sound like a good idea.)

To find the blood center nearest you, visit http://www.aabb.org/Content/Donate_Blood/Where_to_Donate

Wrong – these people didn’t know it would flood here. Who are you to say such things, since most Katrina victims like you lived below sea level. This flood stretched well beyond what had been deemed as a 500 year flood plane. No one since Lewis & Clarke first travelled through this part of the country has ever seen anything like this. The only record before that would come from ancient stories from the native Americans here. I don’t recall hearing any story of such possible flooding. If you had ever been to this area you would realize that there are very few places in the United States that would be less prone to flooding unless it were in the mountains.

I don’t live in a flood plain. In fact, if my neighborhood floods, we have bigger problems than whether we have flood insurance.

As for the national guard, I never got why they are deployed overseas in the first place. I mean, they are the *national* guard. What definition of the word ‘national’ (as applied to the USA) includes Iraq? I would strongly consider joining the PA guard, but we are one of the most widely deployed overseas because of some specialties we have that apparently the regular army does not. How messed up is that?

As for giving blood, I too try to give every 56 days. Even if its not going outside of my region, having an adequate blood supply *in* our region assures that the red cross won’t have to divert more resources here should something happen. Plus giving blood is a good early warning system for blood conditions like anemia, iron deficiency, and blood-borne diseases. They test all the blood they get, so its like getting a clean bill of health every 2 months. Not that I’m worried so much about the disease, but I am at risk for anemia, so its just another layer of protection.

And please don’t send your old clothes to disaster zones. Donating to worthy organizations (like Red Cross) is much more useful.

the entire world is a flood plain, it just depends on what happens. Dams, levees break…more areas are flooded… getting 10+ inches of rain in a few hours, more areas are flooded (expecially if the ground is already saturated from twice the annual rainfall). polar ice caps all metl, entire world can be flooded. (please dont debate global warming, not what this post is about..

red cross was first on the scene, setting up shelters that night (saturday, and have continued to have a shelter as well.)
they have started the past two days to provide money to folks for food, water, clothes, rent, etc. That started Thursday. Fema opened up shop late Saturday and are starting to help folks.

hahaha. ok. sorry. yea, i give, but not to the red cross, cause i have a bone to pick with them over efficacy and a few other things i dont want to go into. just had to put that out there as a contrast, and becuase im a bit bitter about hearing that about new oreans SO MANY times. maybe not from here, but from enough places to know the thought was ubiquitous.

A funny story about the first time I gave blood. I signed up a week in advance when I noticed that the Red Cross was coming to my work. In the meantime, Hurricane Katrina happened. Then, giving blood took on a whole new meaning besides getting free cookies and a soda.

A few weeks after donating, I received a letter in the mail from the local Red Cross calling me a hero for donating during our national crisis. I didn’t mean to be a hero though…I just wanted free cookies! The letter made me so happy that I decided that I was going to give blood every time I can since then. I’ve missed a few donating times here or because I was sick or away from the office, but I’ve given around 15 times since Katrina.

Please everybody…if you are eligible to give blood, do it. It’s not scary or painful at all, and since this is a frugal website I’ll add this: Giving blood doesn’t cost any money, only about 1.5 hours of your time, and it helps tremendously. And, you often get something special like a t-shirt as token of appreciation.

Great post.