It has been a very hard day. The most pleasant thing I did was go to Lafreniere Park and feed the ducks, geese and swans. I stopped a while to watch the process of what is happening to the thousands of downed trees that are being collected. There are four huge stations set up where truck after truck arrives with a load picked up from neighborhoods. Huge machines put the trees into a shredder where it constantly spews out mulch. There are now four huge mountains of mulch the size of Mt. Nittany in Pennsylvania and this is only the beginning of the cleanup.
I waited in line at my post office branch for half an hour only to be told I must go to "your old post office" to collect my mail. We have not had mail delivery since August 27. I went over to my old post office which is surrounded by federal agents with guns and stood in line to give my name and address and was told to come back at noon. I went back at noon in heat 110 degrees index and stood in line for half an hour, displayed an identification and waited five minutes only to be told "there is no mail for this address-come back tomorrow." Considering the mail I get with the Live Oak Society I know I have a stack of mail 5 inches high, not to mention bills and magazines. I had already had a miserable morning so what difference did that make. Then, I went to my Metairie house and began the "mold cleanup" When I couldn't take the bleach smell anymore I went for a ride to the area of the Lake where I took restaurant photos a few months ago. The restaurants have all been swept away by the hurricane. I was immediately surrounded by National Guardsmen with rifles on their shoulders wanting to confiscate my camera.
I'm beginning to feel like the enemy in my own country. My neighbor of many years who had a stroke died this morning.
So, all in all it has been one awful day. My friends are all scattered to the winds, some are permanently relocating to other towns far away. And, we now have another hurricane to worry about.