Gustav: Not Evacuating?

Ever wonder why people in New Orleans stay and ride out a hurricane? Here is an interesting blog from a Big Easy restaurant owner who will stay and ride out Gustav.

Even after Hurricane Katrina, there are people who are willing to face Gustav head-on. In the media, we are forced to stick around when everyone else is seeking shelter. One reason we don’t’ leave is that people who stay around need to remain informed and that’s what we do. You see reporters getting blown around in the wind, but beyond that spectacle, we also give vital information to those who remain in the viewing area.

I know you are wondering about that mandatory evacuation. How can they stay if there is a mandatory evac? Well, that simply means that it is no longer a voluntary evacuation. You are ordered and strongly encouraged to leave, but technically they can’t force you to leave your own property.

Craig explains:

This “mandatory” thing means, essentially, you’re on your own if you stay. No one is going to come drag you out of your house at gunpoint and throw you on a bus to Boise. What it means is, in the most serious parental tones, “don’t come crying to us when your walls collapse, your roof flies off to Alexandria and you’re climbing a phone pole to get away from the rapidly rising Gulf of Mexico. We warned you, you freaking idiot.” Some officials also back this up by telling people to leave the names of their next of kin with police so they can be contacted.

So why stay in the first place? Who knows really. I guess every individual has their own personal reasons. For some, what they encountered during and after Katrina is reason enough I guess.

Just ask Craig:

We have put too much into what we have (personally, professionally, physically) to simply sit in a motel room someplace and watch it all get washed away again. We wouldn’t be “in our own home.” I agree that to stay is a type of madness. But it’s preferable to the madness we felt in our Being Away the last time.

Gustav: Bourbon Street Pictures

Here are a few new pictures from a soon-to-be deserted Bourbon Street. If you have ever been to New Orleans, you know that Bourbon is a 24/7 party. There are always people on it and most times it's packed. It's a sight to behold when it's empty.

The pictures are from a blogger that I know who was visiting New Orleans for a festival and was forced to evacuate with no car, flight or hotel. He found one of the last rental cars in the city and drove to Biloxi, Mississippi where he hopped a flight back home to Boston. My barber was in New Orleans this weekend too... I'm not sure if he was able to find a flight out just yet. He has my cell phone number and I'm sure he will call if he needs some suggestions.