LittleRedFish Loc: Naw'lens (New Orleans)

I lost all my children's pictures, and between my husband and I we lost four places. We had everything you could imagian happen to us. We stay in New Orleans at Baptist Hospital, were people were left to died. We got out of town as the water was rising in the streets, and people were walking toward the Superdome. It really was a horrible thing.
The only thing I miss though is the pictures of my children growing up.

gizzy.whicker Loc: Cumberland Co., Illinois

Geepers, Rachel. That's rather sobering. I'm not even going to try to imagine what it was like. 50 years, you say, it will take some places to rebuild?

TraceyG Loc: SW, Fl.

Yeah, also living in a hurricane area, that's one of my big fears, losing the pics. We've had to evacuate twice, each time the photo albums take up most of the space, that and the critters. I'm so sorry to hear that you lost all those photos. Hopefully some other relatives had some?

Also, I need to get some of the old photographs on the computer. So much easier to save and to move.

Holdrens Loc: originally Wellsboro, Pa

Thank you Gizzy! And yes, I did get the link...still thinking..have a few ideas!

LittleRedFish Loc: Naw'lens (New Orleans)

my ex-inlaws have a lot, but they won't talk to me, nor will they give me any photo's. They go to church every Sunday, praying to God and pretend they are good people. If you go to church that makes you a good person right? :thumbdown: So you can judge others, and hold yourself in high esteam, because you ask God for forgiviness at church, being a mean person outside of church is okay, right?

Please, don't get me started.....I clearly have some issues here.

Anyway, I like to think, that you can't take it with you, anyway, a fire, tornado, or a hurricane can wipe you out, but not errase your memory's. In the end, that really all you have.

gessman Loc: Colorado

Comment withdrawn. Hope you got here in time to read it. :-)

LittleRedFish Loc: Naw'lens (New Orleans)

Sorry, but your way off. There were a lot of people with money who lost everything. A lot! The news does not want to show that, it does not look as good. Some of the best real estate in the city went under water. But, it makes for a better story to say only the poor got hit. Their were million dollar homes that got flooded. A lot of them, and they did not have the kind of flood insurance that covered thier $10,000.00 rugs, let alone all the priceless antiques they had.

It's amazing how much it cost to rebuild. You have no idea how much stuff you had, until your listed it on a FEMA form. Still you miss things, and later realize, oh I forgot about that. Go to your closet and count how many pairs of pants you have and how many shirts. You'll be amazed at how much you have.....and you will not have a clue of what you really lost when you fill out your insurance papers. Let alone, the FEMA papers, the State tax refund paper and the IRS papers. Then, IRS taxes you on all the money you got from other sorces. They put you in a higher tax bracket, and basically take it all back. They give you money with one hand, and take it back with the other.

As far as people buying up land, that's not really true, who wants to buy in the ninth ward. Even in Lakeview, which is a upper middle class neighborhood, the amount of empty lots for sale is in the thousands. I mean maybe Brad Pitts has help build some houses, but 10 houses is nothing when you look at thousands of people with out homes.
Yes, there was a lot of rental property, but thier were more home owner then renters who lost thier homes in the St. Bernard Parish, Orleans Parish,and other surrounding parishes.

I'll go out one day and take some pictures, y'all will be amaze at how much has not been rebuilt. It goes on block, after block after block.

gessman Loc: Colorado

I hear what you're saying and when you're in the middle of it, you see it from a whole 'nuther vantage point and only time will tell how it plays out. Didn't mean to shake you up there. Just my humble observation given the totality of what I think I see from a distance. Time will tell. I've dined on crow before and it wouldn't upset me to do so again. :-) I've been involved in real estate investment and know how some of those guys play the game. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. The post-Katrina situation served up some prime close-in open real estate in a major city for the first time ever and the real big-time land players are having to deal with a totally new scenario for them. It may take them a little time to develop the most desirable strategy to maximize the money but they'll eventually figure it out. All those unsold lots may be part of the strategy and may be actually being managed by design as we speak. I wouldn't mind being wrong but it is a new situation that, I think, will be handled in a new way. In any event, I certainly wouldn't argue with you about it. :)

LittleRedFish Loc: Naw'lens (New Orleans)

You have a very good point, I'm not in the Real Estate business, nor politics, so who really knows what's going on behind the closed doors. I'm sure there are a lot invested buying up and just waiting. Land is powerful.

OriginalCyn Loc: Connecticut

So sorry I missed this. Arghhh.

gizzy.whicker Loc: Cumberland Co., Illinois

Not a problem, OriginalCyn. We've got another contest ongoing I'm sure you'd like to join. This one you can REALLY be creative in. The link is:

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/photo_contest.jsp?pcnum=4

and then to make it easier to find later, you might want to bookmark it. Thanks in advance for joining in the fun.