Monday, October 17, 2005

No photos, but I have good news. I got off of Keller's floor. Halellujah!
More on that later. First, what I consider to be the most interesting news out of here lately:
The new FEMA flood elevation level for buildings on the coast - i.e. the minimum height a homeowner or business must build foundation and/or pilons up to in order to be considered eligible for insurance - is going to be 24 feet off the ground. Fuck me.
At the Mississippi Renewal Forum, where hundreds of architects have come to tell us how to rebuild the Gulf Coast, this is creating all kinds of problems for urban planners coming up with ideas for affordable housing.
"It's going to cost $150,000 just to build to where you can begin the first floor," one architect said on the radio the other day.
Considering how many poor neighborhoods were wiped out completely, it's very safe to say the Gulf Coast will change dramatically.
Speaking of change, life is starting to move on for yours truly. I got a place near where one of my favorite bars used to be. So, hopefully it'll come back before I leave there too.
I got lucky, really lucky, in finding a place. About two weeks after the storm I went to at least a dozen apartment complexes that were only slightly damaged and every one had a waiting list that was already 80-100 long. I guess I just got to this place quickly enough. Thank goodness.
As I am moving, I sort of have begun to realize how much stuff I have. I know I don't have as many as most, but I've got more than many. Considering this will be my fourth move this year, and my fifth may come still yet, I've about had it with all my stuff.
These moves always makes me think of the George Carlin bit on stuff----
Actually this is just a place for my stuff, ya know? That's all, a little place for my stuff. That's all I want, that's all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table, everybody's got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that's your stuff, that'll be his stuff over there. That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That's all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time.A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you're saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff! Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore. Did you ever notice when you go to somebody else's house, you never quite feel a hundred percent at home? You know why? No room for your stuff. Somebody else's stuff is all over the goddamn place! And if you stay overnight, unexpectedly, they give you a little bedroom to sleep in. Bedroom they haven't used in about eleven years. Someone died in it, eleven years ago. And they haven't moved any of his stuff! Right next to the bed there's usually a dresser or a bureau of some kind, and there's NO ROOM for your stuff on it. Somebody else's shit is on the dresser.Have you noticed that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff? God! And you say, "Get that shit offa there and let me put my stuff down!"

10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

just wanted to say to those who maybein the path of wilma my prayers are with you all .

BE SAFE!!!!

10:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm a faithful reader. I was offended by the cussing in today's post. I understand the frustration of this terrible tradition and dealing with government agencies, but the word choice was unnecessary.

1:48 PM  
Blogger Cathy said...

anonymous; get a f*%#@ing grip
hey guys; maybe motor homes on 24 ft stilts??

3:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

LOL..did anyone ever get that email with the camper dozens of feet in the air? 'A redneck penthouse' And that is my favorite Carlin bit.

And anonymous, I usually only considering cussing to be vulgar if someone is using it to actually insult or hurt someone else. Cursing with sarcasm about something in life is just words. Just a thought.

4:16 PM  
Blogger Susan Och said...

I've been thinking of that George Carlin routine a lot of late, myself. My brother posted a picture of a church parking lot filled with boxes and boxes of donated clothing. We all get to send you all all of our old stuff, then we can go out and get new stuff. But you don't have homes, so you can't do anything with our old stuff anyway.

5:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the laugh, my friend. For the past year I have been planning to move from Bay St. Louis to the Pacific Northwest, and have been trying to figure out which of my "stuff" to take, what to leave behind, and how to get it there.

Guess I don't have to worry about that anymore.

10:06 PM  
Blogger One of The Wildwomen said...

Funny, things must be returning back to the old "don't give a s^%*" attitude, when people are complaining about language, with all you have done for us here. The things my brother tells me about what is happening there still horrifies me! Please hang in there, you're doing a great service!

6:56 AM  
Blogger High Power Rocketry said...

24 feet for the flood level is insane. So you are going to have the first two floors be basically like concrete bunkers. Then ABOVE that (if the zoning allows much more) you will have something nice.

Dont want to offend you, but maybe it is time to give the island back to mother nature and let her use it for its intended use: as wetlands and barrier beaches.

R2000

7:37 AM  
Blogger ~Manda said...

LOL i love George Carlin he is soo funny! :)
ANON: how come? it's just WORDS... there really are bigger things to worry about rather than "vulgar" words.
OH and you gotta love the redneck penthouse! hee hee i bet we have some of those in KY :D
A~

7:40 AM  
Blogger beagle said...

congrats on finding a place of your own! wow 24ft! that is really going to change the look of the coast.

10:15 AM  

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