Profound "Noise"

Earlier, I cited the NYTimes call for citizen journalism as Gustav comes bearing down onto the Gulf Coast. And no doubt, the editors in New York are hoping for "money shots" of wild winds, flooded streets, stray cats, that sort of thing. Right now, what they are getting are full-on real accounts of life in fear. Read below as Sloane Gillam LaCasse sifts through her own set of noise (Fema? National Weather Service? Local news? neighbors?) and wonders how to "pack as though you are never coming back."
Touching. Scary. Real.
Brace for more.
Blessings to you, Sloane, and all your neighbors.


August 31st,
2008
1:46 pm
I am paralyzed by Gustav. Just like Gustav over Haiti, I have stalled. I don’t normally spook easily but I can’t deny that I feel skittish and frustrated. News articles about evacuation recommend clearing the fridge in order to avoid sticky, rotting messes later. One piece of advice from a reader on the local news website reads: “Pack as though you are never coming back.” Another person posts a piece of advice recommending taking all family vehicles instead of just one. I’m confused and unsure how to proceed, so instead I compulsively check my email and look for new tracks on the storm prediction map. It is too far away to begin packing but it is coming up too quickly for me to put it out of my mind. As a result, I am wandering around the apartment in circles, working on tasks much less pressing than packing insurance paperwork and memorabilia.
Pack as though you are never coming back. Easier said than done. I have twice in my life packed a year’s worth of belongings into two suitcases and one carry-on, so it seems like I should be better at this. Maybe since I was underage during both of those instances, they don’t count. I didn’t have wedding photos then, or couches, or dishes, or bookshelves. And I wasn’t distracted by images of mold creeping over all items left behind, or water trickling through wind-damaged walls or windows. People who have done this before post advice about leaving family photos permanently in the plastic travel tubs normally reserved for evacuation only. I think that this is no way to live, but I see their point, as more than two months of hurricane season remain. I am reminded of those dinner party questions where you have to pick the three things you would take if you were headed to a deserted island. I think that I will never enjoy that game again.
For about twelve hours, I thought that we would not evacuate. I understood those folks who stayed last time. I have a liquor cabinet full of yummy leftovers and plenty of things to do; this is no time for a forced exodus. With wine in the cupboard and lots of interesting bits in the pantry with which to craft new meals, it would be fun! I would pull out my sewing machine! I would write letters! I would finish my wedding album! No I wouldn’t, said my wise, younger-but-smarter-than-me across the street neighbor-friend. She reminded me of my fondness for air conditioning and running water. She also gently reminded me that the neighbors who stay are the ones with guns and generators, and that Chip and I were not those folks. Plus, we do whatever she tells us to do in this strange land, and she told us to evacuate, so that is the plan, barring any good weather news in the next 24 hours.
Pack as though we will never come back. How? We have already done this. We reduced the size of our living space by sixty percent when we moved down here. We are a lean operating machine, at least by American family standards. I keep thinking of random, completely unrelated tasks and items (I need more cat litter! I should wash my handwashables! I will bring my drycleaning with me and do it in evacuation land…maybe I will even have my shoes repaired…hmmm) and then an hour has gone by and Gustav has crept a bit closer on the National Weather Service back-of-the-airplane-seat progress map.
A couple of weeks ago my manager told us a tale at lunch about the ghost who lived with her family in their last home. No one in the office was disconcerted (or unconvinced) by the story, or by the possibility of its truth. One employee called out “No way!” which at first I took as disbelief, but really it turned out that he was thinking more along the lines of, “Oh I didn’t know that happened to you, because something like that has happened to me, too.”
The ghost and Gustav are just two examples of how life here is like life nowhere else. Spirits and raging storms are accepted by folks here as a part of the daily rhythms, and in a manner so calm so as to not permit any disbelief. I avoided going to bed until late last night, because when I am awake, the storm moves more slowly. Eventually, though, I had to go to sleep, and now that I am up again it is time for me to suspend my disbelief and get moving.
Sloane Gillam LaCasse
August 28, 2008
— Posted by Sloane Gillam LaCasse