Today was a light day of renovation but we nevertheless managed to get quite a few things done. On a whim, we decided to pull at a bit of the wall paper in one of the bedrooms upstairs — the room that had been Rosemary’s. Underneath, the plaster was in beautiful shape with a wonderful patina. We immediately decided that we will attempt to keep the plaster in this natural state if the rest of the room turns out to be in this good a condition.
Earlier in the day we moved K’s Chambers stove over from her old place. While she was organizing that, I disconnected the claw foot tub in the upstairs bath and got it ready to be taken out to be refinished. The tub is rusty and in need of a refurb but should be beautiful when we get it back. Or should I say, if we get it back. In an ‘only in New Orleans’ moment this was the location we were given to drop off the tub.
The guy who met us there was super nice and I sense we will see the tub again. But the conversation went something like this:
Us: “Is there any paperwork you need us to sign?”
Him: “Nope.”
Us: “Any receipt or anything?”
Him: “No. You can pay me when you come check out the work and pick it up.”
Us: “Um . . . ok.”
As we drove away, K and I were laughing about dropping off our tub via the side door of this abandoned looking building with no paperwork and no money changing hands. But somehow it seems normal here. Assuming we see the tub again in a few weeks, I would even go so far as to say it is one of the things I love about the city.
Picked up a mattress tonight that will live in the guest room but for now now will also allow us to sleep at the house when we are too exhausted to drive home.
Most of the evening, however, was spent back in the kitchen. K & I removed the sink and the final set of floor cabinets as well as most of the upper cabinets. Of course this meant uncovering mounds of roach droppings and not an unsubstantial number of dead roaches.
Then it was back to pulling up the sticky tile and luan sub-flooring to get back to the old hardwood floors. A hellish task given the ungodly number of nails they used to secure the luan sheets.
For the most part the floors look good although we did uncover a small area patched with newer yellow wood. Most of that will eventually end up back under a cabinet so I’m not too concerned. Still better than sticky tile!
Some days I think that no matter how long I live here I will always feel the frustration of wondering what it will take to get us to change our head-in-the-sand mentality toward the fragile environment we inhabit. There were hopeful moments in the aftermath of the Federal Flood . . . even a few moments of outright optimism. And yet even now . . .
From California:
“If I have a choice between the $100 million [for drilling] and what I see in the Gulf of Mexico, I’d rather just figure out how to make up for that $100 million,” [Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger] said May 3.
From Louisiana:
Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is steadfastly against a moratorium on Gulf Coast deepwater drilling – as are other members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation. Republican Sen. David Vitter has seen fit to chastise Congress for holding hearings on the growing crisis before the deep-sea leak has been plugged.
From the CS Monitor
The leak from a blown-out well a mile underwater is five times bigger than first believed. Faint fingers of oily sheen were reaching the Mississippi River delta late Thursday, lapping the Louisiana shoreline in long, thin lines. Thicker oil was about five miles offshore.
The oil slick could become the nation’s worst environmental disaster in decades, threatening to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez in scope. It imperils hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world’s richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters and other marine life. reports the Associated Press.
BP and the Federal Government Public Hotlines:
To report oiled or injured wildlife, call 1-866-557-1401.
To discuss spill related damage claims, call 1-800-440-0858.
To report oil on land and for Community and Volunteer Information, call 1-866-448-5816.
To offer your vessel for service or submit alternative response technology, services or products, call 281-366-5511 or email HorizonSupport@OEGLLC.com
Dear Sir or Madam,
I write to formally document how disappointed I am at USAA redlining Orleans Parish in Louisiana for homeowners insurance.
I have been a loyal member of the USAA family since the 1980s. Beyond that, I have been a booster for your brand. My wife and I have told everyone who will listen how happy we were with our homeowners insurance (as well as our auto insurance and banking).
When we returned to New Orleans following the Federal Flood of 2005 and heard the horror stories of people dealing with other insurance companies, we were very happy that we had USAA. We were lucky — we had only very minor damage but USAA took care of us and we were grateful for that.
So imagine my surprise today when we called to request an insurance quote for our new home and were told that USAA has abandoned New Orleans. No more policies will be written we were told.
“Well, we are just moving from one house to another. Can’t we just move that policy? It is not like you will be writing another policy,” we asked?
No. We are not doing business in Orleans Parish any longer.
For years I have told friends and family that USAA is the rare exception to the rule that corporations are only out for themselves and will abandon you when it no longer suits their needs.
Apparently I was wrong.
Were USAA not such an outstanding company, I would have expected this and it would not bother mentioning. However, because USAA *is* such a special company I now feel betrayed. I feel betrayed personally and I feel that my community has been betrayed.
I hope you will reconsider. New Orleans is a great American city. Shame on you for redlining us. Shame on you for being yet another obstacle standing it the way of the rebuilding of the city rather than offering a helping hand.
Shame on me for naively believing USAA represented a different business model.
Disappointed,
Geoff Coats