Hurricane Katrina

The Hurricane may not have hit us directly but we sure have and are feeling the impact of it due to the increase in our temporary (?) population growth. Gasoline is hard to find, ice is impossible to find, businesses are still closed due to electrical outages but that will surely change locally in the next few days. The local stations (tv and radio) are running only emergency programming.

The future for New Orleans does not look good. It is depressing. They now say it will take at least a month to get the water out the city. Then, FEMA can go in, then the electrical company. For residents of the area, it must be overwhelming.

Many are enrolling their children in Baton Rouge and Lafayette area schools, facing the difficult fact that it will be a very long time before anything in New Orleans will be inhabitable again. SO... where does that leave Baton Rouge?

We will probably grow! That could be a good thing.

Hot and steamy

There is no end in sight to the above average sauna-like weather. My husband uses my hair as a barometer. The frizzier it is, the more humid outside. He, being a weatherman, is happy, I am not. Luckily I am "at least" wearing it curly these days. It was pitiful when I was trying to flat iron it. I could never exactly look sleek with this mound of thick volumnious hair on my head. I'm glad that water is plentiful and we can take baths at will. We are very fortunate indeed. ahhhhh.

Sad, scary and a sign of the Times

It could have been anywhere but no one expected an officer to lose his life in the Capital Heights area. I know I drive that street at least once a week. Many of us who have lived in the Baton Rouge most of our life, travel the Government Street area regularly.

Officer Terry Melancon died over a search warrant for drugs. When I read the Advocate article and the people interviewed said that the 'suspect' (also dead) did not have a big arrest record, all I could think to myself was "He was sneaky." The man was growing marijuana and selling it on the second floor of his home! How could a reporter bring up past records? What is that supposed to mean? These reporters need to rethink their questions because they are kind of poor.

I also heard that WAFB showed the faces of the other two officers who were shot, despite what Chief LeDuff had requested the media not to do that because it could comprise their future safety and jobs. I wonder why the Advocate didn't jump on that? I call that a double tsk-tsk.

Miss Teen USA - HERE!

Probably like most Baton Rougeans, I was not clued into the fact that Miss Teen USA was being held here until the other night when I opted out of watching Football and whatever CBS had and was delightfully surprised to find NBC carrying it HERE, in Baton Rouge, LA.

Oh, I had seen some small hotel signs saying something about Miss Teen USA but I didn't pay attention. I also heard comments about how out-of-date such contests are and judging from the lack of speaking ability from some of the contestants, there may be some merit there. However, the winner, Miss Ohio was most articulate and from the time I tuned in the obvious choice. It was good to see Mayor Kipp Holden up there. Way to go Kipp!

mabyn

Baton Rouge Balloon Festival

Living in a city where balloonists fly is a colorful sight. Luckily, our weather cooperated and wasn't as humid as it could have been.

Whole Foods brings 'Foreigners'

When Supermarkets were new people would drive in for miles to shop in them. Same goes for Malls. Retail facilties like these are now dotted throughout most areas. However, that is not the case with the store named Whole Foods.

People still are driving long distances to shop in it. On my first trip to our new Whole Foods in Towne Center I walked through the store for over an hour and never ran into a soul I knew. I figured they bused people in. It will definitely pull people into this part of the city of Baton Rouge which is a good thing.