Velveteen Mind

You Loot, We Shoot

Three years ago today, Hurricane Katrina demolished the Gulf Coast.  We lost everything we owned, save for three days' worth of clothes, one guitar, a handful of photos, and our lives.

We evacuated ahead of the storm, as we always do and always will.

We had no idea what Katrina had wrought until a few days after she was gone.  The video below is of us at Maguire's parents' house, blissfully ignorant of how our lives were changing as we sat in the dark. 

While we played with a 13 month old Q, our home was going under water.  It was being battered and blown to bits.  His toys were being submerged and smashed and dragged out to the Gulf of Mexico.  His Christening gown, passed down from his great-grandfather, worn by his grandfather, by Maguire, and then by him, being swept away. 

Every photograph and journal I had saved so carefully since elementary school, warping and floating away.  The photos from college, where Maguire and I met.  Our wedding.  Our honeymoon.  The photos of me pregnant.  The photos and videos of Q's birth.  The videos of him learning to walk and talk...  all gone.  And we had no idea.

 

Night of Katrina from Megan Jordan on Vimeo. 

 

What Katrina left us was the gift of charity.  The importance of family and friends.  The impermanence of the material and the futility of regret.

As I sit here, hurricanes are forming to the south of us.  And yet we remain.  We will evacuate, but not before protecting all that we have rebuilt.  All that we have fought for and struggled to call home again.

But we will evacuate.  And with us, we will take our most precious gift from Katrina, our son Goose.  Because one other possession Hurricane Katrina took away from me was the illusion of control.  Had it not been for her, I would not have released my need to plan every moment.  I would not have opened my carefully guarded life to the unexpected gift of the right baby at the wrong time.

Thank you, Katrina, you complete and utter wench.

But Gustav and Hanna? 

Stay off of my property because looters will be shot.

And yeah, that's my dad.  And, yes, he will shoot you. 

~~~

Feed readers, if you don't see the video, be sure to click through.

~~~

Related Posts:

Victor Vito (our Katrina story)

Camille was a Lady, Katrina was a Bitch (on the 2nd anniversary)

Hierarchy of Suffering (why being a victim is a waste of energy)

Resilience or Defiance: on the Third Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

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Tall Glass of Southern Sass? More like a Short Shot.

My first post for Deep South Moms Blog, the sassy sister site of Silicon Valley Moms Blog network, is finally up.

Well, "finally" in that I finally wrote a post for them.  I signed on to the site well before they launched, but became thoroughly distracted with our BlogHer The People's Party and Blog Nosh Magazine.  When I showed up for the SVMB Group headshots shindig at Saks Fifth Avenue in San Francisco, some whispers hounded my tail along the lines of "Does she really write for us or is she crashing?"

I may steal movies, but I don't generally crash parties.

Hm, that would look good on my headstone.  But I digress...

The post I wrote for them is "Resilience or Defiance" and it is something that has been on my mind every day for years.  It would mean a lot to me if you would head over there, check it out, and if you feel compelled--  leave a comment.  In fact, I worked my sassy ass off this weekend and have some free time today (seriously finally!), so I promise to visit and comment on every single one of the blogs that leave a comment on my first post over there.  Something I should do more regularly over here, I am well aware.  But still...

For all of your hard mouse clicking and keyboard tapping, here is a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes of my Deep South Moms post:

Do you love all of the Sonic cups in there?  I was bribing my boys with Sprite and cups of cereal so that I could take the photos I needed to along the beach for the post.  You can see the live oaks along the waterline in the reflection in the window.

Now then...

Let's show those girls that I can pull my own weight on their fancy blog.

Sweet tea and pearls, my ass.

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The Woids of God

I'm having a bit of a love affair with the Gulf Coast right now.  As I sit down and prepare to write my first post for Deep South Moms Blog, a new sister site of Silicon Valley Moms Blog network, I am struggling with words to describe how I feel about living in the Deep South. 

I decided to write for Deep South Moms Blog because it would offer a thematic challenge and motivator for me.  I write very loosely about living on the Gulf Coast on Velveteen Mind, but when I give any real thought to what it means to live in the South, I actually have a lot to say.  A lot to share.

Culture coming out of my humidity-drenched pores.

Writing for the SVMB network of blogs is going to be a thrill.  They are a fantastic group, founder Jill Asher is amazing, and it is going to give me an opportunity to push my writing.  I tend to get a little lazy about writing on a daily basis, so this new focus will hopefully bleed over into Velveteen Mind.

In the meantime, lest you think I'm going to be getting all serious on you as I explore the delicate art of Southern Charm, allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite blues men ever:  Mississippi Gary.

If you don't laugh at this, we can't be friends.  Yes, I have a lot of friendship requirements, I know, but this one is for real.  ...ish. 

Be sure to skip ahead to minute 1:00 for the Mississippi Gary bit.  This is from The Kids in the Hall, Mississippi Gary played by Mark McKinney, so yes, I am offering you a bit of Southern culture by way of Canada.  Classic, eh?

It's only appropriate, as I am Southern by way of Illinois.  Or, as I much prefer to say:

Yankee by birth, Southern by the grace of God.  Praise the Lord!

Now skip to minute 1:00 and tell me you laugh! 

 

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