Velveteen Mind

Keep Remembering Hurricane Katrina. Don't Mind Us.

This week marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. You are bound to know that because the media won't let you forget.

Some of you diligently share the pieces that resonate with you. Some of you respectfully nod to your Southern friends and check in to see how we're faring. And some of you get unexpectedly rebuked for your efforts.

Don't mind us.

For countless reasons, for countless people, the countless stories and editorials in the media have become simply too much. The criticisms are, frankly, countless:

The stories are too pandering, the stories are too optimistic, the stories are too opportunistic, the stories focus on the wrong things, the stories focus too brightly on the one thing that still hurts, the stories are too true. It's still too fresh. It's still too soon. You aren't remembering it the way we want you to remember it. You can't win.

Whatever reason you can think of for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast locals to cringe, someone else is grumbling the exact opposite. And you are all right.

Damn.

We're still too close to it.

But that's no reason for you to turn away. That's no reason for you to become complacent. Because this is not about us. For me, it stopped being about us a long time ago.

So don't mind us. Because you could be us.

Every time you spend time and energy remembering Katrina, you are one moment closer to remembering that a natural disaster could happen to you. You are one moment closer to being prepared. You are one moment closer to taking action to help someone else be prepared. Or to dig them out when they aren't.

Writing and talking about Hurricane Katrina has always been about helping you connect with something that seems so utterly alien to our more or less comfortable lives. And it has worked. From my work alone, I see hundreds and thousands of people see themselves in my story. That is, in part, because I've always been mindful that the details of my story aren't as important as the feelings.

I give you as few opportunities as possible to dismiss my experience as unique and instead focus on the raw emotion of loss, grief, and hope. Replace "hurricane" with fire, flood, earthquake, or tornado and there you are. There you are.

Nothing could have stopped what happened on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. A hurricane hit here. Wiped us off the map for a minute. Many things could have stopped what happened in New Orleans. The government failed there. Buried them in sorrow.

So what if we don't feel like talking about it? So what if we look at you askance when you forget about the Mississippi Gulf Coast? So what if you misrepresent what happened in New Orleans? So what?

You're still talking about it. Even if we aren't. That's fine. Good can come from that. Surely we're generous enough to see that.

What about me? Personally? Although my last post was about Katrina, I honestly don't talk about it unless I have to. That last post was in March and in support of a cause designed to shine light on your causes. I haven't written since then because I've been busy building.

I'm opening a writing studio in downtown Gulfport (!!!), two blocks from the beach. It's part of Wonder and Company's first retail location (!!!), a whimsical gift shop designed to delight and spark imagination and wonder. A fantastical gift shop with writing classes. On the beach. I love it. I can see the water from my windows and it makes me do nothing but smile.

I'm scared but not of the water. Not of the wind. If anything, I'm scared of flying too close to the sun because, y'all, this is glorious. This is so freaking much fun! You are seeing me mid-leap.

Because this is what life is about. I refuse to stop trying to live it to bursting. So that means I'm busy. Get busy living or get busy dying, right? 

Don't mind us. We'll be fine. Most days we already are. We're working on it. You do your work and let's meet on the other side.

 

•  •  •

Read more from my Hurricane Katrina series:

Victor Vito: "Just get in the car. Get out. Don't bother packing so much stuff this time. Nothing ever happens."

Hierarchy of Suffering: "The ghosts of the dead walk the streets of the Gulf Coast. Their presence is always there, reminding us that it could be worse. We could be dead. Bullshit."

Loads of Hope: "I can write a million times, 'We lost everything.' It is only when I share the picture above that it seems to sink in."

 

Sign up for my infrequent but lovely newsletter for updates

   |     |  

How Can a Small Pledge Make a Major Impact? Using Social Media for Social Good #MyPledge15

^{This post made possible by BMF as part of the #MyPledge15 social good campaign.} 

Ten years ago this year, I stood in the front yard of my parents' Gulf Coast home trying to identify the direction from which a ringing bell was sounding. That ringing bell meant hot food.

I walked to the street and waited, hesitantly and hopefully flagging down the white truck emblazoned with an iconic red cross as it approached our intersection. I felt awkward and unworthy as I approached the slowing vehicle. This was a middle class neighborhood, not a village struck by a tsunami. This was Hurricane Katrina. I should be able to just shake it off and bootstrap it. No electricity? Shake it off. Eating out of cans? Count yourself lucky.

Everything in me and around me seemed to suggest that my suffering wasn't good enough. It could be worse. Wind and waves reduced our home to a slab of concrete, all of our belongings washed out to the Gulf of Mexico, but we were alive and had a place to stay. I should just... be grateful.

But there's something about hot food and a smiling face. There's something about hot coffee and a hug. Yes, it could be worse but that didn't undo the damage. It didn't alleviate the gaping need.

The ringing bell of the American Red Cross symbolized something human I needed to feel that day and a forever pledge I have promised myself to keep for anyone suffering within my reach:

You are seen. Your pain is real. You are not alone. Help is here now.

#MyPledge15 is your ringing bell. 

What is #MyPledge15?

A social media initiative facilitated by Beuerman Miller Fitzgerald (BMF), guided by their slogan of "the strength to shout; the wisdom to whisper," and designed to shine a light on how a simple action can move us to do good, the goal of #MyPledge15 is to reinforce what we know to be true: A small pledge can have a major impact. 

We just have to answer the call.

This isn't about any one cause. It's very much about what matters to you. #MyPledge15 is an invitation to publicly share a promise to take a small action in 2015 to support a cause or goal that matters to you. It's about small efforts making a difference.

How do you make your own pledge?

We ask that you publicly make your pledge using the hashtag #MyPledge15 on social media platforms like twitter, Facebook, your blog, Pinterest, and Instagram. Wherever you live online. In turn, we pledge to amplify your efforts by keeping the conversation going. Social media is more than a wall of sound: Real action is driven by digital conversations.

What does a pledge look like? 

#MyPledge15 is to donate a box of books to my local library [@libraryname].
•
I pledge to write about [@yourcause] and make a difference in 2015. Click http://bit.ly/mypledge15 and make your own pledge! #MyPledge15
•
I pledge to volunteer 3 hours at my grandma's nursing home [@nursinghome] this year. Their team is a blessing. #MyPledge15
•
#MyPledge15 is to RT 10 tweets from [@yourcause] this year and spread their good work. Find out more at http://bit.ly/mypledge15

My personal pledge: 

#MyPledge15 is to support the American Red Cross through at least 3 financial contributions + amplification of their calls for support.

In 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the American Red Cross became a supporter of my family.

Driving the streets of Gulf Coast neighborhoods, sounding their bell to call sheltering families outside, they offered hot food, warm humanity, and financial assistance for people in need. They knew that not everyone could come to them so they came to us.  

On this tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I pledge my 2015 to them. I pledge my vocal support as well as my financial support.

My pledge to you:

Moreover, I pledge to support the causes of my readers, my friends. That's you.

Make your pledge on your social platform(s) of choice using #MyPledge15 and leave a link in the comments below to your post or status update(s). Throughout the year, I will follow along with the progress of your pledge via #MyPledge15 and share a variety of them on my own platforms, either via retweets or FB shares or sharing them in my own words and highlighting your efforts.

On December 1, 2015, I will randomly select one pledge recorded in the comments below and donate $100 to the cause of your choice. The winning pledger will receive notification via email so be sure to register your comment with an email address. 

Every pledge matters. No effort is too small. 

What is your cause? How do you identify what matters to you?

So many people I meet tell me that they wish they had a cause to champion. Your pledge need not emanate from pain; your pledge can emanate from joy. Your cause can be linked to something that has happened to you or someone you care about. It can be a time when you received an unexpected kindness. Repay the source or pay it forward.

What is most important to you? Is it family?  Pledge to donate food to a local food bank or share four calls to action from a family-focused charity's Facebook page.

Already support a cause? Perfect. My support of the American Red Cross is not new. Contribute to the #MyPledge15 conversation with your pledge of continued support, model how to take action, and get what matters to you in front of a new audience.

Push your energy out. Amplify your heart's desire by sharing it.

Share this post. Share #MyPledge15. Share your pledge.

Know someone who is passionate about a cause? Share this post with them. Tag them with #MyPledge15 when you see a pledge that moves you. Point them to My Pledge 15 for more information and encourage those you love to keep the conversation going.

Sharing what is important to you opens the door for us to learn more about what moves you and possibly more about what moves us. Sharing what is important to you might help someone else recognize what matters to them. 

Your pledge is worth a pause. Your cause is worth a pledge. 

Now you have a choice. You can click away to Pinterest or random scrolling on Facebook or you can pause and take an action. Ask yourself "What is my pledge?" Then just make it. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's perfect because it's yours. 

What resonates with you? #MyPledge15 is ringing the bell. Come out and join us.

•  •  •

_{Thank you to BMF for inviting me to take part in the #MyPledge15 campaign. A New Orleans public relations agency with a compelling philanthropic history (check out their work with Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation), they recognize the powerful impact social good has had on their community over the last decade. New Orleans is a community the world calls home and BMF wants to return the good juju.}

_{Learn more about the campaign by visiting My Pledge 15 and check out other pledges in action.} 

 

Not yet ready to make your own pledge? Retweet or pin the below social shares and help spread the word!

 

How can a small pledge make a major impact? #MyPledge15 Click now to use social media for social good for YOUR cause: http://t.co/rHiiemb9ei

— Megan Jordan (@VelveteenMind) March 23, 2015

 

Sign up for my infrequent but lovely newsletter for updates

   |     |  

Hurricane Isaac for Gulfport, MS

As I pulled the front door closed behind me at my parents' Gulf Coast home, I called over my shoulder, "Get your guns ready!" 

National Guard on the ground in Gulfport, MS. "We're here for presence." And then I tried not to hug them.

I had two seconds for the ridiculousness of that offhand remark to register before I spotted the police cruiser parked in the school lot across the street. 

I had two seconds for that remark to seem ridiculous and less than 8 hours before someone would siphon the gas from one of my parents' cars in their own driveway.

The Sunday night before Hurricane Isaac is projected to make landfall on Wednesday and the gas stations along the Mississippi Gulf Coast were already beginning to run out of gas, assuming you could afford to fill up.

Our family spent the last two days preparing for the landfall of Hurricane Isaac. I'm writing this ahead of impending power loss and will hit publish before I'm satisfied with what I've written.

Seven years ago Wednesday, our beach front home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast was reduced to a bare slab of concrete. Hurricane Katrina. We don't need this right now.

Why is Hurricane Isaac so serious? Although a much weaker storm than Katrina, Hurricane Isaac is roughly 800 miles wide, compared to Katrina's 400 miles. Gulfport is tracking to fall within Isaac's Northeastern quadrant, the area that sustains the highest winds and highest storm surge.

Water already breaching the line in Gulfport, MS.

That counter-clockwise motion you see hurricanes make means that wind forces water up toward the upper right corner of the hurricane for hours on end, creating a storm surge.

The wider the storm, the longer the winds have to push water onto the beaches and into the bays and bayous before it moves away. In short, we have to endure 400 miles of the storm if we fall to the right of the eye. 

Our current home sits two miles inland but only two blocks from one of the many bayous that course through Gulfport. When we purchased this home, we believed it to have taken on two feet of water in Hurricane Katrina. Years later, we realized it took on closer to eight feet, leaving us far less secure in our purchase but relatively certain we'd be long gone from this "in-between" home before the next big storm found us.

One hour ago, I drove over the bayou bridge near our home and found its waters already breaching the back patios of our neighbors.

We think we can withstand a storm surge of 11 feet at this house. Hurricane Isaac is expected to deliver a storm surge of 16.

So we prepare. And we do so without regret.

Hurricane Flags flying over Gulfport Harbor

I don't have time to write the Katrina anniversary post I usually do, so please allow me to ask you to revisit my words from years before. My feelings have never changed:

We adore the Gulf Coast. This is our home. We crave the culture and embrace the community. This is our home.  

We plan accordingly.

I love how you have welcomed our family's stories the last five years that I have shared them here at Velveteen Mind and consider it part of our compact that I will continue to share them with you when you come to check in on us.

 

Please look for updates at the following platforms for as long as AT&T holds up and I can send words and photos out:

twitter: @VelveteenMind
Instagram:  @VelveteenMind 

I'm going to cross-post some of the photo updates to the Rummage Blog section of VelveteenMind.com for those of you that don't use Twitter or Instagram or aren't already friends with me on Facebook. Those updates should send notifications to Velveteen Mind's Facebook page, as well, where anyone can find them. Check back every few hours and there should be something somewhere.

Please comment. Every nudge of my phone makes me feel more grounded. The pull of your eyes keeps me from floating away on a wave of panic and worry. This social media thing? It works.

What is our plan? We can easily withstand the wind and rain of a Category 1 or Category 2, however we can't tolerate a storm surge. Our plan is to stay at our home until we can't safely stay here any longer, then go to my parents' home a few blocks away, a home that did not flood in Katrina. If power should be lost for more than a day or two, we'll evacuate to family out of state. 

After-school sand bag line. No big deal.

I promise, we are staying safe. Our hurricane disaster supply is abundant. We are analyzing our decisions to the point of conflict, entertaining a chorus of opinions and weighing our hearts against our minds.

We have no interest in being brave.

The winds are gusting outside of my window. I am not satisfied with what I have written.

 

 

Sign up for my infrequent but lovely newsletter for updates

 |     |