Our First Katrina Refugees

Bob Gardner wrote:

Heck, they won't even go aboard cruise ships that are right there.

Would you want to be floating on water after doing so for the previous ten
days?

--
Peter
























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"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
Heck, they won't even go aboard cruise ships that are right there.


Having been on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship quite recently, were *I* a
refugee and had a choice, *I* would not want to live on a cruise ship for an
extended time....especially not with kids. The exception would be if that
was the only air-conditioned place available :-)

Not that I would mind the food or even the entertainment, but it is still a
very claustrophobic environment. Better use of donated cruise ships might
be as temporary extra hospital space, housing for out-of-state volunteers,
and that sort of thing.

Cruise ships accommodation is fine for people who have something to do,
somewhere to go. It would probably be a terrible place to sit and wait.

The DOD is saying essentially the same things about their ships. Once
the emergency is past, the Navy ships will be used for rescue workers.
Same thing happened in New York after 9/11.

"Icebound" wrote in message
...



"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
Heck, they won't even go aboard cruise ships that are right there.


Having been on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship quite recently, were *I*
a refugee and had a choice, *I* would not want to live on a cruise
ship for an extended time....especially not with kids. The exception
would be if that was the only air-conditioned place available :-)

Not that I would mind the food or even the entertainment, but it is
still a very claustrophobic environment. Better use of donated cruise
ships might be as temporary extra hospital space, housing for
out-of-state volunteers, and that sort of thing.

Cruise ships accommodation is fine for people who have something to
do, somewhere to go. It would probably be a terrible place to sit and
wait.

Wait for the first winter!!

Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
KSWI


Jay Honeck wrote:
We booked our first refugees at the Inn yesterday -- an older couple who had
stayed with us on vacation in the past, and who lost everything in Katrina.

They are living day-to-day, not sure when -- or if -- they'll be able to
return home. When I asked them why they came so far North to stay, they
just shrugged their shoulders and said "Because we like it here..."

So, the Constellation Suite is their new home until further notice... (They
like old prop-driven airliners...)

Interestingly, others in New Orleans have decided that Iowa doesn't sound so
good to them:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/app...65/1001&lead=1


Here's the story, in case the link expires:
**********************************************
Iowa is ready, evacuees are not

Des Moines Register

September 7, 2005
Iowa is ready to welcome thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees - but it
was unclear Tuesday whether any of the people fleeing the Gulf Coast want to
come.

Iowans raced to be ready for hundreds of homeless people who had been
expected to arrive as soon as Tuesday afternoon.

The Iowa National Guard and American Red Cross prepared the Iowa State
Fairgrounds for up to 1,000 people who were expected to come from evacuation
points in Houston. The state has offered to assist up to 5,000 evacuees.

But they didn't come.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Iowa officials spoke with Federal Emergency
Management Agency officials who said they were having a hard time getting
people to leave the evacuation zones in Houston.

"People don't necessarily want to move," Gov. Tom Vilsack told reporters
Tuesday evening. "They are tired. They are frustrated. They want to stay
where they are. So, we're going to give them a breather, and we are going to
see where we are (today)."

Vilsack said evacuees still may come. He and other governors will
participate in a conference call with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff and learn more about the evacuation plans.

"We stand ready and prepared if the call should come," Vilsack said.

It's not just Iowa. Evacuees have rejected accommodations on cruise ships,
for example.

"The folks in Texas are having some difficulty encouraging folks to get on
airplanes and travel to other locations. It's understandable. These people
have been through a lot," Vilsack said. "This is a day-by-day, hour-by-hour
situation."

State officials waited by the phone all day. They had expected a call from
the federal government that evacuees were on their way early Tuesday, state
officials said. It never came.

Nevertheless, Iowa stands ready. The Varied Industries Building at the
fairgrounds has been turned into the main hub for evacuees, who would then
be moved into hotels and homes around the community.
**********************************************

The state of Massachusetts scurried to open an unused national guard base to
house 2500 'guests', free of charge until March.

So far, they have had no takers.

"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
Heck, they won't even go aboard cruise ships that are right there.

Bob Gardner

"Ron Natalie" wrote in message
...
Jay Honeck wrote:

Interestingly, others in New Orleans have decided that Iowa doesn't
sound
so good to them:

A bunch of buses went down from DC and came back mostly empty as well.
Washington and Iowa aren't on the top of people's list to relocate to.

Ron Natalie wrote:

Jay Honeck wrote:

Interestingly, others in New Orleans have decided that Iowa doesn't
sound so good to them:

A bunch of buses went down from DC and came back mostly empty as well.
Washington and Iowa aren't on the top of people's list to relocate to.

DC I understand, but I wonder what the beef is with Iowa ... unless
they've been reading Jay's recent posts ... :-)

Matt

I don't think the terminology is worth obsessing over. But still less is
anyone's obsession over it worth obsessing over.

Sometimes it seems like we couldn't make this kind of stuff up if we tried!

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Heck, they won't even go aboard cruise ships that are right there.

Would you want to be floating on water after doing so for the previous ten
days?

In the Queen Elizabeth II? Hell, yes!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

A bunch of buses went down from DC and came back mostly empty as well.
Washington and Iowa aren't on the top of people's list to relocate to.

DC I understand, but I wonder what the beef is with Iowa ... unless
they've been reading Jay's recent posts ... :-)

Well, given the number of states that have offered space -- and been ignored
or turned down -- perhaps the crisis is past?

Dunno, but doesn't it seem odd that folks are choosing to live in a flooded
cesspool rather than accepting free housing all over the country?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:PdKTe.332747$xm3.274353@attbi_s21...
Dunno, but doesn't it seem odd that folks are choosing to live in a
flooded cesspool rather than accepting free housing all over the country?

A number of elderly residents, in particular, have been reluctant to venture
to a new location:

***********
``I haven't left my house in my life. I don't want to leave,'' said a
frail-looking 86-year-old Anthony Charbonnet, shaking his head as he locked
his front door and walked slowly backwards down the steps of the house where
he had lived since 1955.
Charbonnet left only after a neighbor assured him: "Things will be OK. It'll
be like a vacation.'' Still protesting, Charbonnet stepped into the
ambulance in which soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division would
take him to a helicopter.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlates...262051,00.html
************