Recipes and Essays

Bush and Hitler

Bush and Hitler

I’ve often thought about the similarity between Hitler and Bush, in that they both led their countries to an invasion based on fabrication, and fear and with popular support. I don’t think that we are bound by our history nor family background, but it is 

Bright ideas from FEMA

Bright ideas from FEMA

I’ll share what gave me a rueful smile early in the Astrodome experience. Remember the big bright idea that FEMA had, to move the Katrina survivors to cruise ships? The ships had already arrived here, docked and ready. Local leaders roundly rejected it. There were 

Urgent Need for Medicines & Acceptance

Urgent Need for Medicines & Acceptance

Texas is helping provide free medications for persons living with HIV who lost their medications and insurance documents during Katrina.Refer anyone in need to Texas Department of Health site. Excellent news that some drug companies are giving the medicines free to Katrina survivors, or at 

Exhaustion – Rest – Organizing

Exhaustion – Rest – Organizing

The low power radio station by/for Katrina Astrodome survivors went on the air yesterday, noon. More on that later. Rebuilding after Katrina is daunting, but it is an opportunity for positive change. After a rest and prayer….time to organize. I’m guided by these ideas: 1) 

Prayer for Volunteers

Prayer for Volunteers

Witnessing the images and sounds of the Katrina disaster, Marilyn Born, a dear friend from Melbourne Australia, wrote this poem/prayer. She said that she kept “thinking about the second and third… wave of grievers (vicarious trauma) So wrote this. It helped me to get it 

Hurray for Houston and Mayor White

Hurray for Houston and Mayor White

Houston Rocks. Yesterday we did not have to spend a single penny to buy airline tickets for Katrina survivors. Why? Because a horde of volunteers showed up with cars and vans, ready to drive families and groups to various cities. (This with gas prices being 

Astrodome Radio blocked,  and Microsoft enters the Fray

Astrodome Radio blocked, and Microsoft enters the Fray

Two questions for today are: 1) can we ever control people’s expression? What are the circumstances under which we should control people’s expression? 2) will the proprietary model (i.e., viewing information as private property like houses and cars)continue as the only paradigm for information and 

Plane tickets and Reading Glasses

Plane tickets and Reading Glasses

The work at the tech center at the Astrodome is shifting slightly to housing, employment and travel. As regards travel, we need more help in the form of either cash or plane tickets for people who have found family members and need to reunite with 

Inflicting Pain Rather Than Feeling It,

Inflicting Pain Rather Than Feeling It,

An opinion piece by Thomas L. Friedman in today’s Houston Chronicle aptly focuses on Bush’s administration of our country. “These are people so much better at inflicting pain than feeling it, so much better at taking things apart than putting them together, so much better 

Katrina Sites That Are Useful

Katrina Sites That Are Useful

Another day at the Astrodome has brought some hope for the Katrina survivors as some are locating family members through Internet searches. Yesterday, after repeated attempts, I found the 17-year-old daughter of a father who had fled to Houston. She had been evacuated to Mississippi.