The power of a voice

Sometimes, you just need to hear someone's voice to know they're okay. Sometimes, you just want to talk to that person.

The long-distance lines into Louisiana have been down since Katrina hit, and that it understandable. However, it does make it hard for those of us with loved ones in the area. So I was very glad when I got a voice mail from my mother on Monday letting me know that she was okay, just without power. On Tuesday, I got another voice mail that the power was back on and she was still fine. The aggravating thing here was that the only reason I was getting voice mail was that I get terrible cell phone reception in my office, so her calls went straight to voice mail - the phone never rang. When I tried to call her back, my call wouldn't go through. I was very happy when she called early this morning and we actually got to talk!

In further Katrina news, it is interesting to note that the Superdome refugees are being moved to the Astrodome. From one dome to another, at least this one will have power and A/C. I also find it interesting that several of the news feeds have reported that the schedule for the Astrodome has been cleared until December to accomodate the refugees (this apparently from the Govenor's spokeperson). Hmm...that was probably pretty easy since the Astrodome isn't currently in use by anybody - the Houston Texans use the new stadium, Reliant Stadium, across the street. Now, the associated secondary buildings are used for events (conventions, homeshows and the like), and it may have been necessary to clear those off the schedule temporarily, but they are not in the dome itself.

I wonder if they will make Dome dogs available again? Seriously, though, I hope one day that life can return to normal for all the residents of the Gulf Coast. I hope to stroll along the French Quarter as I have done before, and munch on bengiets from the Cafe du Monde, to eat gumbo in the cafes, to breathe in the sultry air that is Louisiana, my home state.