"Katrina Christmas" by Cynthia Newman

Via E mail | 11/22/05 | vanity

[genefromjersey]

Cynthia wrote this awesome poem that I want to share.

Katrina Christmas
by Cynthia Newman

Twas the Christmas after Katrina and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The walls are hung on all the two-by-fours
But we still haven’t replaced the windows and doors

Electricity we have and plumbing galore
It’s carpet we lack and tile for the floor.

Outlets we need, as well as all paint
And to think of it all makes us feel faint !

Our arms are all swollen, our hands are all sore
The beds that we sleep in are slightly better than the floor

My family and I are all stressed to the max
We rarely have time to just sit and relax

My job was just fine, but I still had to leave
Construction efforts at home, I had to relieve

My new alarm clock is my old cell phone
And there’s absolutely no space when you want to be alone

The tension is high, the stress even higher
For a while we considered just setting the house on fire!

To top it all off; and this isn’t cool
I happen to be a senior in high school.

Invitations to be ordered, cap and gowns too,
All senior expenses and applications are due

Grades must stay high to get the good schools
But instead of my homework, I hold power tools.

Winter has come now
The cold bites my feet

But some way - some how I will buy Christmas treats!

My family and friends need the Christmas cheer
After all it’s the season that we wait for all year.

I can’t get a job, the house needs me more
So to all of you, I lovingly implore:

I’m not the only one in these mud-filled shoes
Everything but life, most of us did lose.

We don’t have enough money to fix our house - yet
This Katrina Christmas is one we’ll never forget !

Send the Coast Christmas – if you possibly can
We’d help you out too, if you needed the hand .

Well to all of you now, I bid you adieu,
I pray that Katrina never happens to you.

Smile and have a wonderful day!

[genefromjersey]

Cynthia is from one of the Gulfport,Miss. families hard-hit by Katrina.

Please note the absence of "The government should be taking CARE of us !" whining.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

Very nice. Thank you for posting that.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

I might add that Cynthia represents MOST of the Katrina survivors. Most of them aren't "whining", despite popular belief.

[SailormanCGA72]

There's also a difference in the outlook of the Mississippi residents and the New Orleans residents. I have friends in both places and the "Government should make me whole" crowd definitely seems to be centered in New Orleans.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Grades must stay high to get the good schools
But instead of my homework, I hold power tools.

Traditionally the school year was designed around the economy - summer "vacation" was for farmwork. Educators in the Gulf area need to adapt - possibly by offering an extended school year to allow for this problem.

It may perhaps be late in the day for the high schools to adapt for Cynthia - but not too late for colleges to do so. Worst case, she needs to go to a local college - perhaps even a community college - for her freshman year.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Grades must stay high to get the good schools
But instead of my homework, I hold power tools.

On the bright side, she already has her college application essay written!

[Lou L]

On the bright side, she already has her college application essay written!

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), the religious references to Christmas in her poem would disqualify her from most colleges and universities!

[Saints fan]

That's because the government caused the disaster.

[SailormanCGA72]

I hope your reply that the government caused the disaster was cloaked in sarcasm that I did not detect.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

He can speak for himself but I think what he means is that the levees were built and maintained by the Army Corp of Engineers which is a Federal program. If they were substandard and not built to specifications then it was a federal program which oversaw the construction.

[Saints fan]

I hope your reply that the government caused the disaster was cloaked in sarcasm that I did not detect.

Maybe a little. As I have said in other posts, New Orleans survived the hurricane. We were flooded when the levies broke.These levies were designed by the Army Corps of Engineers. There are several investigations into why they broke and it is becomeing clear that these designs were extremely faulty and was inevitable that they would fail.They used sheet piles driven through earthen levies, topped by concrete walls.The canals are 18 feet deep yet the piles were designed to be driven 17 feet. They were in fact only driven to 10 feet.Water easily penetrated under these sheet pile and eroded the earthen base and the wall collapsed. Residents whose property backed up to these levies reported leaks last December. NOTHING was done about it.To me, that is malfeasance bordering on criminal.

I know everyone else has already forgotten and moved on. Thats fine. But we here in NO are still living this nightmare.I have been returning every day to gut my house so that maybe someday I can return there. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Paul

[CoastRat]

All that might have been true. But do not ignore the fact that everyone the world around knows a majority of the city is below sea-level, the levees were built to withstand at max a cat3 hurricane, and the levees while maintained are of old technology. So while yes the government built the levees, but saying it's their fault is just pointing the finger. It's natures fault, how about that.

I'm so sure the 'government' decided to built a substandard levee so that later they could pay out millions of tax payers dollars to rebuild the downtrodden areas of New Orleans. If you did some research it would not surprise me if a majority of the workers, foremen, and inspectors that worked on those levees were in some way tied to the local area and the state/local politics that have always been ripe with corruption and greed.

The 'government' is a collection of people that rule this nation that we've elected, or were appointed by people we've elected. I don't remember anyone asking about emergency disaster management skills in the past elections, so it's ultimately OUR fault now isn't it.
But by saying it's OUR fault means we have to take responsibility, something you see less of these days.

[Saints fan]

the levees were built to withstand at max a cat3 hurricane, and the levees while maintained are of old technology. So while yes the government built the levees, but saying it's their fault is just pointing the finger. It's natures fault, how about that.

The levees were supposed to withstand a catagory 3 hurricane but the design was faulty and were supposed to be maintained but weren't.The Army Corps of Engineers was supposed to do both but didn't.That may be pointing fingers but they're pointing at who's to blame.I sure didn't vote for anyone in the ACofE or the Orleans Levee Board so it sure isn't my fault. When extreme malfeasance causes over 1000 lives and 100's of thousands of people's homes, fixing blame is not only necessary, it is the responsible thing to do. What scares me is that the same people will be rebuilding the levees. God help us all.

[nuntukamen]

hi...this is cynthia's employer, and i am just letting you know she appreciates your concerns

[nuntukamen]

and to let the world know this poet lives in ocean springs, MS...not gulfport: after september 1st nothing much is from gulfport except the fish