True story? Not a friend of a friend type internet myth? If so then someone does need to deal with fema bureaucracy
There was a similar story in my local paper of a truckdriver with almost the same experience.
Think of the waste involved if this is a widespread occurrence!
no, this is a friend of mine that lives here in town.
He told his normal customers that he was gonna contribute to the effort in NO and called FEMA and got a contract to haul whatever they needed.
He has been under this first load ever since...
That story about the FEMA ice trucks is no joke.
I used to live in Gloucester, Massachusetts and my friends have been in constant touch because they are so outraged that the trucks are there. It's the most shocking waste of government money anyone could imagine. The trucks are running their refrigeration engines around the clock and making downtown traffic next to impossible. Gloucester, for those who don't recognize the name, is the old-fashioned seaport made famous by "The Perfect Storm" and the Gorton's of Gloucester seafood company. I used to live on a hill overlooking the downtown area and the acoustics from concerts held along the waterfront were so clear that I used to think my neighbors were playing a loud radio. I shudder to think what that racket would sound like if I were still living there (of course, I wouldn't have been in the Katrina/Rita warzone, but that's another story...).
You might not be able to see the entire coverage because it's a paid-subscription site now, but you can visit this link to at least check out the headlines:
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/
This story is not only true, but it's pretty damned appalling. Unfortunately, it's going to take more than a few cranky e-mails from a distant seaport to stir up the national outrage this situation truly warrants. Sigh...