Winner winner chicken dinner!

That's a bittersweet win on The Over, and a bet I would have preferred to lose. I had thought Entergy would get everyone hooked back up sooner this time, having had rebuilt the week links after Katrina. But I also knew Gustav was packing a bigger punch, so I was already prepared in my mind to go well beyond the Over/Under of 4 days. That was easy money, but somehow, I don't feel like a big winner. I feel like I am trapped in some 3rd world country.
I decided to take a break this afternoon from the controlled chaos here in Baton Rouge. It's really been a trying week, to say the least.
The efflorescent Red Star Bar is so graciously providing wi-fi, air-conditioning and all of our favorite Happy Hour beverages of choice this afternoon, right up to the mandatory curfew tonight. Yes...curfew. It's been set at 8pm all week since Gustav blew us to bits, but today is Friday, and the powers that be have extended the curfew to 10pm tonight! And folks, they mean business. Of 77 arrests in Baton Rouge just last night, 52 were for violating curfew. The others were either DUI or looting. Looting! Who invited that jackass to the party?

The electricity has been knocked out over the entire area since Monday, going on day #5! Rumor has it my neighborhood will be restored sometime during the weekend, but I'll believe it when I feel it. It's slowly being restored in various spots all around town, and lines for gasoline have diminished, restaurants are beginning to open back up for service, and major intersections are getting streetlights back on & such. I have so much to talk about...a bunch of pictures to share...shots of the remarkable damage just in the few areas I've ventured out to over the last few days. It's been not so much fun trying to get back to the routine of working for a living. And just as I suspected, my company is back online and fully operational, under their own generator power of course, while myself & co-workers are having to rough it without power at home.

I would like to report one thing...it is a noteworthy feather in the cap of mankind under duress. Everyone here is a victim of the storm in some way, and we are all feeling the effects of the worst natural disaster in these parts since, oh, just 3 years ago. This one was worse for Baton Rouge. The thing is, though, every individual has a story of their own post-storm trials and tribulations, and everyone is doing their best to maintain, but we're all at the point of sparing each other the bitching and complaining, and are just ready to lend a helping hand. We are one, feeling the same pain, and efforting towards the same goal: to get back to normal life. And to that I raise my glass. We made it through, and the damage is manageable. It ain't fun, but it is tolerable. We are Louisiana. No matter how bad it gets, "Let's all pass a good time!"