1828 No words to describe it

Angle of Repose has been blogging about his time in Hurricane Katrina territory here. He's been to Dallas, Houston, Vicksburg National Military Park, Jackson, Ocean Springs-Biloxi-Gulfport-Long Beach-Pass Christian, Mobile, and New Orleans. He left California on September 26 and is now headed home, and back to his regular routine.

"I lack the words to describe the devastation I've seen on the Mississippi coast. The pictures I took can't capture what I saw," he writes.

His photographs tell some of the devastation.

He notes another problem that FEMA has caused: butt sitting syndrome.

"Help is in short supply in the lower paying jobs. Small stores and restaurants have fliers offering jobs and even sign-on bonuses. I thought the lack of employees stemmed from people moving out of the area because their homes were destroyed. I asked a waitress if this was the case. She said there are plenty of people around here to take jobs. The problem is FEMA, which gives money to people who say they they're so stressed out from the hurricane damage that they can't go to work. These people take the FEMA money and then sit on their butts. The thing is, when their FEMA money runs out, they may find getting a job difficult. The waitress said her restaurant wasn't bringing back any of the people who took this FEMA-funded stress leave. She had nothing but contempt in her voice for these people and for FEMA. And why not? The absence of her former co-workers has put an added burden on her and the others who chose to continue working."

Technorati tags: Hurricane Katrina, FEMA