Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as the storm with the fourth lowest pressure. It is in the top 5 storms in recorded history for pressure. For a time, it was a category 5, slightly turning to the east so that the eye would not strike New Orleans directly. The burdens that those in New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi and other parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had to bear, you and I can only imagine. It was a disaster of monumental proportions, one that those in the deep south are still trying to recover from. There always seems to be another storm threatening nearby. When you stop to consider your own burdens, in the face of what others find themselves dealing with, consider yourself very fortunate. How light our burdens seem..
In the second hour of the program tonight, we deal with the Frankenstein monster. I became reacquainted with Dr. Frankenstein’s pitiful creation while we stayed there back in the late 90’s. While there I took some time to browse through some antiquarian booksellers, and came back with some collector’s edition’s of poetry and prose.
There was one bookseller on the street where we stayed. That I’m sure now is almost completely destroyed by the flooding.. Books were piled high on the shelves from floor to ceiling.. To browse through the stacks was a feast for all the senses. To run your fingers along the cover of books that are long out of print. There is a certain smell associated with antiquarian bookstores.. I would imagine today that all that history and lore is lost. This bookseller was noted for his collection of first editions, books over a hundred years in age. He also carried old maps of the city itself. Some of these books were purchased at estate auctions from the private libraries of families who have spanned the generations in that old city.. Today, I can imagine the loss of some of these one-of-a-kind editions..
Just up the street, on the other side, was a little shop that sold antique mirrors-selling for thousands of dollars apiece.. The proprietor welcomed us like family. She wanted to know everything about us- where we came from, she wanted to see pictures of our kids, and took the time to fill in some of the details about the city’s past- even though she knew we weren’t there to buy.
In another shop that sold almost priceless, antique dolls, the owner made sure he recommended a restaurant with exactly what we were looking for, at a reasonable price. Just describing his fondness for the menu, he said he was tempted to close up shop and join us for lunch. I’ve often wondered what happened to these businesses in the face of all the looting after that storm of historic proportions.
It seems that in every hurricane season in recent memory there has been some monster somewhere lurking over the horizon. Some of them will stay out at sea and eventually creep into cooler waters and their intensity will lessen. Others will ply the same path that previous monsters have chosen. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those now and in the future who have the courage to face the monster head-on.
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Don Jackson
