Smiley Anders for September 11, 2008

• By SMILEY ANDERS
• Advocate columnist
• Published: Sep 11, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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One of the complaints I’ve heard from readers is about the lack of national news coverage on how Louisiana residents are coping after the devastation of Gustav.

So I was glad to see the Sept. 9 New York Times story that colleague Ed Cullen sent over to me.

Headlined “Storm Long Past, Darkness and Heat Still Cling to Baton Rouge,” the story on Page A18 was by Adam Nossiter, with Jeremy Alford contributing.
The story featured photos by The Advocate’s Mark Saltz and former Advocate photographers Lori Waselchuk and Tim Mueller.

In the hard-hit Capital Heights subdivision, Marilyn O’Brien, Verien Flaherty, Kelly Nelson and Keith Morris told of their experiences with the storm and its aftermath.

Other comments came from U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell and Entergy spokesman Alex Schott.

The story opened with this line: “The fearsome heat of a South Louisiana summer, unmediated by air-conditioning, reduces the strong to a primal struggle and sends the weak to the hospital.”

“I’m not coping; I’m just existing,” said Marilyn.

But Keith was more positive: “I’ve lived in Louisiana and in Siberia, and it’s a hell of a lot easier here than in Siberia.”

To find the story, you can Google New York Times and Baton Rouge.

Nutty times
Gail Stephenson was one of the very few readers who appreciated my recent “hurricane haikus.”
She even sent me one of her own:

“Yards strewn with pecans.

Green missiles fly from mowers.

Hungry squirrels this fall.”