Five Years Ago, Today....

I posted this on a message board I frequent and thought it was necessary to have anyone who still reads my blog to see it.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina came onshore just near the Mississippi and Louisiana border. More than 1,800 people were killed & it cost more than $81 billion in damages. It was what we call a "100-year storm". Yes, it was a disaster, both man-made and natural.

I lived in New Orleans then and do so now. It's my home. And, it's a much different place than before the storm. Some things are better, some things are just as bad. But we need people outside of the region to not forgot what transpired on that late August day. While I know many things went wrong and many of the lives lost were taken unnecessarily, it still was a natural disaster. It showed no discrimination, even if local, state, and federal government officials did.

People here perceive that most of America has forgotten about Mississippi and Louisiana, or that we should all be rebuild and restored by now. But that's not the case, and there are many different factors for why that hasn't happened. I cannot explain it all in a thread; all I can ask is for you to not forget.

If you wouldn't mind, read the semi-unbiased account on Wikipedia and help to keep us in your thoughts and [if so inclined] prayers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina

Thanks,

Jeff Watkins
Gentilly Terrace, New Orleans, LA

Beard Facts

Via: Online Schools

Summer

Summer in the south can be tragic. It's so hot and muggy that you will literally sweat and lose your breath just by walking out the front door.

Today, to enjoy the summer's heat, I sat outside on my porch, smoked two cigarettes and ate a frozen Diet Coke.

Summer days, uncomfortably warm nights.

I think Arts St. is hotter than Bienville Ave.

Gentilly Terrace is hooooooooooottttt!

I Have Moved, Again

Well, it's been a year. I guess it's time for a move. My girlfriend and I got a place and I'm now back in Gentilly Terrace (near the seminary). If you'd like my address, send me a message.

Jeff on Dr. King

Recently, Cornel West posed the following query on his website, in a section called 'Stand Up, Speak Out,' asking for the general public's response. He asked, "Do you think Dr. King's dream has been fulfilled by President Obama?"

I said the following:

No, Dr. Martin Luther King's dream was not fulfilled by the election of President Obama. Martin Luther King was about total equality for all people, regardless of race, gender, creed, or nationality. Having an African American man inaugurated as president doesn't qualify as the answer to the "I have a dream" speech. Dr. King wasn't hoping for political position; rather, he was hoping for racial equality. Dr. King wouldn't have cared that a black man got elected when racism still exists in America. Consequently, when President Obama was elected, racism didn't cease to exist. The freedom MLK sought will only be realized when there is no more racism! Dr. King spoke for black, white, red, purple, green...all colors and races, not just the race he was assigned to by the Almighty. Even though Dr. King was a human being, who was just as finite and frail as all humans, he spoke like a prophet. His words rang true then, much as they do now. Dr. King's dream will only be fulfilled when we stop hating people for what they look like and only hate the actions of evildoers.

My New Orleans Musical Hero

This is Professor Longhair. Listen to "Tipatina" and "Go to Mardi Gras".

"She's enjoying penis a little bit more?"

ABC26 New Orleans reports on a shot that enlarges the "g-spot" on a woman. And an unintentional flub that lets the rest of the country know why we are so backwoods:

 

Childlike or Childish?

It's often said by those who say things that folk listen to that being childlike is a compliment. The Bible says that faith like a child is what God considers Christ-honoring. But when someone calls another person childish, fists fly. Why? I have been called many things in my life but childish is one that is not too often taken graciously. Matter of fact, I act out negatively toward it. Why?

The crux of the issue is that when I'm called childish, it makes me feel like I'm being a child. There is more going on within me though. Let's take a trip down memory lane.

When I was a kid, I got in trouble all the time for running my mouth. Even if I wasn't saying something bad or telling a lie, I just always talked. It was tough for me, it really was. I got N's in conduct grades in grammar school because I always ran my trap. As I grew up, I never got a hold on it. I learned to just shut up, but I never figured out how to disconnect the hose that runs from my brain to my mouth. I think, pun possibly intended, that I think more thoughts than the general public. Perhaps this isn't the case. I have no real way of knowing. I'm too lazy to do the research and see if brain activity is dependent on psycho-social contingencies or if it's a matter of personal body chemistry. I don't know, but I do know that I think a lot of thoughts at any given second. And I'm not trying to tout my own thoughts as unique, intelligent, or important; I just think a lot.

It does, however, typically get me in trouble. And it's seemingly all the time. Whether I come off like a know-it-all, a dick, a jerk, a child, whatever, I get in trouble. I alienate friends. Coworkers develop a disdain for me. Hell, even total strangers are apparently put off by the fact that my shoes have holes in them.

I digress. My mouth is what gets me in trouble. I suppose my actions do it more, but my mouth is what makes the trouble arise. Even if I wrong someone, telling them that it's there fault or they made me do it causes the matter at hand to become more of an issue. If I would just accept what I did, apologize, and say that I'll work on not doing it again, then it might not even really matter that I did something deplorable in the first place. But I don't. I do some sketchy thing then I use my mouth to defend it (as if I had any real defense to stand on). I'm 29 and still I must confess that I get into trouble. Nobody else gets into trouble unless they get a DUI or get fired for looking at porn at work. I don't know anyone else.

Won't something just click within me that allows me to function on the level that my age dictates I should be at. I act childish because in many ways I'm a child still. I buy records over shoes. I work a job that is somewhat below me given that I have felt a calling to a path that required me to seek higher education. I blame everyone but myself for the choices I make. Christ help me!

Then even as I know the right way or thing to do, I still operate on the wrong frequency. I always choose the bad. Not always. I make the right choices some days. Is everyday a day that goes by that I, Jeff, can actually not sin? For me, I don't think I'm capable.

So, as I stated, when someone calls me childish, I feel like I haven't experienced maturation beyond the age of 15. Thus, I act like that. I kick or throw things. I act like a child. I'm sorry for acting like a child, friends.

I'm working on it.

Twitter

It's very difficult to find the time to blog. So, I wanted to let you know that I'm on Twitter. You can follow on me at www.twitter.com/jefferygwatkins