I taught my 8 am microeconomics class, grabbed my friend visiting from Omaha (who is now the headline on Channel Six news for being one of the few real tourists in Grand Isle for a few weeks), and took off for what I can only describe as a trip into an alternate reality. It took me no time at all to figure out that one side of the island has shores that are dead zones while the other harbors–for who knows how long–birds, insects and people who may not live there much longer. In the middle of all of this, a gale force wind with driving rain hit and President Obama visited. I may have to turn this into a series of posts because I have so much to describe that I really don’t feel that one post will do it justice.

Unless you’ve spent some time down here on the Gulf Coast, you’re unlikely to really understand the people that live down here. Hard scrabble is a way of life. Historically, we’ve had systemic attacks on our people, our culture and our environment. The hostility runs pretty deep down here because the history of maltreatment runs pretty deep. There are several historical events that you really need to understand to understand the people of Southeastern Louisiana and the surrounding areas