We Have Living Room.

We have living room, bed room is in the process, walls done, floor underlayment done, I start tiling this week. Finished all painting, door casings and trim, still have two rooms to go after bedroom, but to move in all that's left is bedroom. Marie's feeling better and has been helping me. Haven't rode bike lately,having withdrawals. Frank awaits my return , won't be long now. Still expect to be settled in prior to Christmas, to insure that I've scheduled a vacation the week before Christmas. I hope to be back to normal (whatever that is ) by the New Year and hope for a less exciting year next year.
Hope to spent some quality time with granddaughter soon. .
later
gary

We have ceiling!!!!

As you can plainly see having a ceiling is better than not having a ceiling. So we have roof, we have ceiling, once ceiling is floated and painted then we seek floors.
Still shooting for Christmas.
It all hinges on availability of ceramic floor material, it withstands floods and only requires a damp mop occasionally. Not warm and fuzzy like a carpet , but you don't have to cut it an haul it outside when it floods. Today I cut the bottoms off the furniture and added a 4 inch skirt with coasters so we need 6 inches to touch the furniture.
I floated the bathroom and pulled all the paint out of the shed for the effected rooms.
Patched the holes in the roof of the shed, cleaned out the gutters, straightened some of the garage, and bullshitted with the guy across the street for a while. Then at 3:00 pm it started to rain so I ........
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
..........went for a 25 mile bike ride in the rain. It was great, followed the river levee to Ormond Blvd. The River was full of empty freighters waiting to get loaded. The rain was great , it washed away, dirt, sins, dust, worries, ails, and that smell of defeat in the air.
Now the air smells clean and refreshed, excited, ready for life, love and happiness.
when I got home ( mom's house) I felt rejuvenated and tired and hungry.
I didn't get to see Maggie this weekend but we'll make up for that soon.
I'm bushed, I go to bed.....
later
Gary

Maggie's Baptism

10-06-05 Maggie gets baptized. In the first pic Maggie awaits her ceremony, in the second
she sits with godfather uncle Neil, in the third Great Grandma feeds Maggie, next the Baptism crew, godmother Jill, mom Stacy, Dad Jay and godfather Neil, and lastly Deacon does his thing.
Maggie did great , slept through mass and was behaved during the ceremony.
So for one day we stopped recovering from Katrina to celebrate the baptism of Maggie Marie.
It was a nice day, very family and relaxing. No bike rode today but I'll be back.
later
gary
p.s. you can click on each pic to enlarge.

WE HAVE ROOF !

As You can see by the attached pictures , we are no longer in the blue roof club.
We now have a real roof thanks to Nick and Suburban Roof, I've enclosed some pictures of
the mold farm on my ceiling. The orange one is quite dramatic,, it talks. .
Theres' nothing like opening the closet and going for a shirt and find mold dripping off it.
I only had 2 feet of mold, some people had mold to the ceiling. I was lucky.
It's coming around, finished floating my bedroom today.
later
gary

Well , Well, Well,

In 1965 I was sitting on tubular kitchen chair whose seat was covered in light green vinyl,
my black high top tennis shoes rested on the linoleum floor dotted in purple and red flowers except on the ridges of the floor planks that were a brownish non colored color. The old black and white Motorola TV set struggled to show the Long Ranger and Tonto, a light dotty snow enhanced by the rolling horizontal bar , it was exactly 15 seconds from top to bottom.
The window fan sucked in hot humid air, sweat covered my thin well washed white t-shirt and
the fat creases in my arm were lined with dirt beads. During the Meritta bread commercial
I scanned my pocket to find a dollar and ten cents in change, my life' s savings.
I wondered what am I gonna be when I grow up.
I looked around the room and realized then as I do now that all paths lead to here, no matter where here is, it's not a choice it's a path, you can try others , the scenery may be different and the trek may be different but the journeys end is always the same.
So here I sit in 2005 and as I watch the Long Ranger and Tonto on a new Digital Motorola TV
( yes, their still on ) , I wonder what am I gonna be when I grow up, knowing dam well that all paths lead to here anyway.... That my friends is "HOPE".
Those of of us that are blessed are born with it and ultimately die with it.
*******************************************************************
In other news, Neil sheetrocked the bottom of the master bedroom, and Kevin helped
me do the hall and the closets and Marie helped me do the master bedroom closet.
Still waiting on a roof , still trying to set up the rest of the sheetrock work, but we have movement. All the debris in front of the house has been removed.

*********************************************************************
Rode 25 miles this morning , went to Audubon Park, looked great, like nothing out of place except a few live oak branches were trimmed back. Cool temperatures. felt great.
**********************************************************************
Dove across the lake for weekly granddaughter visit, she's doing great, gaining weight,
pretty as ever and developing an attitude like her mother. Feisty.
************************************************************************
Later
gary

Took the tour

Couldn stand it anymore, rode down to the quarter today, toured midcity.
Stopped by the house I grew up in and the one Marie grew up in , there would have been no wading, it would have been a swim for your life. I saw water lines in midcity that were 8 ft off the ground. The quarter looked clean, unscaved, smelled like the quarter, and had a few tourist around, I didn't see any visible damage to any landmarrks and the riverfront looked great.
I even saw some buggies working. Wow! those mules can swim. First picture is Sacred Heart CHurch.
Looks like thier still needing to hook up utilities in a lot of places but the smell was better than I found in Lakeview last week. I think there always be a watermark from the flood of 2005.
The old light house at the lakefront is leaning on one leg. Canal Street looks pretty normal,not good ,just normal .
It's gonna be alright.
later
gary

I wonder

I wonder what it must have been like to have been Tennessee Williams , to wake up and have breakfast on a Bourbon St Balcony, as you eat to taste the sounds, the sights , the smells,
the sun bringing to life the quarter, it fills up your senses and activates inspiration.
He probably sat at a small wooden desk near a window so he could stay in touch with the heating cement, the green post holding the balconies, the black lamp post, their the guardians of the pavement that carries the life of activity that ebbs and wanes as the day progresses.
I close my eyes now and can see Stan Kowoski tearing at his wife beater undershirt and screaming "Stella" with passionate perspiration dripping down his strained face.
I think the lack of air conditioning gave life to life, air conditioning has robbed us
of the confrontations of living passionately. I remember going on dates and wearing my wife beater undershirt until the last minute before putting on my shirt as to minimize the sweat factor. Sometimes I almost looked fresh when knocking on my dates door. 2 hankerchiefs
one for the nose and one for the sweat. Blanche Dubois would have been too comfortable in air conditioning, her character would wither without the passion of dealing with the heat and humidity. I think life should be one passion after another yet that attitude leads to one anxiety after another. So how do you balance the two, I don't know yet..
later
gary

Recovery is such a long process

Brake a bone in a second , 6 weeks to heal and recover..
Have an operation in hours, take months to heal and recover.
Have a hurricane in 8 hours , take years to recover.
It may take years, There isn't enough roofing , sheetrock and furniture
made at this time to make the necessary repairs. .
At least the waters all gone. Most of the trees are cut and being towed away.
The trash and refuse in front of houses is slowly disappearing.
Things get a little better every day..More and more traffic.
Me personally. I'm on the schedule for a roof, now I start the quest for a sheetrocker.
Being homeless is a bad feeling. Even though you have a home, if you can't live in it, your homeless, and no matter where your staying there 's no place like home.
I'm lucky I'm only blocks from my home , others have no more home or are hundreds of miles away. Is that lifes simplest term, "luck", who 'll be pulled away from the campfire by the sabre toothed tiger tonight, is it a matter of luck , chance? I want to believe that we have a tiny bit of control but now I have doubts about that. You just can't control all that surrounds.
later
gary

Turning the corner...

Hopefully we have turned the corner,
Grandaughter has inherited my genes and
is gorgeous, we may have a new roof in 2 to 3 weeks, and Frank and I have been doing a little biking. Maggie is doing great, she kicks those legs non stop, and has learned to cry both day and night.. She gaining weight and and has already been to Walmart twice. Wait till the Esplanade Mall opens back up , Stacy and Marie will be Maggie shopping non stop. . .................................................................................................................................................................................
In other news.. .
2 Days ago I drove3 into Lakeview and along the lakefront, its like going to another planet. Everything under 8 feet is brown and covered in dried mud. SOme of the most beautiful neighborhoods in New Orleans are a muddy mess. The shelters on the lakefront are half in tack and the lighthouse at west end is on a 45 degree angle. There's a smell in the air , pungent and acidic, the first blocks of Veterans toward the 17th street canal are littered with boats. Thank God we received this beautiful child to remind us of what life is really about, life , not things...
You don't have to look too far to see how lucky we are. .
I hope my beloved city survives this...
later
gary

Woe is me.

In the words of King Richard "My Kingdom for a Roofer"


It's ok though, sooner or later I shall prevail.

I'll go ride my bike today in spite of everything

later
gary

Not another one!!!

Well,well,well,beachfront property available in BatonRouge, Sun tanning in ALexandria,
Summering on the waterfront in Hattisburg Ms. It's all possible.
Where are these thing s coming from and why are they attacking Louisiana.
Grandaughter news......
Maggie Marie found her lungs, a trait she picked up from her mom.
Small but powerful , just like her mom.
She had her first pediatrician visit andall is ok.
"She was born in a crossfire hurricane".
I guess she always grow up asking why she was born in Baton Rouge and not in COvington.
It'll be like theFlood of 27 stories.
Later,
gary'

BaCK TO wORK

Went back to work, no technicians to do the work.
Waiting on their return.,
Moved in with mom.
Trying to get a roofer to do the roof, not being sucessful.
Pulling sheetrock in my spare time.
Diana and Kevin helping clean up.
Stacy and Maggie doing great.
What a year.

Later
Gary

Maggie Marie Martin

MaggieMarieMartin ,

6 pounds anad 13 ounces.

Triple M

She and her mom and dad are back in Covington , with water and electricity. All are well and at home resting.

Later,

gary

A blessing in a time of everything else

At about 7;00 pm tonight (Sunday) Maggie Marie Martin was born -
6 pounds 13 ounces at WOmens Hospital in Baton Rouge.
My daughter Stacy gave birth to our first grandchild. As my children were, she is perfect. Mon and baby doing great, Stacy says it was a peice of cake.
In Hurricane news, got the mold out of the house, cleaned the ceiling and
pulled the sheet rock from the closets. Moved all valuables to the Kitchen ( a saferoom), thanks to Diana and Kevin it was possible. Holding off on any repairs till we see what Rita is doing, as recommended by Rusty.
Living at moms house for now, no cable or telephone but electrcity.
Staying in Baton Rouge tonight, still have our room
Neil and Danelle are also staying here so Neil can work in Baton Rouge
tomorrow. I have to get back to work as soon as I can and help out Rusty,
he's holding the fort down by hisself.
Things are getting brighter , just real slow at coming....
call me anytime, 504-388-7534
later
gary

Its Thursday

Dear All, Its thursday, I'm going nuts, more than before,
need to get homeward, starting to feel like Ulysses. I'll take the challenges, fill my ears with wax and roll me through the islands
of the sirens. Waiting for either Jeffparish to let us in so I can go to moms house or for Stacy to get electricity to go to her house, then to moms house,the people here have been great ,but it's time to go . .
Can't pull sheetrock 100 miles away...
Got your message Will, what a rap this will make.
Yea,well State street may not have been any better, who knows. .
hang in there , nothing is forever....
later
gary

ONe day this week,

Brother Brian and Gay visited yesterday, they then went to Covington
to see mon and Diana. I saw Will O at the dealership today, he bussed in from Atlanta, Heard from Louis Picard from Louisville Dallas Texas.
tusty Rusty helped me again today, don't know what I'd do without the boy, Diana and Kevin and I did Moms house and they helped me some more with my house, thanks again.. My street now has elec, doesn't help me much here in baton rouge, I got a pass to go back to work but can't leave Marie alone that long. We'll get there sooner or later.
At the dealership were, Rusty, Mike, Pio, Arnold, BObby, Larry,
Will O, Melissa, Bridgett, Frank Reed, Chuck BOrne, RObert ,
Chad, and Bret... Brandon was there yesterday. .
Heard from Gene, not much left of his home, sorry Gene.
Thanks for all the offers to live in , especially Maries family in Minnesota.
Looking forward to getting into mon's house and using it as a base to work on my house. Just need the Ok to go back.
Its all relative, thank God we're still alive, thank God we still have a house, Thank God we can plan a future. Some have non of the above.
.
more later.. .
gary

What day is it. ????

I think its saturday, can't tell any more, Stacy still has no elec,
went to Home Depot and bought some demolision supplies,
Being fed by the red Cross, anxious to get home, but can't ,
maybe to Stacy's , closer to home. . .
bored to death. .
want to start busting sheetrock, can't get in though.
Hope tarp on roof holds up .
Later,
gary

Thursday

My son helped me 2 days ago to cover my roof and get some belongings,
The day before he and his inlaws pulled my carpet and emptied my freezer, and frig , he also worked on the roof then, thanks to all of them , I couldn't have done it alone, Neil, Nat, Danny, Danelle, Dawn, Greg and Michael, I owe them big time. .
Today I picked up Rusty and went back for more personal things, pictures, papers , clothes and my bike. MOld is growing on the ceiling and in the closets, it's gonn abe a loing hard road back , but we've done it before. .Can't go back no more , lock down, going to Stacy's as soon as she gets electricity.
SOrry no pictures , have camera but no computer to hood up to ,
this is the communal one in the motel, .,
later
Gary

Its wednesday

Heard of or from the following people.
Sister Diana and fly- home
Mom - with Diana ,
Brian and fly in white castle going to Dallas, ,
Will - O in Atlanta,
Rick in Atlanta,
Gene in Shreveport,
Matt in Harahan,
CHad Callahan is in Plaquemine out of Baton ROuge.
Don in Kenner,
Debbie in Lafayette,
Rusty at home with power and water,
Joel the weekend warrier on Canal St.
Jan and Janet in Atlanta,
JOhnny and Aunt Betty in Houston,
Louis Jung in Tyler Texas,
Darrin Ralph in Lafayette in a crowed house,.
Pat my neighbor in Baton ROuge
Kirk Kratzenberg in Galveston or some beach in Texas.
David Bailey in Slidel- ok
Vladaslav - part unkn.
If you know someones whereabouts,
let me know , leave a comment here.....
Good Idea Will O.
Gary from Baton Rouge

beriut

I visited the house yesterday, I'm not sure its' still our home , it been taken over by a hurricane, it's haunted with water and rot and wind damage. Yes , what they say is right, metairie and New Orleans look like Beriut after a war. Any tree of respectable size is down, any bill board over 5 feet high is bent over, I have water coming in my house through the leaking roof and up form the flood waters. No electricity, no water, no sewerage.So we stay in Baton Rouge till my daughter gets electricity then we go to covington. One step at a time. I'm starting to enjoy red cross meals. The house, a shell of the home it once was. God help us. .
I miss New Orleans. She'll never be the same.
My camera and I will have to find new dreams to record, new adventures.
new life. First I have to fix my house. A secure cave is priority one.
A good fire is second .Then we hunt and fish...

Still in the twilight zone...

Still in Baton ROuge, things are very nice, the Red Corss is bringing
food to our motel , nice meals. Tomorrow I try to locate money without working, , begging, whinning, asking to State Farm to kick in,
getting a job here as a porter. . or a bus boy. I'd think i;d liike that.
Went back to my houuse today, it stunk, 6 inched in the front two rooms.,
and the roof peeled on the left side and is leaking in the living room . covered it with tarps for now, hope they stay till I get a roofer.
TOmorrow is state farm, wednesdat is stacy's test the thursday is Marie's blood test for her chemo on friday.... god help us all.
Se la Vie. .

Living in the twilight zone.

I'm living in the TWILIGHT ZONE, none of this can be real,
wound up in Baton Rouge, thank God for Uncle Elster and aunt Essel
for putting us up till we found a room, we may have to move back in with them if thing go on too long.
I keep thinking I'll wake up one morning and all this year would have been a dream .
Stacy's looks like she's gonna give birth any minute,
Marie is worn out and frazzled,
I'm tired of worrying about what's gonna happen next.
As I've said before, sometimes your the pigeon and sometimes your the statue, but how much bird shit can a man take in one year.
Longing for New Orleans.
Thing have got to get better, and they will, we're better off than
most, we 're counting our blessing and thanking God we're all safe and we have family and friends that take care of us....
later
gary

Hurricane interruption

Well I was ready for a great ride but mother nature intervened.
I rode the river to Audubon Park, from there I toured Uptown on the way to the quarter.
Took a few pictures. One is a pic of Erato St. it's a brick or cobblestone street that still
has streetcar tracks from years past. Another is the Greater St. Stephens Catholic Church,
where else can you find a German Gothic architecture Roman Catholic Church in a French Spanish City, and naturally across the street from the church is a large bar room.
I've enclosed a self portrait, The picture of the house on the corner was once the office of Dr Mattingly. Dr Mattingly was our family Dr. but back then his office was as grandiose as it is now.
impressive.
Then I heard it on the Radio, Hurricane central , hurricane ,what ever her name is, is heading for us. OH OH, I headed home with great speed, wound up with 40 miles anyway. Marie went to fill up with gas I went to the grocery, boarded up the windows, picked up the yard, covered the turbines on the roof. See house picture of hurricane preparedness. What a pain in the ass.
Packed up our clothes, Stacy has rooms in Beaumont. She's 9 months pregnant,
I'm against the trip but my vote isn't counted. I'm packed but not sure where I'm going, but was told I'm getting out of here. Will ask Uncle Elster and Aunt Essel if we can stay with them in Baton Rouge, or if the storm moves to the east a little may try to stay at Stacy's. It would be a good time to visit Jimmy, Peggy, Erin and Allison in New Jersey If your interested in hurricane conditions call me on my cell 504-388-7534, I'll be reporting... and taking pictures. .
later
gary

Sunday Morning Smooth ride.

Got up at 6:00 am started to ride at 6:30. Stepped outside to be greeted by sprinkle of rain.
NO problem, don't stop nothing, had to leave the camera home, put my phone and mp3 player in plastic sandwich bags and headed out. The temperature was great, si never did rain and
my legs felt great, I felt like I flew through 30 miles in no time. You have to have a flood of
endorfins crowding you head to really appreciate Gods creations. The trees, the sky, the birds,
the insects, music, the sprinkling rain. What a feeling, I love this sport..
NO pictures today , but hey still a great ride.. 75 mile weekend. Time's running out , gotta to add some miles next few weeks. . .

What a hot one.

Had a great ride today, 45 miles in 92 degree heat. Slept late, didn't start out till about 8:30
rode to the quarter and didn't want to leave, the streets were shady and cool, still rich with the air conditioning that poured out the night before, I was there till about 10:00, there were a lot of people out and about by then. I spent some time stopping to take photographs, listened to some music and posed for a few tourist pictures, It was so hot I spent some time diving off bridges into the water to cool off. The silver bridge over Bayou St John, The Lakefront bridge over Bayou St John and the Greater New Orleans over the Mississippi, very cooling . I also spent some time looking for Rus and Tone'. They were supposed to be in the quarter this morning so I checked there usual spots, never did find them. Stopped at Ursuline Convent and asked a Nun
if they'd been there, she laughed so hard she dropped her habit, smoking and gambling. Ha,ha,.
Stopped to watch someone paragliding at the beach. Looked exciting, think I may need to try it sometime. It's was too hot to get too philosophical, just pushed through the ride. Enjoyed the sights, enclosed a picture of a real Streetcar. . Exhausted, time to recover and eat everything in sight.
I love this sport,
later
gary

Great Sunday Ride.

Had a great ride today, 35 miles on top of the 45 yesterday makes a great weekend.
Rode the River Levee today. Hot, boring but smooth and fast. Ran into Frank, he was jogging.
When I say the river rats at the Grain Elevators are big, I mean big, I had to stop and fight one to get by.
I was so far from home I ran into a herd of Zebra.. They just watched me go by, no problem.
toward the end of my adventure I had to duke it out with Godzilla, he allowed me to pass.
Needless to say I had plenty of time to think on this ride and cleared up a few things in my mind.
My imagination went wild , thank goodness, things were beginning to get boring. 80 mile weekend, getting there......
later
gary

Hot Saturday

Great Day, Slept late, started riding at about 8:30. Started at the lakefront, rode down Canal to the quarter the followed Bayou St. John to the Lakefront. Great weather , no toothache, no flats,
no broken spokes or bones, nothing but me , nature and hot weather. I took it slow,
watched my hydration. I was able to sneak in 45 miles. Passed through my old neighborhood,
hadn't in a while, passed by the Dixie Brewery, as kid I could lay in bed at night, windows open with the big window fan sucking in the outside air that smelled of that sweet corn cooking at the brewery. Passed by Fretags Bakery, no longer Fretags bakery ( best Eclairs on the planet)but the building is still there.
Got a picture of a real neutral ground, Galvez St neutral ground with a walk down the middle and grass on the side for playing football, flying kites and for hiding when your throwing water balloons into the open windows of the busses that come by. Found my next bike purchase, picture enclosed, went down Palmyra St. It's not too different, the house I grew up in is still there, I thinks it's in the National Historic Building Registry as the house Gary Gauthier grew up in, yeah, right. . Stopped to photo the new streetcars on Canal Street, I'm not happy with them , they have air conditioning, they are red and don't make those screeching noise that streetcars make. The originals are still on St Charles Ave. I hope they keep the old green ones going.
Last week I put up Bourbon St. in the morning , this week it's neighbor, Royal St.
some asked for a more closeup of me, so I enclosed a closeup of me. . (self portrait)
The food was smelling great, bacon, coffee, bienets, cafe o' lait, and leftover beer scuzz from the night before. mixed all together it smells like cotton candy.
Its been a great day, I hope for a great tomorrow, or even a tomorrow will be fine.
Never forget what that great philosopher "Dorothy " said. Toto, I don't think were
in Kansas anymore. No shit Dorothy, wake up , she had to have been from Chalmette or Weggaman prior to movng to Kansas.

later
gary