When the Levees Broke
I finagled a free month of HBO from my cable company so I could watch When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. This four-part documentary, directed by Spike Lee, aims to be the “documentary of record” for the horrific events of August 29, 2005, and the days and weeks and months thereafter.
What can I say? It’s an amazing television event that shouldn’t be missed. Acts I and II aired last night. Tonight you can see Acts III and IV. And all four acts will be seen Tuesday, Aug. 29 (8 p.m.—midnight), the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
I wasn’t blogging a year ago, but I can only imagine what was being said in the blogosphere. Last year, I was at home with my then newborn daughter as she recovered from heart surgery, gripped to the TV watching the so-called rescue efforts in the Gulf Coast region. And all the while, I was thinking how thankful I was that I did not have this baby in New Orleans considering how much medical attention she needed in her first three weeks of life. Selfish as that may sound, not a day goes by that I don’t think about all the people—mostly black, mostly low income—who lost everything and are still displaced.
So as the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina rolls around, I find it ironic I had completely forgotten that Ella had her surgery a year ago. Maybe that’s a blessing, and a testament to how well she’s doing. My mother’s birthday was also on the same day—I barely managed to get a gift in the mail. She said something about Ella’s surgery two days after and I was taken aback. In some small way, I’m glad that I didn’t spend the anniversary of Ella’s surgery in mourning. As my husband says, “She lived, you know,” which is his code for not dwelling on what might have been.
Both events, which seem worlds apart to me, are reminders that no day is promised. But I hope that with the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I can put my anxiety into action: make a donation, see what I can do in my area, get involved, vote our current set of knuckleheads out of office, and as always, write-write-write about it.
Watch the documentary. Never forget, but always honor.
What can I say? It’s an amazing television event that shouldn’t be missed. Acts I and II aired last night. Tonight you can see Acts III and IV. And all four acts will be seen Tuesday, Aug. 29 (8 p.m.—midnight), the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
I wasn’t blogging a year ago, but I can only imagine what was being said in the blogosphere. Last year, I was at home with my then newborn daughter as she recovered from heart surgery, gripped to the TV watching the so-called rescue efforts in the Gulf Coast region. And all the while, I was thinking how thankful I was that I did not have this baby in New Orleans considering how much medical attention she needed in her first three weeks of life. Selfish as that may sound, not a day goes by that I don’t think about all the people—mostly black, mostly low income—who lost everything and are still displaced.
So as the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina rolls around, I find it ironic I had completely forgotten that Ella had her surgery a year ago. Maybe that’s a blessing, and a testament to how well she’s doing. My mother’s birthday was also on the same day—I barely managed to get a gift in the mail. She said something about Ella’s surgery two days after and I was taken aback. In some small way, I’m glad that I didn’t spend the anniversary of Ella’s surgery in mourning. As my husband says, “She lived, you know,” which is his code for not dwelling on what might have been.
Both events, which seem worlds apart to me, are reminders that no day is promised. But I hope that with the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I can put my anxiety into action: make a donation, see what I can do in my area, get involved, vote our current set of knuckleheads out of office, and as always, write-write-write about it.
Watch the documentary. Never forget, but always honor.
Comments
sounds like a "must see" documentary.
Hope you get a chance to see the documentary. I was impressed by the people who their gave commentary. And there's certainly enough blame to go around in New Orleans.
I've so glad for you that Ella is doing so well. She looks adorable in the pics you've posted. :-)
We have Comcast, so I have access to HBO on Demand and all of their programming...well...on demand.
So, I get to see Spike Lee’s documentary and the third season of Entourage—my husband and I are hooked on that show!
I was away in ME during Katrina, and we were totally isolated from news. We knew there was a hurricane that was causing lots of rain on the east coast, and we knew that gas prices had practically doubled overnight, but we had NO IDEA the extent of it. We were shocked when we got home.
And I am SO glad that you will get to spend your August in a much better place than you were last year!
wise words indeed, january.
i wonder if the documentary will get an airing on this side of the pond? i'll watch out for it.
( Well, then again - black history has been left out of history books, and slavery in any detail, and many contributions of non-europeans...)