One of my friends who was stuck in New Orleans managed to get a group of people together and decided to escape from Mid-City. They took a shopping cart from one of the Wal-Marts whose goods were liberated and redistributed to an eager public, filled it full of food, water, and their personal effects (including several cats, and started on their way out).
On the way they saw uniformed cops robbing stores at gunpoint for steroes and other nonessentials, gang members driving by and spraying anyone unlucky enough to be on the streets with automatic fire, and the corpse of an elderly customer of hers(beaten to death with bricks) piled among about a dozen others. I can't even begin to imagine what other kind of horrifying encounters they had, and frankly, do not want to.
Although they nearly died several times throughout their exodus, they managed to make it to Laplace (a town 30 mi away) with everyone still alive. I am amazed by the harrowing things they have encountered and how they managed to overcome them in order to survive.
I guess my point is that even if the news does seem eager to point out 250-lb whiners who bitch at the fact that they've had nothing but water and MREs for the past two or three days, there are some real heroes to come out of this crisis with not only good convictions but the will and courage to follow through on them. Pity that the presence of so much evil threatens to overshadow their accomplishments. I, for one, am in awe.
Thanks for your post - it was a fascinating read. I do wish the reporters would show the story in full and not just harp on the fact that it took too long to get the people out of those 2 areas - when the city at large has had MANY more forces at work, and heroes like you mention who saved others despite harrowing circumstances.
Search for FEMA. It turns out FEMA is not a first responder. That story also has a link to the NOLA disaster plan. The mayor is a big time screwup and shirker.