Wet Bank Guide

So, I'm running my errands and listening to to the 99.5 drive-time knuckle heads Gary Foster and Anthony Patton, a show I usually enjoy. Tonight's topic for callers was complaining about what they perceived as "parties" tomorrow celebrating 8-29. Um, I think we covered that one last year, guys. Now, maybe I've missed something, but most of what I see going on tomorrow falls into the solemn remembrance category. I'm sure that at some point next evening (or perhaps even afternoon) drink may be taken, but I don't know anybody who's going out to party.

I hope at least one of these guys lives in Lakeview or Metarie, so they will think about that as they drive past the 1,400 small white flags of the Lakelawn-Metarie Cemetary commemorating those who died here when the Federal Levees failed. That's where my head will be today (when it's not steering project Titanic through the corporate and vendor icebergs blindfolded at full throttle--"you gotta let it out, Captain!"). I'll be thinking of them, of all the dead , the counted and the uncounted, of all the ghosts of the flood. So before I hang out the black Remember logo on the blog tomorrow, I'll leave you with something I borrowed when they first thought 10,000 were dead , and words failed me. Read this somewhere tomorrow, aloud. Don't be afraid you'll scare people. Or just hand somebody a copy, and say, "Remember".

And death shall have no dominion

By Dylan Thomas

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't ;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And sdeath hall have no dominion.

Shanti. Shanti. Shanti.


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