Our Lady of Prompt SuccorHasten to Help Us...

I got a call last night from New Orleans. My friend Mary had called to ask me to go to the website of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, the patron of New Orleans, and to pray... and to KEEP PRAYING. Knowing me, and my rather dubious spirituality, she wasn't 100% serious... she was only 99.97% serious.

Mary already had much of her stuff packed and was preparing to get things, like risers for her bed, if and when the flooding comes. Mary knows the drill. She lost her house three years ago when The Thing took us out last time.

Yesterday, Louisiana Governor (and possible McCain running mate) Bobby Jindal made statement trying to reassure everyone that plans were well in hand and that comes as soon as Thursday, the state might start "activating bus contracts" with contraflow escape routes starting as early as sometime Saturday. Of course, during this time, a week away from probable landfall, C. Ray Nay-gone has yet to utter a word (at least any word that I can find) and Governor Jindal is probably feeling pretty pissed that he might have to miss the Republican Convention.

So here we go again. Gustav has already killed 11 in Haiti and will no doubt cause even more havoc in Cuba when it blasts that little island sometime tomorrow. The fact of the matter is that wherever this storm goes, it's likely to be massive. I have friends on the West Coast of Florida that could get hit if it heads East, and friends in Mississippi that will get hit if it heads down the middle, and lots and lots of dear folks in New Orleans (who I expect will get the hell outta Dodge pretty quickly), if it stays on the track the weather service is now predicting.

So... I'm heeding Mary's request and taking the prayer to Our Lady of Prompt Succor out to the backyard where I can pray it in front of the statue of The Virgin that my landlord has in my little "Garden of Good Graces." Care to join me?