Samedi~the day our hearts stood still

I can smell jasmine and oleander covering this evening like a wide cotton bed sheet of white class lace. And I taste her breath of red wine and cigarettes and Mary Jane and Bloody Mary coughing on the banquette by the gate of this courtyard in the Marigny. I lay me down my soul to sleep.
But the Heat won't let me. So, I lie awake and dream of a dog park, a bald green lot, with 2 trees beside the coffee warehouse. You can see the bags loading in off the dock. You can feel it on your skin when they roast it up. There the people gather with their very best friends and drink in the shade and talk in the wind, while this flat bywater sunset finds them, laying down their entire lives. There was a time, when all these houses built from barge wood gave strong men right livelihood as they flooded in from the River.
You may know the sounds of unbroken belief, with a bucket of seeds and the pigeons beside you, as you fly down the wet stones of the street to a little cafe' named for the Goddess of Flowers.
There the 8~Ball lines up with a Lucky~13, and Snake Eyes and Diamond and Demons in Chains. And Angel waits for Saint Ann to begin, with her masque made of sorry and a laugh made of sin.
So when I die, do please carry me down Royal Street, with a brass band on a 2nd Line beat by the courtyards in the Marigny.

Thank you all for sticking with the Ladder these past few years since we launched. All youz Gentle'rillas have raised us to a level above the miasma at around 350 hits/day Solid.
We are so gratified to visit the city that care forgot and the presidente left for dead, and meet those of you who follow this daily testiment to public record. That is all we have ever done... well, of course Editilla does have a Bent for the Exquisite Corps.
But I am here, at home with The Lady.
We traveled today with friends about the flooded plain and enjoyed the fruits of all these hard working survivors and bloggers and activist who keep New Orleans going Sinn Féin.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart every one.

Flags~Village of the Slabbed

Coalition of organizations now 77 strong!~SaveCharityHospital.com

Jarvis DeBerry: Four years after Katrina: loving New Orleans, facing the consequences

Obama Pledges To Push Ahead With Katrina Recovery ~AP

Corps Misses Deadline To Repair Salty Levees ~WDSU

Health clinic keeps New Orleans music alive~Mark Potter

Vendredi~Happy IV! Pump You, New Orleans!

Commentary: Does Obama care about New Orleans?
~Harry Shearer

President Obama Ignores Louisiana, New Orleans and Katrina Recovery~Jeff Crouere

We're counting on you,
Mr. President
~Dear Mr. President,
Tomorrow we will mark the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Louisianians and nearly killed a great American city. We will miss having you in our midst.
~Editilla Ho'tellas~ Of course Gentle'rillas may read my own, and Crescent City Ray's, letter to the One.
On mine, look for the Tag Line: "IT'S THE LEVEES STUPID"

The Katrina flood was a man- made disaster, part XXIII
~John McQuaid

Economic Hit Men and the Next Drowning of New Orleans
~Hurricane Bush Four Years Later, Part 2
~Greg Palast~“Certainly he was critical of what the oil companies did to the coast,” Louisiana engineer HJ Bosworth told me. “Seeing what kind of bad citizens they were. Dozens and dozens of pipeline canals just carved the living daylights out of the coast just to find some oil.”
Well, we need oil, don’t we? True, but Bosworth, who advises Levees.org, a non-profit group that birddogs hurricane safety work, explained the connection between flooding New Orleans and oil drilling quantified by van Heerden’s research. “Takes a million years to build (the protective coastal marsh); once you carve it up, it’s just like bleeding a wild animal, hang it up, carve some holes in it, and the juice just drains out of it. Saltwater and tide invade. You make [the state] susceptible to flooding from coastal and tidal surges.”
~Levees.org will be featured on Anderson Copers 360
Friday night at 10p EST.

New Orleans Pumps Unsafe
. . . on Katrina Anniversary
~Jesselyn Radack
~Editilla Qualifylias~ Readers asked why or how could such a Huge Story of skulduggery and corruption by the Exquisite Corps NOT get covered in the Local Times-Picayune???
Well,,, Lemme Toll'yaz....

New Orleans Holds Public Defender’s Office Hostage To Red Light Camera Revenue
~Edward Niedermeyer

Firehouse rebuilding project's completion celebrated in
New Orleans
~Ramon Antonio Vargas

Rep. Ron Paul to address New Orleans Investment Conference
~Brien Lundin

Jeudi~Pump You, New Orleans!

"When a Charity Hospital baby tells ya some- thing, it's the truth."
~SaveCharityHospital.com

LSU Board approves hospital governance agreement
~Jan Moller
~A deal spelling out the governance of a proposed teaching hospital in lower Mid-City won quick, unanimous approval today from the Louisiana State University System Board of Supervisors.

OSC Report Substantiates Allegations of Defective Hydraulic Pumps in New Orleans
~An independent evaluation released in June by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), relying on the assessment of an independent engineer, has determined that there are serious safety and reliability issues with hydraulic pumps that were installed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. These pumps are designed, in case of emergency, to move flood water away from the city to the lake side of the floodgates. Despite repeated internal reports that the pumps were faulty, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Department of Defense Inspector General (DoDIG) have repeatedly denied inherent flaws in the hydraulic pumps since 2007.~Garland Robinette lands on this like a 50 pound hammer.
~Levees.org will be featured on Anderson Copers 360
Friday night at 10p EST.

Playing the Inside Game...
--A Cautionary Tale
~Harry Shearer
~Obama's remarks about New Orleans during the campaign were anodyne boilerplate, and what he's giving us now is more of the same. He won't even do the obligatory photo-op in the city on 8/29; he told the Times-Picayune he'll come down "before the end of the year". He didn't say which year.
UPDATE~ Since the release of the Office of Special Counsel's scathing report of corruption and lies surrounding those Pumps, we have decided to compost this piece from the other day.
It still bears mentioning that our President doesn't know why New Orleans flooded on 8/29/05 because apparently he gets all of his information from the Corps of Engineers.
Rather than Acting as Commander in Chief of the Army, our poor clueless youngster leader-wannabee is actually apparently merely Reacting to being Commanded By the Corps of Engineers.
~Editilla Scarecrow'tellas~ I have received considerable critique regarding my Letter to the White House, which I also posted onto Harry's comments section, and continue to send around New Orleans and the rest of the country. Given such a response, we should probably start composting the thing.
(Thanks fo'yo comment/letter Crescent City Ray!)
They argue that I am being rude and insensitive and giving the Neocoward After'Birthers ammo with which to flick wicked words at the Obama, with my statement to the President:
IT'S THE LEVEES STUPID.
They say people in Harry's audience might be offended or not understand. I know Herollero Harry Shearer understands.
I know my readership understands we have no time to "play nice".
I damn well know savvy political fixer Jim Carville reads the Ladder and understands, as he is where I got the inspiration.
And, just as when Carville nailed Big George Sr's defeat, I hope this works to bring us a better and truer candidate in the next Presidential Election --and I will work towards that goal should Obama continue to forget his place in New Orleans.
But in the interest of fairnes, how's this: OBAMA IS BULL SHITTING NEW ORLEANS FOR POLITICAL GAIN.
Obama needs to see real political consequences of continuing to keep his head in his ass about New Orleans. If not, then in 2012 Haley Babar and Bobblyhead "Zaphir" Jindoll will roll over his failed presidency like a fat cartoon elephant.
Just as there are No 2nd Chances with Catastrophic Engineering failures, there is No Crying in Politics. So suck it up, face the Line,
fix the problem or drown in your own damn'nation.

Sen. Landrieu's plan to export Louisiana's coastal destruction to Florida~Sue Sturgis
~While Louisiana struggles to restore coastal wetlands ravaged in large part by decades of oil and gas drilling, its senior senator is leading the effort to lift the ban on drilling off Florida's Panhandle.

US Federal Water Policy
- A New Wave Is Coming
~Jeremy N. Block

US Supreme Court asked to consider mining appeal ~AP
~Several environmental groups are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider whether the Army Corps of Engineers is properly issuing fill permits for mountaintop removal mines.

Mercredi

‘Hands Around the Dome’ ceremony to mark Hurricane Katrina anniversary
~Louisiana Weekly

Corps of Engineers will not lead new coastal panel
~Mark Schleifstein
~A new interagency working group being created by President Obama to tackle coastal restoration planning in Louisiana and Mississippi is likely to be led by either the White House Council on Environmental Quality or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, not the Army Corps of Engineers.

On Katrina Anniversary Week, Coalition Urges Army Corps to Honor Obama's Priority to Restore Wetlands

Levees.org Launches Historical Marker Initiative in Greater New Orleans

Bad Faith, Intimidation Continue New Orleans Citizen Worries~Carol Forsloff

Katrina wounds Buras community, but can't kill it
by Paul Rioux

State facing costly insurance situation~Sarah Chacko

Catching on – Mississippi Insurance Chief criticizes State Farm’s 45% coastal rate hike ~slabbed

Insurers Look Vulnerable If Hurricane Season Turns Active

An ill wind~Emma James

St. Bernard housing fight drags on despite ruling
~Chris Kirkham

Audacity of Hope, reality collide in post-Katrina New Orleans

Spirit of Recovery: Big business missing in Lower 9th Ward, N.O. East~Sally-Ann Roberts

WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY FORUM~NOLAFemmes

Activists ask Speaker Pelosi to take action on 4th anniversary of Katrina ~Facing South

Spokeswoman: Congressman wasn’t invited to rally
~Robert Zullo
~HOUMA — They demanded to know his whereabouts, scoffed at his absence and shouted for a recall. During a planned “Recess Rally” in front of Houma’s federal building Saturday, where more than 200 people protested proposals for national health-care reform, there were chants of “We want Charlie,” “Chicken Charlie” and “Where is Charlie?”
They were talking about U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, who many in the crowd said they expected to be at the rally, which lasted from noon to 2 p.m. in front of the federal building, where Melancon keeps an office.
But a spokeswoman said Monday that the three-term congressman was never invited.

Twitter, Obama and Humid Beings broke my blogging habit.
~Humid Haney

WPA Projects in New Orleans
~Kathleen Parker

Sidewalk Saints, angels for Charity and guardians of jazz
~Geraldine Wyckoff

The Bumbling Brothers Traveling Circus
~Sharon Keating

Notes on 9th Annual Satchmo Summerfest New Orleans
~Sandy Ingham

Mardi~Let's Roll!

Playing the Inside Game...
--A Cautionary Tale
~Harry Shearer
~Obama's remarks about New Orleans during the campaign were anodyne boilerplate, and what he's giving us now is more of the same. He won't even do the obligatory photo-op in the city on 8/29; he told the Times-Picayune he'll come down "before the end of the year". He didn't say which year.
~Editilla Scarecrow'tellas~ I have received considerable critique regarding my Letter to the White House, which I also posted onto Harry's comments section, and continue to send around New Orleans and the rest of the country. Given such a response, we should probably start composting the thing.
(Thanks fo'yo comment/letter Crescent City Ray!)
They argue that I am being rude and insensitive and giving the Neocoward After'Birthers ammo with which to flick wicked words at the Obama, with my statement to the President:
IT'S THE LEVEES STUPID.
They say people in Harry's audience might be offended or not understand. I know Herollero Harry Shearer understands.
I know my readership understands we have no time to "play nice".
I damn well know savvy political fixer Jim Carville reads the Ladder and understands, as he is where I got the inspiration.
And, just as when Carville nailed Big George Sr's defeat, I hope this works to bring us a better and truer candidate in the next Presidential Election --and I will work towards that goal should Obama continue to forget his place in New Orleans.
But in the interest of fairnes, how's this: OBAMA IS BULL SHITTING NEW ORLEANS FOR POLITICAL GAIN.
Obama needs to see real political consequences of continuing to keep his head in his ass about New Orleans. If not, then in 2012 Haley Babar and Bobblyhead "Zaphir" Jindoll will roll over his failed presidency like a fat cartoon elephant.
Just as there are No 2nd Chances with Catastrophic Engineering failures, there is No Crying in Politics. So suck it up, face the Line,
fix the problem or drown in your own damn'nation.

Give me a secret, bring me a sign,
give me a reason to walk The Line,
see another dawn through a daughter's eyes
---give me a reason to walk The Line.
Please listen and follow me down the back hand path,
down the long road home where I walk still never alone,
screaming across the sky as if this has happened before
though there is nothing to compare it to... now.

So many people who did not see those levees fail believe it should be so easy to wrap their head around, as if we could just send in a special Television unit and save a little girl, your mominem's little girl, I saw laying face down in the sunrise over a bloody holy cross dead and alone, floating in the water eyes down during that first week of the Federal Flood. There was no one else around, no parents, no aunts, no neighborhood, no city, no more mominem.
She was about 4 feet long, with those little hair ribbons and wore a dress with prints of butterflies on it. Butterflies for Goddess' sake. As dozens of military choppers danced overhead, the scene uncoiled my sense of taste and timing like a patient snake doctor.
I watched their reflections flit about the fetid waters which held the body of our lost soul, and realized that as surely as she was gone we would remain and shall see more of The Inferno from the Reaper's Exquisite Corps. I felt to believe in Redemption--only to find Vendetta in my own Resurrection, the taste of Noble Truth.
Buddha nailed it. Pilate nailed it. Dante nailed it. Pain is Real.

So if any of you have found a friend in God, please ask them for direction to the places they left those restless souls to drown in their own damn'nation, under rooftops, in their backyards, behind their family sofas, while their Grand Mas banged
against the walls, abandoned in Saint Rita's.
I don't really care what you think. I heard it all before the Breach.
Some may think they "know what it means"... to bet your soul
and find your self... losing. So give me a reason to walk The Line.
But please don't ask me to go easy on The One person we have elected to face down this rape of our nation and those who would Crucify Our Mother of Muses, New Orleans Sinn Féin Evermore.

Probe: New Orleans flood control pumps not reliable ~Peter Eisler
~Huge flood-control pumps installed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina don't protect the city adequately and the Army Corps of Engineers could have saved $430 million in replacement costs by buying proven equipment, a federal investigation finds.
~Special Thanks HB from Open Sound New Orleans

Flooding in Katrina wasn't natural disaster
~WWNO interviews Sandy Rosenthal, founder of levees.org

New Orleans wants President Obama to stand with us
~Jarvis DeBerry
You may have noticed when you were in our city campaigning that people in New Orleans use phrases that aren't heard anywhere else. One of them is
"feel to believe," as in, "I feel to believe I'm going to get back in my house before this year's out."

That means the person is convinced both in his heart and in his head, that the depth of his feeling has prompted the more intellectual belief.

It's that kind of heart and head devotion that the people in this city are eager for you to exhibit. We don't want a president who just sees our pain -- whether he's flying above in Air Force One or golfing near the Atlantic

Mardi~Early Bird

Second Line to Save Charity Hospital
~Monday, August 31st at Charity Hospital
(1532 Tulane Avenue)
Featuring the Rebirth Brass Band and Hot 8 Brass Band
Second Line @ 6:00p.m. sharp
Rally at Charity @ 7:00p.m.


Benefit Concert for Charity Hospital
~Saturday, September 19th at The Howlin’ Wolf
(907 S. Peters Street)
Featuring the Lowrider Band and Special Guests
Doors open @ 8:00 p.m., Tickets $5

We cannot do this without your help.
Here's how you can pitch in:

• Join the new Save Charity Hospital Street Team. We're having our first strategy meeting TODAY, August 25th from 5:30-7:00pm above Fairgrinds Coffeehouse at 3133 Ponce Deleon in Mid-City. Come to the meeting to volunteer, or email us at savecharityhospital@gmail.com to get involved.
  
• Get the word out by forwarding this page to your friends.
  
• Donate $10* to help us cover the costs of these events. We want to keep tickets for the Benefit Concert to $5 so that ALL Charity supporters can attend. A $10 donation will help us keep ticket costs down for two concert tickets.
  

Thank you so much for your support. We've come so far in the past months and now's our chance to make our voice heard all across New Orleans.

Your SaveCharityHospital.com editors,
–Jonah & Eli

In twisted irony, state proceeding with step one of FHL/RMJM plan to save Charity
~SaveCharityHospital.com

FEMA dispute over Charity Hospital on my plate, Homeland Security secretary says ~Bruce Alpert and Jonathan Tilove

Dangerous hurricane debris clogs waterways four years later
by Chris Kirkham

Rebirth is a slow process
~Thanks Katrina

Gretna Heritage Festival has grown into its own~C.J. Lin
~From its humble beginnings 15 years ago as a one-stage, hours-long free concert under a covered market, the Gretna Heritage Festival has burgeoned into a sprawling festival spanning seven stages, three days and about 25 city blocks. Scheduled for Oct. 2-4, the festival boasts nearly 50 local and international acts.

Covered In Vinyl,
The Susan Cowsill Band
~Susan Cowsill's Covered In Vinyl -- The Jackson 5 Greatest Hits (Motown, 1971)
is coming to Austin and Dallas.
Covered in Vinyl is a concept show Susan created several years ago with her husband and drummer
Russ Broussard.
The Susan Cowsill Band provides an evening of fun with the familiar covering a classic album (their opinion there!) in its entirety. The evening starts with a set of mostly original material off Susan's latest album, Just Believe It and songs from her days with the Continental Drifters then continues with the timely choice of Motown's 1971 classic album
The Jackson 5 Greatest Hits
Saturday August 29 - The Saxon Pub
Sunday August 30 - Poor David's Pub
And of course keep yo'Ear on Carrollton Station!

Lundi

Vice President Biden spins bottle ~Jonathan Tilove
~VP can't come until President comes first?
What is this, a Circle Jerk-Off? Editilla will settle for Hillary coming over all of them.

Levees.org Historical Marker at scene of 17th St. canal breach is scathing rebuke of Corps
~Scott Satchfield, WWL
~One section reads, "This breach and others -- part of the metropolitan New Orleans Hurricane Protection System -- together are considered the worst civil engineering disaster in our nation's history. It is the worst in the world since the Chernobyl meltdown."
~A Most Excellent take here from Mz JudyB thanks youz.

Public Service Announcement

Charity Hospital on Louisiana Landmark Society List of 9 most endangered historical sites
~Bruce Eggler

Diary From The Dome: Reflections on Fear and Privilege During Katrina
~Paul A. Harris

Louisiana Citizens Set to Appeal $95M Judgment; No Assessment Needed~Insurance Journal

What's the Score?~slabbed

PeopleMeter: Chris Rose's Top 10 Celebrity Mayoral Candidates

Extra year for some rebuilding with gov't $~Dave Cohen, WWL

Carlton Dufrechou new Pontchartrain Causeway GM

Changed By A Storm
~bcp...My Life

Origins of New Orleans Cities of the Dead~Kathleen K Parker

Remembering Katrina Hurricane Survivors
~Chicago Defender

Engineers Without Borders
~Ed Cullen

Newspaperearth~SKR Herry

His fish tales, worth their weight
~Brent St. Germain
~Every angler has a fish story to tell, and that includes Martin Bourgeois. But the stories Bourgeois enjoys telling do not involve him catching a particular fish. They are the stories he's collected over the years as a weighmaster for the annual International Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo.

Four Years After Katrina,
New Orleans’ Restaurant Scene Rises Again ~PMQ

NOIR FEST | November 20th

Band Brings New Orleans Jazz to Seoul~The Korea Times

Joe Henry gives his own tone to the blues~Scott Timberg

Obama spins not visiting New Orleans on Anniversary of Federal Flood, reinforces failures of Corps of Engineers
~Editilla Ho'tellas~ No more Mr Nice Guy fo'da Lie!
Tell me if this sounds like our smart sexy full of (ahem) Hope President actually Gets It?
"I think that Katrina was really a wake-up call for the country -- about our need to fulfill our commitments to our fellow citizens, a recognition that there but for the grace of God go I, that all of us can fall prey to these kinds of natural disasters."
I gotta ask, WHAT GODDAMN NATURAL DISASTER?

My letter to the White House website last night:
Please feel free to copy and send.

Mr. President,
I am stunned actually that you have become so clueless about why New Orleans flooded on 8/29/05, but, given your apparent reliance on the Corps of Engineers for New Orleans' flood safety,
I am downright angry at your incredible naivete of Who is giving you this False Information. It was NOT a Natural Disaster, as you stated in your interview with the Times-Picayune recently.
We call that: "THE KATRINA LIE".

IT'S THE LEVEES STUPID!

I have to ask, what NATURAL DISASTER?
New Orleans flooded because the Corps did not build our flood walls correctly the first time.
They admitted this in Open Federal Court.
Those flood walls failed in 53 different places, with the most catastrophic failures at 3 of them BELOW DESIGN SPECIFICATION AT HALF LOAD. Half load, Mr President.

It really frightens me that you do not know this.
It terrifies me that you are Not commanding the Corps of Engineers but apparently allowing them to command you.
This is a Big Problem for the entire country, as 41% of us live near a Corps built levee. Over a million acres of land has flooded in just the past 2 years because of Corps levee failures across the country. I cannot believe you are so dense. Mr. President,
please take Command of your Corps of Engineers.

Mr President, you just lost my vote, and (so far) 17 of my friends who worked so hard to get you elected. This matters.
What an absolute let-down. I want you to understand,
YOU HAVE LOST MY VOTE IN THE NEXT ELECTION.
I will work for whoever wants to run against you.

Ask yourself why I would be so angry about the Katrina Lie.
I have decided to go Zero Tolerance of this MisInformation, because if/when our levees fail again it will be the same engineering mistakes that crucified New Orleans on 8/29/05, and we will have to deal with the same Corps of Engineers' shell game of obfuscation about Natural Disaster.
This status que must stop somewhere.

Mr President, you said:
"a recognition that there but for the grace of God go I,"
But, You are not coming to New Orleans for the Anniversary of the Federal Flood. You went on vacation, to nice expensive Martha's Vineyard. This is so sad.
I really believed that you would know what you are talking about, but you don't. And it hurts very deeply.
Now I feel so silly as we go from the Audacity of Hope to the Gall of Confusion.

Thanks Mr. President --For Nothing.

Dimanche

Comedian says New Orleans' story is not being told right
~Katy Reckdhal~Efforts to accurately explain to the nation what happened in New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, have failed, comic Harry Shearer told a local blogging club Saturday.
"Yes, Harry sure did say 'we have lost the battle in the media'.
But Harry also said we must all continue to re-state the facts.
He said we lost the battle. He didn't say we lost the war."
~Sandy Rosenthal, founder levees.org and Rising Tide attendee

Will Obama visit New Orleans on Katrina's anniversary?
~Chris Dier

Lyndon Johnson in New Orleans, October 1964
~Matthew Yglesias

Reform will require sense of urgency~Daily Comet

Coastal sediment needs
–let’s get real folks!~LaCoastPost

Corps needs to honor president’s priority to restore Gulf Coast’s hurricane barrier
~Mary Kelly

Whether in New Orleans or
St. Bernard Parish, the poor
aren't welcome anywhere
~Jarvis DeBerry

Gorilla on the Ropes
~Clancy DuBos
~LSU’s flagging political fortunes are partly a result of legislative term limits (many freshmen lawmakers are not beholden or connected to LSU), but mostly they reflect the university’s own failure to recognize changing political realities — particularly the one about it no longer being the 800-pound gorilla.
Case in point: the controversy surrounding the proposed $1.2 billion LSU teaching hospital in New Orleans.

Health-care After'Birthers target Melancon in Houma
~Robert Zullo

Red Tent For The Women Of New Orleans~NOLAFemmes

The changing face -- and faces -- of New Orleans~Sarah Carr

State expects to save money by phasing out towers at prisons~Michelle Millhollon
~Binocular-equipped guards manning prison towers is likely to become a relic of the past in Louisiana. To save $6.2 million a year, the state is replacing tower guards with video surveillance at four prisons, including Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Next step in H1N1 scare: Microchip implants ~Drew Zahn

Authors still documenting impact of Hurricane Katrina

Nice New York Times Review:
AD: New Orleans After the Deluge~George Gene Gustines

Review of Newsweek’s Review of AD: New Orleans After the Deluge~The Bottom of Heaven

Film captures essence of Katrina
~Kathleen Bogle
~Now that hurricane season is here again, you should watch "Mississippi Son, A Filmmaker's Journey Home." Born and raised in Gulfport, Don Wilson was deeply moved by the incredible losses of his friends and family. In this film, he returns home to talk to those who lived through Hurricane Katrina and continue to struggle with the aftermath.

Oceanographer shares a tale of a devastating hurricane and offers fresh reminders for building close to rising seas
~Leslie Conn