I hate to diverge from the retro oriented topics; however, I can't help but mention our experience on the utterly destroyed beaches on the Gulf. The Gilligan family is vacationing in my favorite part of the country, The French Quarter. We decided to stop by the beach en route and were highly disturbed by what we saw.
The pristine white beaches are brown with turd shaped globs and big waves of peanut butter-like crap. That's my daughter, Naomi, in the picture above. She was highly disturbed by what she saw. It's one thing to see it on television, quite another to stand amid the destruction.
Our first indication that things weren't going to be pretty was the tar cleaning station on the path to the beach.
The beach and surf look beatiful from a distance. For a moment, you think to yourself that it won't be half bad - the news must be sensationalizing once again. Then, as you step ashore, there can be no denial - this is a environmental apocalypse. Birds walk along the beach as if it was just like any other day, then you notice their feathers are brown with tar. Clumps of shellfish, still alive, are stuck together with this surprisingly sticky glue-like substance.
But you've heard all his before. What you maybe haven't heard is how impossible it is to volunteer to help clean. The family tried to help with the cleanup - we figured any little bit we could do was better than nothing. WRONG! We would have to undergo a FOUR DAY TRAINING CLASS! What? How much training do you need to scoop up turds? We're not trying to captain a ship or cap the leak - we just want to grab some shovels!
To make matters worse, the cleanup crews can only work in fifteen minute increments. All the workers are busy shoveling, then the foreman blows his whistle and they sit under a tent for fifteen minutes. For those fifteen minutes, THERE'S NO ONE WORKING! How much sense do you need to figure out that you can have half working, half resting at all times? We're told it's an OSHA regulation.
Bottom line: this is every bit as bad as you're seeing on the tube, and the clean up effort is pathetic. And we're told this is just the beginning. Come back in a few weeks and it'll be a shit stained wasteland.
Drill, baby, drill!
