Kill Baby Kill: A Day at Grand Isle

Louisiana is caught, once again, between Mother Earth and Uncle Sam, in a place that more resembles the Twilight Zone, than the place that I call home.  Fifty-four days ago, the nation's greatest man-made disater, the British Petroleum Gulf Oil Spill occured. What shall we call this episode?  Drill Baby Drill?  Spill Baby Spill?  or how about Kill Baby Kill?

I have heard Louisiana dumped on for all of my life, and now, once again it is slipping away, and she will eventually heave her last breath, and it will be like she never existed.  What is being killed?  Our way of life.  Our ecomony.  Our heritage. Our very existence.

On Friday, May 28th, 2010, I took a ride to see Grand Isle, before she is gone forever.  These are my photos from that day, which was also the day that President Obama visited Louisiana for the third time.  The beach had been cleaned up just prior to the President's visit- WHY? I don't know!  You'd think he needed to see that mess!!  Most folks here feel like it was more of a photo opportunity for the Presidnet than anything else.  He didn't even get in a boat!  You don't come all the way here and don't get in a boat!

Take Highway 1 in South Louisiana as far as you can go,

and you will find yourself in Grand Isle.

While crossing a bridge I spotted the first oil boons, bright orange, laid out in the water...

"Jesus Christ Reigns Over Grand Isle"

 

   Worker's who are paid $10.00 an hour to work on the sweltering heat que up to ride the bus back.

A clean up crew poses, but I was quickly shooed away after wards and asked not to photograph the workers.

I obviously didn't listen!

The Sassafrass Girls came from Alabama to deliver their message, which is different from most Louisianians, who want to keep drilling, whether it be at sea or on land.  We don't make all the airlines stop flying whenever there is a plane crash do we?

I me tthis young man who was selling lemonaid to help raise money to help clean up the oil spill in his backyard.

The President leaves Grand Isle with fanfare.

These traps should be in the water.

Oyster shells lie in the grass along the highway on Grand Isle.

The fish may die in the Gulf, but the sharks are just fine!

I met this guy who works at a tatoo shop in South LaFourche Parish in one of the little fishing villages along Highway 1.   We talked a while and laughed at each other's accents ,and even though we are both from Louisiana,we each thought the other one talked funny!  He fears that business will dry up, and if that happens then he will pack up his family and head west.