My mom is having a lot of trouble coping with the aftermath of Katrina.
Sometimes it's comical - like when she tries to talk on her cell phone and
disconnects 5 times during our conversation by accidentally hitting the
"off" button (they still don't have land line phone service in Chalmette).

But mostly it's just sad.  She feels lost and disconnected.  All her friends
are scattered and at their age it's not easy to drive to one another's
residence for a visit (they used to gather in the meeting area of her
assisted-living apartment every evening).

She drove down to my daughter's house today and made the mistake of turning
down Colonial Drive.  It used to be a showcase of beautiful home, but now
it's one of the most devastated parts of Chalmette, where whole houses were
moved into neighbors' yards - foundations and all!

She called me up this morning crying, saying, "You just can't imagine what
it looks like - all the pictures and television coverage just can't convey
the devastation, it's looks like the aftermath of a nuclear war!"

Even the looting of her assisted-living apartment didn't get her as down as
she sounds today (she lived on the third floor, so was spared the flooding -
but some @$$hole looter tore up her apartment, even ripping into her
mattress looking for stashed cash and jewelry).

Anyway...  Coping purrs for my mom would be greatly appreciated.