Katrina has left a wake of destruction and heartache from her landing - pictures of debris and memories of places we know so well, the displaced people and lives lost, structures that look like they were put into a giant blender. Places are set up and more being set up here to send food, supplies and bottled water to NO. Mountain Valley is sending 16 trucks of bottled Mountain Valley water. When I retired, I was working as Exec. Sec. to the Claim Manager in an insurance company in Little Rock. I remember shortly before I left, taking a file back to the file room for my boss and looking at about a square block of files and thinking of the big chunks of people's lives in that room. To those of you who don't know what a CAT Team is, it's a group of their best adjusters gathered from all over the country (some from the retired ranks too) to send into the area hit by whatever the catastrophe is. There's no immediate repair - they have to use the construction companies just like everyone else - but there is the immediate help they can get and the assurance of what your insurance will cover, right down to out of pocket expenses. I've got some neices and nephews right now who are sympathetic but pointing out all coast areas are just as dangerous as California. (Every time there's a big rumble out there either my sister or I hint they should send out resumes closer to home : - )) They also remind me Jim and I are not far from the San Andreas fault. Supplies and water are now on their way to our neighbors in LA and MS along with our hearts and prayers. Hope all the writers and sibs of Sisters in Crime have made it safely out of the cities so devastated. We are remembering with sad hearts some of the areas shown on the news and Good Morning America. Robin is reporting from Gulfport, MS - that drive from there to NO along the coast is beautiful (but I also remember the damage Camille caused). Break's over!