So I've we've got other things to worry about. Clubs and schoolwork aside (I'm freaking out about trombone again), we've got Katrina, New Orleans (not to mention the rest of Louisiana and Mississippi), and gas prices to freak about. Governor Easley has apparently said something about there not being many days of oil left, as both the pipelines are down.

I'm not very happy, to say the least. It's like Katrina is just one more thing on top of Iraq, Iran, North Korea . . . except this is at home. Hell, it's freakin New Orleans! I mean, New Orleans. Everyone loves New Orleans, don't they? I mean, even if Mardi Gras is a little distasteful at times, it's something that has to happen, isn't it? And now all that's under water!

It creeps into all the conversations someway or another. We stay away from it for half an hour or so, carefully not talking about it. But it always comes in somehow; we were discussing "Lord of the Flies" in English, and eventually turned to New Orleans and the chaos there. And the conversation turned on, like a switch flipped, just electricity for a moment or three and then we hushed up, turned to something else. Same thing happened at the Youth Committee meeting last night. Talking about volunteering for mentally retarded folks, Habitat for Humanity, and then of a sudden a hushed conversation, "3.25? I heard it'll be 4 by tomorrow..." "I heard them talking about rationing." "Rationing-"

And then it stops.

After school, I was standing in front under one of the trees, and said out loud, a word-sigh, "Lordy lordy..." Another girl gave a nervous laugh, and said, "Yeah, that's how I feel."

I, at least, am a little on edge.