Gonna ask anyone who follows me to please signal boost the hell outta this.
I work in the Emergency Ops Center in a little known place called Lafourche Parish in Lousiana. I like to say we’re “the toe of the boot” of the state. And we have been absolutely DECIMATED by Hurricane Ida. Cellular and landline communications are still down. Electricity will be down for weeks if not months. Water is undrinkable. Generators are running out of fuel. First responders are exhausted.
We are the home of the Seafood Industry and a critical part of the Oil and Gas Industry.
We FEED AND FUEL AMERICA.
A lot of people in Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes (our state’s version of counties) felt really left out of the news broadcasts like we didn’t matter. So with the little bit of cellular coverage I’ve been blessed enough to have as I travel north to move our technology infrastructure, I’m posting this for all of us.
Dear Rest of the United States,
Hello! It’s the people of the southern tip of Louisiana. You might not know us, hell you probably have never heard of us, but you know of our contributions to the great City you love to come visit. You see what most of you don’t know is how much of New Orleans made up by the surrounding areas. Let us break it down to you sha. It goes a little something like this….
That amazingly fresh lips smacking seafood you come here to fill your bellies with…. That came from the Bayou Regions.
That unforgettable sweet tea you drank three glasses of in one sitting… the sugar used to make it just right was harvested from the fields and factories in the Bayou Regions.
The Zydeco music you dance to the early hours of the morning, well baby, that originated from the Cajun people of, yep, you guessed it the bayou regions
The okra that made your gumbo over the top with flavor…. That came from the bayou regions (have you ever seen okra fields in the middle of the city??)
The file used to make your gumbo thick thick… mon cheri that comes from the sassafras trees that grow… in the bayou regions
All that ice cold Abita beer make you want to fais do do (dance) until your shoes fall apart… well my baby, that comes from the bayou regions
THE RICH FOOD YOU SEE ON EVERY MENU ACROSS THE UNITED STATES “CAJUN PASTA” “CAJUN RICE” “CAJUN SO AND SO” that didn’t originate in New Orleans. Oh no baby, that was passed down from generations and generations of the Cajun people that SURROUND New Orleans.
That bartender that makes your drink just right and has an accent that you can listen to all day… they drive to work EVERYDAY from the bayou regions surrounding our city.
Some of your favorite celebrities and athletes you love and watch and support their careers still have families in…. The Bayou Regions
The chef you praise that makes that perfect jambalaya, well cheri, their grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins, sons, daughters, and everything about them comes from….. Come on do I have to really say it again….THE BAYOU REGIONS
LISTEN UP CHILD…..
We love our great city and all it does for the surrounding areas, but ya’ll need to know what the surrounding areas do for the city! We are thrilled that the city is getting what it needs to survive and thrive and bring ya’ll back to visit and have a good time. BUT THE BAYOU REGIONS NEED HELP!
OUR PEOPLE ARE SUFFURING. OUR PEOPLE GOT HIT THE HARDEST AND NEED THE MOST TO RECOVER.
I AM CALLING OUT CELEBRITIES, NEWS STATIONS, POLITICIANS, INFLUENCERS, ANYONE THAT HAS SOME CLOUT. PLEASE BRING AWARENESS TO AND DO BENEFITS AND CHARITIES TO HELP OUT THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT THE MOST. PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THE AREAS THAT MAKE OUR CITY WHAT IT IS. FOR WITHOUT THESE AREAS THE CITY YOU LOVE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.