I bought 150usd worth of diapers today, and took them to work as the company has a diaper drive for the Katrina relief effort. I finally felt I was contributing something to the 5000 people who have been sent here to Austin from New Orleans. I haven't been out to the three designated shelters to see what I could see, but, I'm not sure I really want to. This past weekend, I drove out to Marfa in West Texas, and as I was driving West on Interstate 10, I passed groups of two or three cars traveling together. They had Louisiana auto licence plates. I looked into the cars as I passed them and saw very tired, unkempt children and adults. It brought me to tears as I gave them the thumbs up and whispered good luck, and they in return would smile and wave back. Where they were going, I could only guess. Every thirty minutes or so, a convoy of ten or fifteen police cars and ambulances, from other cities, other states, would be traveling toward the East on the other side of the Interstate highway. And between them were the semi-trucks with civilian and military generators on their trailers. There were military vehicles on some of them. I also saw groups of utility trucks traveling together towards the East. Now there are news stories, and interviews, about what is about to come when the water is drain of New Orleans, and they will be horrible days indeed. A clean glass of water, a warm bed to sleep in. Simple things, I once thought.