I\'m African American. I was born in Louisiana, but hadn\'t been back since 1964, when my family moved away. After Katrina, I went back (twice), to help. I\'m kind of older, and I feel that the most help I was able to offer was to share in positive ways with African American youth who had been through the hurricanes, and with Black adults who had also survived the hurricanes. I helped distribute food to folks, and to do some long distance transporting of supplies, including medical supplies. I connected most strongly with a Black lady who had survived the hurricanes, and who had also been working hard afterward to help many others. But she seemed in need of taking more time for herself, just to rest some, and replenish her inner resources. I encouraged her as best I could, to do that. While I was there, helping, I realized that I had dreamed about the aftermath of Katrina, months before it happened, very early in that same year. I had dreamed about driving in a big city, on highway overpasses, and there were cars \"parked\" every which way. But there didn\'t seem to be any people. I turned down an alley, and when I came around a corner, there was a pond with a giant live oak standing beside it. I got out and walked to the tree. It was so beautiful. Then I saw that there was an alligator in the pond. After being on the Gulf Coast for the first time in forty years, and seeing New Orleans after Katrina, I realized that\'s where I\'d been in the dream. I am not a Christian. I respect all religions, and I am a spiritual person. As a Black woman, I witness prejudice every day. I wish we were beyond those things, already. I do believe we will be, soon. Katrina and Rita seemed to show up like they did, to help more people see where we need to work on our own \"house:\" our own country and society, and on ourselves. I hope to work with more people of color, in reclaiming the dignity of working with the earth in ecological, sustainable ways. I invite indigenous and people of color to contact me about possible projects. alligator.oak05 at yahoo dot com. blessings.